When I signed up to take part in the Hugs and Kisses blog hop I had never tried paper piecing as a technique. I'm always up to learn something new so I decided that taking part would give me the push I needed to find out what paper piecing is all about. I love English Paper piecing but that is totally different.
For this hop we received three paper piecing patterns that had been designed by Madame Samm from Sew We Quilt and Soma fromWhims and Fancies. I printed the patterns off and at that point I wondered if I could actually manage to make something.
The first sheet was fine as it just had the pictures of the hearts and kisses shapes but underneath lurked a confusing diagram. What to do?
Well as a Brit there was only one thing to do ..put the kettle on for a pot of tea. A little later feeling calmer and refreshed I decided to stroke some fabric before taking another look at the pattern. I found this lovely FQ from the Lovey Dovey Collection from Riley Blake designs.
So back to the patterns. There was a kiss, a heart and a heart with an arrow through it. I decided the one with the arrow would be good to make.I'd already looked up how to paper piece in my quilting techniques book so now to put it into practice.
I decided that now would be a perfect time to start my double wedding ring quilt that I am going to make to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. The arcs in this design are paper pieced but the pattern is much simpler than the ones for this hop.
The arc worked well and was easy to make. I did find it rather wasteful on fabric but that could be because I'm new to the technique. Having had this practice I was now ready to get on with the pattern. I had decided that I would make a small mat. The block finishes at 10 inches square which is perfect for a candle mat.
As a first attempt at this technique I am very pleased with the end result. The shaft of the arrow where it enters the arrow head went a little wonky but I enjoyed the process and will be doing more paper piecing in the future.
Thank you Madame Samm for organising this hop, it has been fun and I've learnt something new. I'm going to make up the other two patterns in the future.
Now you need to visit the rest of today's participants. There's sure to be lots of great projects to see.
Lady Beth
Lady Jenny
Lady Britt-Inger
Lady Carla
Lady Marian
Lady Lyndsey
Have a great Thursday
Lyndsey
Even if it weren't a first effort, that looks really good! Congratulations for having more courage than I did. I just did the X!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! It takes a little practice and even after I've done it for awhile, there are a few in the trash that I just plain messed up. Your mat is beautiful. I've always wanted to start a double wedding ring, too.
ReplyDeleteLove your mat, job well done! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteA good first attempt! I have never tried PP before, either.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great. I love the fabric you chose. Thanks for sharing! xo jan
ReplyDeleteI love candle mats, and this one is beautiful... especially for a new technique!
ReplyDeleteWell done, and as a Swiss, I start my day or terrible difficult thinkings with coffee, you with tea!
ReplyDeleteYou did a wonderful job!
Your candle mat is so beautiful with a lovely fabric. Thanks for sharing and being part of this hop.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day
Your heart is so pretty, and I love the Riley Blake fabric :) hope you enjoyed your cup of tea!
ReplyDeleteYour very first attempt…and you are HERE…I could not even think of showing you my first PP>..it was welllll it did not look anywhere near what it was supposed to…YOUR HEART is very good…no really, ok so the arrow is a bit thick….it's because it did not go through the heart…lol the fabric is lovely and that heart is perfect….yep …your heart was in it and that to me is another challenge you succeeded at…way to go
ReplyDeleteLyndsey. Very cute heart, but I have to say - I want to see your progress on that DWR for your anniversary. Yes, there is "waste" with paper piecing, but the results of accuracy and perfect points and edges is well worth it. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYour first attempt is wayyyy better than mine was.. I have tried PP'ing 3 times and 3 times it made me mad so now I don't even try... ha!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary.... ours is day after tomorrow... 11 years. :)
Awesome work for your first piece! This will be my first attempt as well, and I am totally loving the process! At Christmas I purchased a christmas tree mug rug from the Quilting Gallery where she used scraps sewn together to make a fabric and then cut her trees from it. Until now, I did not see where she could have collected so many tiny scraps. Silly me, I`m such a novice LOL Now I can`t wait to make more scraps! Beautiful job Lyndsey, thanks sew for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLady Lyndsey - Oh, you bring back memories for me - I live in the States. My grandfather was a Brit. He always had a spot of tea in the afternoon. I had a flashback of his sitting at his place at the large kitchen table, drinking tea. Your paper piecing is great. I'm glad that you will be giving it a go some more. I think we are all anxious to see your DWR. I'm working on the binding on one for a quilt show in June. No, I didn't make it. A friend who was 89 made a king size DWR for me in about 3 weeks. I paid to have it professionally quilted (this lady has written books on quilting and patterns). My husband and I were planning to buy a king size bed. Well, long story short, we divorced (very, very tough decision on my part) and he was found dead in his apartment in July after we had been divorced 7 months. The lady is now 92. Today would have been that husband's birthday. So, I decided it's time to finish it and let it be OUR (group) first entry in a quilt show. Thank for the fond memories, your incredible work, and your marvelous inspiration.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job! I'm still struggling to complete a first attempt at PP lol. Your wedding ring quilt is off to a great start too.
ReplyDeletevery nice, Lyndsey!!!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job Lyndsey!
