Pieced to Perfection

/ quiltinggail

Here was our instructions:

Paper piecing, also known as foundation piecing, is a quilting technique that involves sewing fabric pieces to a paper foundation. Precision, relative ease of use and design flexibility of paper pieced patterns make them a very popular choice among quilters. Show off the fabric from your assigned Spring’ 23 0.5 yard bundle and make an eye-catching paper pieced showstopper!

My assigned bundle is Coper Patina shown here:

Years and years ago, Carol Doak had a yahoo group with lots of paper piecing blocks. She recently started a Facebook group with lots of new patterns. This inspired me to make a Block of the Month pattern from years ago for this month’s paper piecing challenge.

I printed out the patterns and started making the blocks.

Chain piecing and paper piecing without sewing on the paper! I’ve never tried the freezer paper technique, but using paper straight from the printer works for me.

I paired a lot of the fabrics together and made the blocks on the left, with the centre star. The centre star used “Egg White” (a basic that is always available) and “Swirl Teal Jade” from the collection.

But I wasn’t happy (picture on the left). It seemed like a mish-mash of the fabrics and did nothing for the centre star.

So I started making more blocks using one fabric from the collection and Egg White. The picture on the right shows these blocks in progress. Yes, I’m much happier.

Here is the finished quilt with lots of custom ruler quilting.

Quilt Stats:

  • Fabric: 9 select fabrics from Copper Patina, paired with Egg White
  • Size: 60″ x 60″
  • Pattern: BOM by Carol Doak
  • Batting: Heirloom Hobbs Batting 80/20
  • Thread: Pieced with Aurifil Thread 2600 (Dove Grey), Quilted with Aurifil 5007 (Light Blue Grey)
  • Quilting: Rulers and Free Motion
  • Rulers used for quilting: Silly Moon Rocket, Drop 1, 2 & 3, and Charming
  • Needles: Schmetz Needles Microtex
  • Binding: Scrappy with select fabrics from Copper Patina

And there is More!

There was the ‘left-over’ blocks from my first attempt. I added the solid Black sashing and border, with Swirl Teal Jade for the cornerstones. I must admit, I like this way better than my first attempt with the Swirl Teal Jade star. Perhaps if I had used solid black for the star, I might have been happier. However, it’s too late now and I’m not going to do it over again! I’m happy with this one!

However, before I went with the black, I attempted to use some of the gold fabric in the collection for the sashing:

No! No! No!

Sew, out came my trusty seam ripper, I auditioned other fabrics and settled on the black.

Much better!

Quilt Stats:

  • Fabric: 17 select fabrics from Copper Patina, with solid Black
  • Size: 46″ x 46″
  • Pattern: BOM by Carol Doak plus “Tennessee” from 50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars (it’s the middle star on the left)
  • Batting: Heirloom Hobbs Batting 80/20
  • Thread: Pieced with Aurifil Thread 2600 (Dove Grey), Quilted with Aurifil 5007 (Light Blue Grey)
  • Quilting: Rulers and Free Motion
  • Rulers used for quilting: Silly Moon Rocket, Drop 3, and Kite
  • Needles: Schmetz Needles Microtex
  • Binding: Scrappy with select fabrics from Copper Patina

I had wanted to take a picture of the 2 quilts together on the lawn, but with our drought conditions and brown scrubby grass, I went across to the neighbours rock garden and took the picture there.

*** Be sure to visit Britany at Bobbin with Brittany to see what she made with Copper Patina! ***

Thank You!

Disclosure: The fabrics, batting, thread and needles were generously supplied by the following companies: Thank you, Island Batik,  Aurifil Thread,  Hobbs Batting,  Schmetz Needles,   

Week 2 Blog Hop

September 11

Brittany Fisher, Bobbin with Brittany

Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail

September 12

Susan Deshensky, Lady Blue Quilts

Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine

September 13

Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

Anorina Morris, Samelia’s Mum

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations

September 14

Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia

Victoria Johnson, Forever Quilting for You

2 Opportunities to Win Fabric!

#1

Visit Island Batik’s blog to win one of 2 Fat Quarter Bundles from Week 2. HERE Follow the Rafflecopter directions.

#2

Leave a comment at the end of this post and I will send you some pieces of Copper Patina! (You must be in Canada or the USA).

Island Batik Ambassadors

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts
Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts
Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts
Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You
Randi Jones ~ Randi’s Roost

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ Quiltery – For The Love Of Geese
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine

Elita Sharpe ~ Busy Needle
Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

Anorina Morris ~ sameliasmum.com
Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia
Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

47 thoughts on “Pieced to Perfection”

  1. Pingback: Recap of Week Two of Pieced to Perfection Blog Hop and Giveaway!

  3. I love the black. Your ideas are so great. Choosing the rock background is perfect. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful creations and creativity with all of us.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Gail,
    Love the black quilt. I realize that quilters go in many directions, and it’s wonderful what never-ending variety we create. But I’m happy to see a black background; it sets off the colors wonderfully.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Oh, Nicole … I’m sure a day doesn’t go by when I don’t use my seam ripper. I know that in an hour of sewing today, I had to use it 3 times. One of the times was when I sewed the same mistake! Groan!!!

      Like

  7. So happy to read your thoughts outloud! To see other’s thought process really helps to focus one’s own perspective on color and what changes make the end quilt better with a seam ripper. Wonderful seeing I am not the only one.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. For luck I have my blogs back, due to IT problems. So happy to read whats going on …on your side of the ocean. Love that you tried with egg white and both are adorable quilts. Batics have a lot of power. If I win, send the fabric as a gift to Wendy! Very nice neighbours, that they give you a foto shooting area. Thanks for sharing this good inspiration

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Pingback: A Couple of Finishes to show you | Quilting Gail

  11. Thanks for a great blog post. It is always very helpful to see how someone arrives at the beautiful end results; that way, when I’m working on a quilt and things aren’t coming together, I am both motivated to keep fussing and fixing, and have a real reason to think that something good can come from the mixed up bunch of blocks in front of me. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  12. You showcased these fabrics so wonderfully! One thing I love about batiks is that each individual fabric is so unique and beautiful. I can imagine curling up with one of your quilts and examining each little piece. And some of those pieces are indeed little! I admire you piecing skills. Gorgeous quilts! Thanks for sharing them and sharing your decision-making process.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Both are beautiful quilts, and the rock setting is great for photos. It’s nice that the blocks that did not work for the first quilt made it into their own quilt.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. I really appreciate how you show us what didn’t work and how you “fixed” it! Sometimes a project looks good in our head, but not in fabric! Change is good!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Erin! I’m glad that you appreciate that I’m not perfect! Sometimes, people think that the final project got there with no seam ripper or major decisions changed! I try to be real and honest about what I do! Thank you!

      Like

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