paper-piecing

Quilter’s Patch – July blocks are history!

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The two July blocks are history and clearly ate my lunch! First was the Sweet Pea block which contained over 70 pieces for the 12-1/2″ block. The “leaves” were paper pieced and easy peasy. I love the accuracy of paper piecing. The only thing that bothered me about this block is the top blooms do not meet with the stem. I thought it was me but when I checked the photo in the book … yep … those top blooms do not meet either. I thought about taking the top row apart and re-doing it … not gonna happen … at least not now. Maybe before I put all the blocks together.

The second was the Bachelor Button block which contained lots of set-in seams in the blossom part of the block. This was a first for me. Even with great directions, it was not a pleasant experience. I have to say my third blossom looks so much better than the first … so I have that going for me. Also, it was difficult to get the blooms to lie flat. As a result, the blooms want to crinkle. Not sure that is the look the author was going for … but I am. The whole time I was piecing this one block, I kept telling myself … no way I’d do a whole quilt with set-in seams. Not me. The “leaves” on this block were super easy since half square triangle paper was provided to copy from the book. For most of us, piecing triangles are to be avoided at all costs. Thankfully, the triangle paper provided made the work so easy to an accurate little 2-1/4″ block.

Looking ahead to the current month … we have just one block for August. Do I hear an “amen?” It is the Hollyhock block and is the largest so far … 12-1/2″ by 24-1/2″. Pretty pink blooms dominate this block. Looks tedious with lots of curves. Prediction … this one is destined to be finished well in September.

Nativity quilt … the rest of the story!

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The quilt sold at live auction!
Our Nativity quilt was one of the items featured in the live auction at St. Martha’s Fall Festival on Saturday. It was a wonderful event for the whole family filled with fun, food, games for the kids, craft booths and fellowship! And yep … this is my final post about the Nativity quilt!

The live auction started at 7 pm. For a few ladies who stood off to one side closest to our quilt, you could cut the tension with a heavy-duty rotary cutter! After a full day of working our craft booth, several of Martha’s Quilters were in attendance for the live auction. Finally, our quilt came up for bidding. Our demeanor turned anxious as our quilt was finally brought forward. The minimum bid was $1,000. I held my breath. Would anyone in the crowd even bid on such an expensive item? Five long seconds passed. Finally, a lady raised her hand in the front row. Then a lady on the second row raised her hand. They battled back and forth and when the dust settled … our Nativity quilt … the one seven ladies worked on for three months … 843 fabric pieces and over 250 collective hours … the same quilt I had dreams about … what if we didn’t get it finished in time kinda dreams … the auctioneer announced “sold” … for $2,200! A very happy ending to a long journey.

Nativity paper-pieced quilt – part eight – Sally machine quilts!

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Sally took a turn at machine quilting this past week and we are loving her results! Lots of detailing in different areas like giving the sheep and dog texture, detailing on the kings, manager, fencing, donkey and cow. Did you notice our cow actually has a nose? I’m sure I missed pointing out some of the areas she worked on. My eyes were glazed over on Wednesday in admiration of her work! I didn’t get a tally on the hours Sally spent quilting, but she still has it for a few more days.

I also included a photo of Noreen’s sky quilting that I believe I left out a couple of weeks ago. Stunning!

Many thanks to the lovely Maria who spent several tedious hours this week “hiding” the threads! It is a thankless job but it has to be done!

Clara will get the quilt next week for the final round of quilting. Also completed this week … the binding is made and ready to be sewed on when the machine quilting is finished. The sleeve for the back of the quilt is also made so the finished quilt can be hung. Finally, the quilt label has been planned, Sally will embroidery, and we are nearing completion on an amazing project that has been a labor of love.

Our Nativity quilt will be auctioned on Saturday, October 3, at St. Martha’s Fall Festival.

Nativity paper-pieced quilt – part one

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Our Prayer Quilt Ministry is getting ready again for the St. Martha’s Catholic Church parish festival. This year it will be held on Saturday, October 3. Along with lots of crafty items for sale, our group has just started working on a special surprise for the silent auction.

The conception of the project began when Lynn brought to Noreen, our resident “Fabric Whisperer,” an intricate paper-pieced quilt pattern called, Advent Nativity, on the Paper Panache website. It is a stunning quilt! But it would be a HUGE project for just one person. I could almost see the wheels turning inside Noreen’s head at the possibilities. It wasn’t long before she was organizing a group of us to make the quilt. Certainly seven pairs of hands could pull this quilt together. With Noreen at the helm there was Sally, Liz, Helaine, Lynn, Clara and myself volunteering for the assignment. No small task, Noreen enlarged the quilt by 190% and put together the quilt sections with fabric pieces into zip lock bags. When finished, the quilt will be 60 inches wide. I don’t recall the length.

Last week, seven of us took home instructions and fabric pieces for a small section of the quilt. I was given the Kneeling King. It had been five years since I’d tackled a paper-pieced project, so I was a little nervous. I have to confess, in the privacy of my sewing room last week, I said a bad word a few times after ripping out the same two small fabric pieces three times.

On Wednesday, everyone brought their paper-pieced assignments in and laid them out. There were lots of confessions of frustration, but you couldn’t tell by wonderful results. I was very impressed! This week will be easier!

Three more weeks of sewing assignments and then the task of sewing the small sections together. This week I was assigned a Shepherd.

Tell me what you think?