Today is What's Her Name's day for the latest blog from Madame Samm! Amy, a fellow Canadienne, is our hostess for this wonderful blog hop and she is also a fabulous quilter herself! Come join me and visit my fellow pawticipants today!
November 13th
November 13th
Living with purpose
I was drawn to this blog hop for two reason- first it was for the man in my life and also it would occur just before his birthday! (The original ending date was 13 November, which is the day before Geoff's birthday but of course it had to be extended due to its obvious popularity!) As Blogville knows, Geoff is a railroad man and of course one would expect me to make a train related quilt! (I do have a great pattern but that is for Christmas) Instead, I opted for something new- paper piecing a mariner's compass oval! I had seen the sample for a class at my favorite store, Jackman's Fabrics in St Louis, and fell in love with it. Unfortunately it involved paper piecing, a technique in which I had absolutely no interest in attempting. However, Geoff had accompanied me to Jackman's one weekend and he saw me just drooling over the sample and had me sign up to see if I could learn paper piecing. We paid for the class and Geoff helped me to pick out my fabrics, as the wall hanging was intended for him. The teacher, Lisa is a wonderful quilter and patient! I had the most difficult time getting my points even, and I got very familiar with my seam ripper! I was the only student to not finish piecing the oval during class. I was so frustrated, with HBO and Showtime words dancing around in my head, that I shoved the fabric and directions out of sight for a week, convinced that I would never get a handle on it. When I did sit down to at least finish piecing the oval, I only had to rip out two lines of stitching and was able to piece the entire oval in two hours. I found that I did enjoy paper piecing, after I remembered Lisa's tips, and will be taking more of her classes. I finished the borders and quilting today and am very happy with how it came out. My points are not all perfect but this technique was a challenge and I am so happy that I did not just chuck it in! Geoff loves how the center medallion turned out and I hope that he loves how the finished product came together!
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| Chip and Anna checking out the wall hanging |
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| But Mom, I am comfortable! |
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| Ta Da!!! |
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| Close Up of the center medallion |
Love your paper pieced star! Me being a wiggly stitcher, paper piecing is my favorite way to go. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job. I love the colors.
ReplyDeleteOh Yeah...Happy Birthday Geoff! You are a fantastic husband and dachshund daddy.
Cindy, Millie & Walter
Good for you in learning something new, sticking with it to the finish, and who cares about imperfections as it is a gift from the heart.
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome! You finished it! Wow! I reckon I wouldn't have the courage to start! It looks fantasic!
ReplyDeleteLove this wall hanging. It is really beautiful. Congrats on your paper piecing!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great. Congratulations on sticking with it!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great, I love the oval shape! Paper piecing is tricky and very frustrating when you first start but after a while it all falls into place and comes more easily!
ReplyDeleteYour Mariner's Compass is amazing! What a fabulous wall hanging! Good for you sticking to it and getting it finished. Great job!
ReplyDeletelovely star you created, glad you joined us
ReplyDeleteLovely!! I like that center medallion too!!
ReplyDeleteLooks great!!! Thanks for sharing in the hop!
ReplyDeleteThat looks very complex, but you did a great job with it!
ReplyDeleteVery nicely done!i love the colors-Geoff did a good job p picking them.those points are tricky, I am glad you perservered
ReplyDeleteI have yet to tackle these... yours is very nice.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your hubby!
Beautiful quilt! I see that you have the Doxie seal of approval!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful and I love the blues!
ReplyDeleteSO, not all the points are there, but I would say you did a great job with this being your first experience with paper piecing. I like how it looks 3D in the picture.
ReplyDeleteDespite the problems it's simply stunning! blessings, marlene
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you stuck with it because it is so beautiful. Great job. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt's gorgeous! I wouldn't worry about the points. Your man won't! I'm sure he'll love it!
ReplyDeleteNice work, beauty of a star!
ReplyDeleteI think it turned out just great. No one would have noticed those points if you hadn't mentioned it. Great hop!
ReplyDeleteThat is a beautiful piece.
ReplyDeleteIf a dog sits on it...it's totally acceptable !
ReplyDeleteIt looks beautiful to me, even with the pup sitting on it. Very nice work!
ReplyDeleteGood for you for tackling this complex design - it is a Great finish!
ReplyDeleteGlad you stuck with it. Your medallion turned out great.
ReplyDeleteGreat finish! As my mom would say,those little imperfections just add character :) Most times we are the only ones who ever notice them anyway.
ReplyDeleteThat is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job with your first paper pieced pattern! I love to do paper piecing so always enjoy seeing what others do. Great job!
ReplyDeletePaper piecing takes some time to get into the groove. You did a great job, and the colors are fabulous!
ReplyDeletePaper piecing takes some time to get into the groove. You did a great job, and the colors are fabulous!
ReplyDeleteWe think it is great and we know it will be well loved.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Wednesday.
Best wishes Molly
Great job! It looks wonderful. Congrats on sticking with it to learn a new technique.
ReplyDeleteStunning Star quilt "For the Boys". Thanks for hopping. Creative Stitching Bliss...
ReplyDeleteI love paper piecing. The more practice you do the easier it will be. Your star is very nice. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI think it looks perfect from here! Hooray for the boost of confidence your man gave you and the class that helped you learn a new technique. You sort of have to be able to think upside down and backwards to foundation piece. It does get easier!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Clever design to stretch out your Mariners Compass and make an oval. It's striking!!!
ReplyDeleteHe'll love it. Great work on you first paper piecing! Sew glad you joined us!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful piece. Never saw it done as an oval before. Really like that. Great taht you are learning new things. Geoff's birthday is a great motivator. Happy Birthday to him.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great star. I so envy those who can paper price so neatly. Some day I too will master it.
ReplyDeleteNice! I hope someday I'll be so talented. :)
ReplyDeleteLovely! The colors are wonderful. Great star quilt.
ReplyDeleteI still struggle with paper piecing...I explain it as having to think backwards. You did a great job!! Happy stitching, Pauline
ReplyDeleteAhhhhh....those colors!!! It is lovely!
ReplyDeleteWonderful little quilt. I have never had the courage to attempt something this difficult. Give yourself a pat on the back for trying something new and difficult and finishing it. It turned out great.
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderful
ReplyDeleteLily
This wall hanging turned out beautifully! I am impressed that it is your first paper piecing project. Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your creation with us today.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great, really! One quilter in my mini group uses a measure of what's "OK" that goes something like, If you can't see it when galloping by on a fast horse, it's just FINE!" Perfect is just not achievable in my world. I too have trouble with paper piecing; too often, the piece of fabric that looks way too big (so wasteful!) ends up not covering one corner of the area. But I am skilled at patching corners!
ReplyDeleteTerrific mariners star. It looks wonderful! I enjoy paper piecing, but mariners star scares the beejeebes out of me! Maybe I'll try to be brave like you and try it! Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteTaking 'my' husband to the fabric store would have been a nightmare!! :) Great medallion and I like it on the horizontal. Points look good to me. Always good to push ourselves to learn new things.
ReplyDelete