After the last forever project that took a year, I decided I was ready to do a full blown English Paper Piecing quilt. A friend from Arizona co-owns a pattern company called The Darty Kite Company which specializes in EPP, so I went browsing on their site. And found a pattern called Circular Reference. That name is pretty funny as it is a common Excel error. Very appropriate for me as a former accountant and Excel geek. It was pretty intricate, and I figured it would take me at least a year.
Well, I didn't count on getting addicted. The pattern was exceptionally well written, with good ideas on fabric selection and organization. So I jumped in selecting fabrics, 90 in total. The pattern designer has suggested making a color map, then photographing and filtering in black and white to evaluate contrast. Which I did. Over and over and over. Finally I decided I was tired of fiddling around and just wanted to get started, so I jumped in. Below is the final Color Map, which I sewed into a small top that I thought I might eventually put on the back of the quilt. I used my little flannel flags to label each fabric, then put corresponding numbers on small zip lock bags to hold the fabrics.
The pattern company also sold some great acrylic templates as well as papers. Lessons learned, get the larger templates (3/8" seam instead of 1/4" seam) because then it's easier to not get the glue too close to the fold and not too close to the edge. But I managed. Also I learned that the glue builds up on the papers and expecting to use them 4 times is optimistic. I had some raveling occur on some patches because it was difficult to get the glue to release once it was so thick. Another lesson was sharp needles pierce the papers too easily. I found that quilting betweens actually worked best for me. And finally, batiks are a little more difficult to EPP due to the tightness of the weave. I still like batiks for applique where I can use super sharp needles, but the combination of trying not to pierce the paper but still get through the fabric made then a little difficult (and of course about 30% of the fabrics are batik).
I had a grand time organizing the cut fabric patches in the numbered Ziplock bags. And glueing the pieces and laying them out was fun. Oh, and honestly there is something so satisfying about finding the perfect thread color to match a 20-year-old fabric. I set up a kit with threads and tools in a project case and took it with me everywhere. Unfortunately, I didn't snap a picture of the sewing case, it looked pretty cool. I spent so many evenings (and afternoons) sewing. I had to force myself to take breaks to save my wrists and fingers. Stitching the split hexagons was very satisfying. Sewing the rows together was a bit challenging until I got the hang of folding the papers. It was just so much fun to see each circle emerge. I found the entire process of this quilt to be very much like an enjoyable jigsaw puzzle. I was absolutely addicted. I found I didn't want to work on anything else. My poor machine felt so left out for these few months. And I do mean few months. I started the weekend of July 4th. And I finished, including the quilting and facing, Today. Three and a half months! So much for "Forever".
I wanted the quilting to emphasize the circles but not detract from the overall pattern. I used smoke colored Monopoly thread and stitched 1/4" away from the seam line. I decided I didn't want anything to detract from the pattern, so I didn't add a border and faced the quilt rather than adding a typical binding. And it's all done and ready to hang.
Only problem is, now what do I do! I need to find another forever project that isn't so much fun so that it will last longer.
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