I teased my first paper-pieced block a few days ago, and now that block is a pouch! It's destined for a care package for a friend, and I'm so pleased with how it turned out. I hope it brightens her day!
This project is the New World Pouch from Vintage Quilt Revival, my current favorite quilt book. This book is chock full of colorful inspiration, and I want to dive into every page. This is technically my second project from the book, as the star block I made for the NASA quilt was the Star-and-Pinwheel block from the book's Sugar Snow Quilt.
Now that I've finished my first bout of paper piecing, I'm kicking myself for having waited so long to try it. What a chicken! It was super fun, and I'm excited about all the design doors this is going to open. I've already picked out my next paper-piecing project, another quilt from Vintage Quilt Revival, of course.
The raindrop print is April Showers by Bonnie and Camille, the main gray fabric is Essex Yarn-Dyed in Steel, and the loopy fabric is from Sweetwater's Noteworthy collection. I used a different print for fun on the back, but I can't remember which collection it's from (It's been hanging out in my stash for quite a while.).
It's been over a month ago now, but I'm finally getting around to posting the pictures from my big sister's recent visit. It was too short (as most family visits are, it seems), but it was wonderful to have her here for a bit. We made the most of our time, flitting about the city and enjoying the nice weather.
We spent one morning exploring the botanical gardens, including a section that we'd somehow never visited before. (We're members of the garden and go there a lot, so it was kind of amazing that there was a part we hadn't seen.)
Of course, we feasted as well, enjoying several delicious meals out (oh, brunch, how I love you), and a dinner in to celebrate our tomato harvest from the garden.
On her final morning, the adults headed downtown after dropping B off at school, and we wandered around City Garden, Busch Stadium, and the Old Courthouse. It really is fun to play the tourist in your own city sometimes.
As always, we had a wonderful time and keep counting down until our next time with Aunt Nessie. We love you!
Introducing the I ♥ STL mini quilt!
I finished this quilt late last week, just in time to enter it for the STLMQG Celebrate St. Louis challenge at this month's meeting.
I used the same patchwork applique technique I'd previously used on the Texas and California pillows to create the Missouri and Gateway Arch designs. The quilt measures 20" square.
The background is a patchwork of low-volume fabrics. To top it off, I added a heart over St. Louis. I'd originally planned to make the heart royal blue, but then the hubs pointed out that yellow would be close to the colors in the city flag, so I made the switch (I think for the beter).
I quilted it in white using randomly spaced diagonal lines (apparently my preferred aesthetic for these state projects). The backing is Half Moon Modern Big Dots in Ruby, and I bound it using Dear Stella's Confetti Dot in Scarlet (my current favorite dot -- love all the colors it comes in!). Definitely a fun challenge and a good excuse to add a little mini to my sewing wall.
Just popping in for a quick WIP Wednesday. It felt so good to finish my two big WIPs and be back to the point of thinking, "What new project should I start?" I'm putting together a care package for a friend and wanted to include a small pouch. After flipping through a few of my sewing books, I came across one in Vintage Quilt Revival and decided to kill two birds with one stone: I was finally going to try my hand at paper piecing. And you know what? I did it!
It was nice to start with such a simple block, so I didn't get in over my head, and it came out (almost) perfectly. After my first tester block was a success, I dove in with the other 12 I needed.
The front of the pouch is all done and ready for assembly tonight. A lot of people warned me, and I'm starting to think they were right -- paper piecing is addicting.
I also wrapped up the mini quilt I was working on for an STLMQG challenge. I'm hoping to have a reveal post up tomorrow.
The neverending to do list:
Ironing board cover
Reusable snack bags
Washi dress/tunic
I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.
