around the house [in way less than 80 days]...

This post goes out to those home dec/improvement projects that [sadly] do not warrant a whole blog post all to themselves. Above is the last of my outdoor-furniture-recovering-extravaganza. Again using my crazy low priced JoAnn's fabric.

My New York Beauty is finally quilted, bound, and hanging in its rightful place in our dining room. I still love the 'I-Spy' of it all - seems like a treasure hunt every time I walk by it! I have the pattern and the fabric stack for a pickle dish quilt, but it has to get in line behind my pile of UFOs. Also not quite ready for another intensive paper piecing project. [You can read all about my adventures with NYB blocks here]

New curtains for the bathroom! The former curtains were faded and on their last leg, so it was definitely time for a change.

This is the first time I have made a shade that operated like this one - fairly simple, but looks and works well. I used the same book that I did to make my roman shades in this post.

Currently have some top secret Christmas projects in the works. Hoping to share an update on my quilt swap blocks this week.

nyb: tips, techniques, and a winner...

Are you up for the challenge? Ready to put your paper piecing hat on? Let's take on some New York Beauty blocks! In this post I will share some links and tips to get you started [and announce the fabric winner!] Perhaps the most important tip I can share is: just go for it! Don't be intimidated by paper piecing or curved piecing [like animals, I think they can smell fear :] It may take a little practice, but I am confidant that if I can make these blocks, so can you.

First the patterns. There are books and free piecing patterns all over the place. The patterns that I used came from Ulas Quiltpage. [a note: some of them I slightly adapted/changed] These are great and fairly simple designs. If you check the pic above, you can see that I used a variety of patterns. If you are looking for something a little more complex, check out these patterns over - they are not necessarily more difficult, but many have multiple paper pieced sections. [the block at the top of this post is from those patterns.

Component 1: Paper Piecing
Once you understand the basics of how to paper piece - the sky is the limit. I recommend heading over to the Quilter's Cache. They offer great step by step instructions and diagrams to help you get the hang of it.

The biggest issue that I have with paper piecing is choosing the right size fabric. My recommendation: go big. Yes, it is a little wasteful, but choosing a bigger scrap and trimming the excess makes the process go much smoother. As you make your blocks and gain experience, you will become a better judge of what size piece you need.

Another tip - when you trim the paper pieced section, check your template/pattern and make sure that it has a 1/4" seam allowance on the outer edge of the section. Otherwise, when you sew the block together, all of your precious little points will be cut off! And that is part of the beauty of paper piecing - it is so much easier to get all those perfect little points using this method than traditional piecing.


Component 2: Curved Piecing
After paper piecing, the solid sections remain. To make sure that the sections line up perfectly, I fold each of the two sections I am going to sew together in half, making a crease. Then I match up the creases [with the sections right sides together] and pin. Then I pin the two ends, then pin toward the center.

Once the two sections are sewn together, notch along the seam allowance. Then press the seam allowance toward the solid section.

I would love to see any nyb blocks that you whip up! And now for the winner [drumrooolllll, please]: Cathy Tomm! I sent you an email! Just a note: Cathy was not my first random winner, the first person was a no-reply blogger and left me no way to contact them. Thanks everyone who played along - I enjoyed reading and responding to everyone's lovely comments :)

nyb giveaway...

As promised I have a giveaway to help you get down to business with some New York Beauty blocks! One of my favorite parts of making this quilt was digging into a pile of bright colors and black and white prints. So up for grabs, courtesy of Old Country Store Fabrics, your choice of fat quarters! There are two bundles to choose from - each set has 8 fat quarters.

Do you need more brights? Check out the Happy by Moda bundle!

Do you need more black and white prints? Check out the Bali Batiks by Hoffman! [a note on these: YES they are batiks, but they are very subtle as you can see in the photo. Though I am not usually a batik kind of girl, I really like these!]

All you have to do to enter is JUST LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST! Let me know which bundle you like best and make sure there is a way to contact you. If you use blogger, make sure you have an email address connected to it [Great tutorial here].

I will pick a winner next Friday morning. [3/4/11]

new york beauties...

Has it hit you? You know, that moment of craft inspiration. You are poking around flickr, reading blogs, at a quilt guild meeting and it just hits you... "I NEED that" says the little voice in your head. That moment of inspiration hit when I saw Jennie's gorgeous New York Beauty blocks. The love was so intense that the fact that I had never successfully done any paper piecing didn't even phase me. I had been bitten by the quilt bug. Next step: load up on more brights and small black and white prints.

It was a labor of love - and some of the blocks were completed with the help of my block swap friends. I couldn't help but add the paper pieced flying geese border. All of the little prints make it feel almost like an I spy quilt - which is pretty cool in my book.

Now, like many a project before it, this little quilt will be stacked on the to-be-quilted pile. Are you tempted to start work on some New York Beauties of your own? Stay tuned - I have a giveaway coming up in the next post!

summer swappin'...

[can you hear the Grease music?] summer swappin' had me a blast, summer swappin' happened so fast... Those of us in the Block Swap 2 are headed into the final stretch, the bee started in January and will end in December. I have really enjoyed tackling new challenges and learning loads of new techniques! My month was August and I fell in love with the New York Beauty blocks that Jennie was making! [check her beauties out here! The tutorials are here] [more details on my blocks when I receive them all]

For July, Cindy wanted to make a color wheel quilt using the Pieced Scrap Border Quilt tutorial over on Red Pepper Quilts. It went together really easy and I love the final look - this will be great once the rainbow of colors is set together!


In September, I got to refine my curved piecing skills with a drunkards path block for Frieda. She sent us over to the Sometimes Crafter tutorial and all the pictures made it super easy to follow.

I love stalking all of the wonderful swaps over on flickr, but am hesitant to commit to 'one more thing' - what swaps do you just love?