ReplyDeleteGood for you for trying something new! Great job and XOXO!
ReplyDeleteThe mat looks great Lyndsey and I love that Riley Blake fabric! blessings, marlene
ReplyDeleteA very nice finish on a "first time" project. Good for you for tackling something new! I can't wait to see your double wedding ring finished! That's one on my bucket list.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty candle mat! I love the rose fabric in the heart--very cheery. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour candle mat turned out great!
ReplyDeleteMy Valentine's Day gift from you turned out great! Hope it arrives on time!
ReplyDeleteVery nice! I've never tried paper piecing, it looks a little too tricky for me. :)
ReplyDeleteINTREPID! I love to learn new techniques, don't you? Your arc is very pretty and you did a great job on the heart. Pretty fabric, too!
ReplyDeleteYou're a fast learner! You did a great job on your heart!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great. Paper piecing boggled my mind the first few times I tried it, but once I got the hang of it, I do love the precision you get. There is a lot of waste though! :-)
ReplyDeleteNice job! And on your first try!
ReplyDeleteI love PP. You really can't do wrong with it as everything is already measured for you. The trick is those darn angles. They tripped me up something fierce! A few YouTube videos later, however, and I had a plan of attack.
ReplyDeleteTea and quilting...could there be a better combination?! I don't think so!
You did a great job.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job for someone new to paper piecing. I also love the idea of doing a double wedding ring quilt for your anniversary.
ReplyDeleteIt's always fun to tackle new techniques. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteWay to go with your first attempt!! I like how your did your flight on the arrow, it's very realistic. Glad to know a beginner can make something turn out as well as you did, someday I'll be tempted into paper piecing. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDelete~Brandy
Lovely candle mat. Pretty fabric choice for the heart. Not an easy pattern for a first attempt at PP and you did a great job! Looking forward to seeing more of you DWR quilt. XOs from me to you ... <3 Pat
ReplyDeleteNice job and very brave of you to try a new technique. Your mat turned out so cute.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job....I am only learning too. I keep telling myself that the more I do it the better I SHOULD get!
ReplyDeleteVery nice work. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou did a very good job. I love paper piecing.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a wonderful job. I wouldn't have guessed your were a beginner to this process.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous first pp project!! You will be amazed at how easy some of the simple pp patterns are, after doing this heart and arrow~!! It's pretty and you'll be thinking of this new technique each time you look at your pretty heart candle mat.
ReplyDeletesusie
I think you did a wonderful job your first time PP.
ReplyDeleteYour heart looks fabulous! I can't believe it's your first paper piecing project!! The fabric you used it beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for joining the blog hop!
-Soma
Lovely heart, cute fabrics!
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine to you
x-o
Bente
Great heart - pretty material - a cuppa is always a good thing - chocolate too!
ReplyDeleteLooks fabulous, Lyndsey!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you chose the hardest of the paper piecing blocks to make and you did a great job.
ReplyDeleteGreat first paper piecing project. I love your fabric. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLovely PP Heart with Arrow. This looks like you are an expert at PP. Thank you sew very much for Hopping...
ReplyDeleteLovely candle mat, but I love the colors you are using in your Double Wedding ring! I can't wait to see how it turns out.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job on your little mat and the colours are so pretty. Happy Valentine Day.
ReplyDeleteVery good; paper piecing is certainly a whole different ball of wax. Your block turned out very well. I was also impressed with the arc that you'd pp. Some patterns actually give you measurement sizes for each of the pp sections; that can help with the waste problem.
ReplyDeleteThis pattern made a very cute Valentine candle mat. I really like the fabric for your heart. I also love the arc for your double wedding ring quilt. Congratulations on 30 years coming up!
ReplyDeleteYou're brave - good job! Turned out great.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job with your heart mat. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou did a beautiful job on your heart and I love that you took on the challenge of paper piecing...sweet! Happy Valentines Day!
ReplyDeleteLovely, and your first attempt, too! Thanks for sharing and, I agree, a pot of tea always helps steam the wrinkles out of a problem, doesn't it? My oldest just returned from Europe and the UK and brought me good tea...yum! Beth @ Words & Stitches, pbstrand@msn.com
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job on your first tries at paper piecing! It can be confusing at first, especially the angled bits. Your candle mat is very pretty!
ReplyDeleteI don't even remember my first attempt at paper piecing, but the one thing I can tell you is that I'm sure it wasn't as good as you did. Congratulations on being brave enough to show up today, to show off and let us in on your first time. It takes total courage to do that and I believe you did a great job.
ReplyDeleteand btw.. paper piecing is a huge waste of fabric, that's why people tend to use scraps or they cut there templates first which makes absolutely no sense to me since the whole idea is to sew and cut. :)
Your first paper piece was a great success, very lovely.
ReplyDeleteit looks great! Yep, paper piecing can be wasteful, but it's great for pictoral quilts or projects.
ReplyDeleteI tried foundation piecing for the first time on Monday. Our teacher had some great tricks for not wasting too much fabric and I bought a great little quarter inch ruler which works so well!
ReplyDelete