A modern baby quilt…

Posted in Finished Quilts by wombatquilts

This week I finished the binding on my Paper Piecing Monday baby quilt. I am so thrilled with how this quilt turned out…and how easy it was to make.

As you can see the quilt used just four of my paper piecing Snowball patterns, and they really are the stars of the show. My favorite block is definitely this one…

But you can find the free paper piecing pattern for all the blocks under the “Free Paper Piecing Patterns” tab if you want to make your own version.

To build out the quilt I cut a bunch of 6 1/2 square blocks from my black and white stash. The blocks were just the perfect size so I could play with layout and see how I wanted the quilt to flow.

I originally started with the pink blocks running down the side of the quilt, but after some procrastination went for the layout I have now – one row below the paper pieced blocks and 5 above.

I had some serious fun fussy cutting… this block in particular seemed so appropriate for a baby quilt…

The quilt could easily have been made longer by adding another row or two of black and white blocks but I liked the square format.

For the quilting I ran straight lines down the quilt and then sewed intersecting vertical lines thru the paper pieced squares.

For the back I used some fun pink number fabric and some black and white dots. Nothing too fancy. The binding was of course scrappy pink solids!

This quilt is destined for an exciting life when my friends baby is born. They are an amazing couple that lead a slightly unconventional life. A traditional baby quilt was not going to do…

Quilt Details:

Technique: Paper piecing and simple patchwork.
Block size: 12 inches
Quilt Size: 48 x 48 inches

4May2015

Dealing with bulky seams….PP Monday style

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday by wombatquilts

After making my green star for this week I ummed and ahhed about whether to share it on the blog. I love the star, but it suffers from the problem that a lot of paper piecing stars suffer from… a bulky center.

It is a fun star but the center is where 16 points of fabric meet, and as the star is only 8 inches square it makes for a lumpy middle. Now this is a problem that I came across when I first started making paper pieced stars and there are a couple of tricks for minimizing the bulk.

1. Iron seams open… ALL the seams are ironed open on my stars… and when the paper is removed I starch the seams so that all they want to do is stay open.

2. Remove the paper pattern in the corners BEFORE I sew all the pieces of the star together.

This step means you are less likely to get paper stuck in the center joins… and so less bulk.

3. Use tweezers to remove any excess paper that does get stuck….

The only other trick is I have found that quilting through the bulk helps soften it, and with time, washing also softens it too.

Now there is only so much of the bulkiness you can effect… at the end of the day the bulk is there because so many seams are meeting at the same point. I personally think the visual effect of the stars are worth the extra bulk…

Now, if I have not turned you off this pattern, you can find the PDF here….turning star pattern.

Enjoy.

13Apr2015

Ellen’s Snowball…

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday by wombatquilts

Last week I posted the last pink block I was using for the baby quilt I am making….it was not my last pink snowball though. While posting on Instagram a friend requested I send the quilt to her…I could not oblige but as a compromise I said I would make her a pillow.

So this weekend I sat down and designed Ellen a snowball block. I must admit I was a little influenced by the New York Beauty blocks I have been making…and I came up with this.

It is a little more complex than some of the snowball blocks but I love how it turned out. The block consists of 56 pieces but came together really quickly. I of course had to throw in some dinosaurs and my beloved Aussie kangaroo print.

Now the block you are looking at is 16 inches big. I enlarged the pattern for the cushion and will add a black and white border around the block to have finished size of 18 inches. So this weeks pattern comes in two sizes… the original 12 inch block for those that want it as an option to go with the other blocks…Ellens Snowball 12 Inch pattern. And just in case you are interested in doing a pillow version like me the 16 inch pattern (which comes in two pieces/pdfs)…Ellens Snowball Pattern A and Ellens Snowball Pattern B.

6Apr2015

Pink is the new….

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday by wombatquilts

Another Pink themed Paper Piecing Monday…

Today’s block is the last one for my baby quilt. It is another EQ inspired block that I turned into a paper pieced pattern. You can find the free PDF pattern for this 12 inch block here…Pinwheel Snowball

Now that I have completed four of these blocks, I have been playing with the layout for the baby quilt. For the first time I had a plan for my paper piecing Monday blocks before I started making them…

I knew I wanted to make the most of the scrappy black and white background fabric so I cut a stack of 6 1/2 inch square blocks from my b/w stash and started playing with the layout.

I have a bit more rearranging to do with the blocks, but I am close to being happy with the layout. My hope is to have the top done by Friday…weather permitting!

30Mar2015

Pretty in Pink

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday by wombatquilts

I am running a little late today…sorry but it is still Monday in the US so I am still within the set parameters of Paper Piecing MONDAY! So here goes…

I ummed and ahhed about making the center of the block black and white or pink. A pink center give the blocks a cool star at its center but I liked how the black and white highlighted the pennant like section of the block.

The free pattern for this 12 inch block can be found here….Pink ball 3.

I will have four blocks done next week which will allow me to start playing with the layout of the quilt top. I promise to include some wip photos of all the blocks next week.