Tag Archives: paper piecing

Let’s Get Acquainted New Bloggers blog hop

Today, it is my turn on the New Blogger blog hop. This post has been one of the hardest posts, I have had to write so far. I had fun writing it, it gave me some time to reflect on how far I have come and how much things have changed, since my blogging journey started. I am so excited, I have some great news to tell you and just want to blurt it out…. but first I should share some information about me 😉

Why did I start blogging?
I enjoy sewing/crafts, fine arts and cooking/baking and I wanted to share what I was doing with people of similar interest and join a community. Facebook just didn’t quiet have enough room for all my thoughts. That is what let to me blogging in September 2012.

How did I come up with my blog name?
When looking for a blog name I wanted Jack/Jill of all trades but that was taken, with a little use of google I found “Factotum”. Factotum is Latin, and in english means “a person having many diverse activities or responsibilities”. Perfect!! Factotum of Arts.

What are 6 things most people don’t know about me?

My banner for my blog is one of my chalk pastel drawings of a dried lily.
I started sewing in August 2012, before that I had made a pillow case in home ec. class when I was 13.
I studied in New Zealand, my undergrad is in Biology and Statistics, my Masters in Marine Science
I really like science fiction and fantasy. I am currently reading Finale, Becca Fitzpatrick; Clockwork Princess, Cassandra Clare; and Shadow of Night, Deborah Harkness. Buffy the Vampire, and Supernatural are two of my favorite shows.
My favorite places I have visited are Lisbon, Portugal; Prague, Czech Republic; Rarotonga, Cook Islands; Tahiti, French Polynesia
I grew up in New Zealand, lived in Sydney, Australia; Heidelberg/Mannheim, Germany and now live in Cary, North Carolina, USA and I love to travel.

What are my favorite aspects in quilting/sewing?
Fabric: I think my favorite thing, and somewhat an addiction…is fabric!!! I see a project in every fabric line.
Color: I really like being visually stimulated by color and then playing and using color when designing projects.
Ideas/Designing: I love taking an idea to the final product. My head is always full of projects floating around and I try to write or draw these down, so I don’t forget.
Best tip, so far: I was having trouble lining up rows for a postage stamp cushion, and Adrianne from “On the Windy Side” came to my rescue. Using her tips definitely helped in so many projects….here are her tips.
Projects: I love projects that can be done in a couple of hours and interspersing these with long-term quilting projects. It gives me a sense of accomplishment, and keeps me going on the longer projects. Here are some of my 2013 projects:

Now for my exciting news….I am introducing my first paper piecing pattern…

“Royal – X – Plus Block”

The block reminds me of a mashup of a union jack and the X & + Block (hence the name). It was inspired by a floor tile. I would consider this Intermediate due to the joins but an easy sew since they are all straight lines. The biggest tip I can give, is when joining the 3 sections using opposite pressed seams to match the pieces up (like you would matching up a row of squares).

I reached out to others participating in the New Bloggers blog hop and a big thank you goes out to my three testers that tested my pattern. I am so appreciative of the work and great feedback. Here are their blocks:

Cath @ Wombat Quilts, who posts a paper piece block every Monday which are always amazing!! She made her block 11.5 x 11.5″.

Alison @ Making Happyness, who is a newbie at paper piecing. Her first paper piecing was a beautiful rose.

Lisa @ Hilltop House Creative Works, made this very cute mini quilt from the block. I could definitely use this as a mug rug or a pot holder/trivet….don’t you think??

In the process of making the pattern I tried a couple of blocks, and after feedback from Alison I wanted to show you all how a couple of blocks would work together.

You can get the free pattern from Craftsy, here. If you try it out I would love to know, so I invite you to post photo’s of your finished block on my Paper Piecing Flickr Group.

Finally, check out the other modern quilting new bloggers participating in the blog hop:

Friday, June 7th
Nancy @ Owen’s Olivia
Amy @ 13 Spools
Ashley @ Wasn’t Quilt In A Day
Casey @ The Studiolo
Nanette @ Yeah, I Made That
Ange @ Heart Of Charnwood
Kim @ Robot Mom Sews
Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting

Friday, June 14
Julie @ Jolie Maxtin
Melissa @ Melia Mae Quilting
Adrianne @ On The Windy Side
Molli @ Molli Sparkles
Laura @ Little And Lots
Sarah @ Duck Egg Threads
Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation
Cari @ There’s A Thread
Valerie @ Between Quilts

Friday, June 21
Leigh Anne @ Ella’s Cottage
Stacey @ The Tilted Quilt
Sarah @ Quilt Candy
Jackie @ NW Patchwork
Liz @ Beadqueene’s Bits And Baubles
Erica @ Happy Fabric
Stephanie @ Simple Sewendipity
Lauren @ Seraphym
Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts

Friday, June 28
Green @ So Sew Green
Gwendellyn @ The Rainbow Revolts
Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme
Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap
Kathy @ Kayak Quilting
Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts
Paula @ The Sassy Quilter
Kris @ Sew Sunshine
Camilla @ Faffling

Friday, July 5
Christa @ Christa Quilts!
Alyce @ Wonderland By Alyce
Anna @ The Crooked Banana
Rachel @ Sew Happily Ever After
Stephanie @ Quarter Incher
Shayla @ Sassafras Lane Designs
Caroline @ Carolines Craftiness
Lisa @ Hilltop House Creative Works

Friday, July 12
Leona @ Leona’s Quilting Adventure
Karen @ Karen, {Novice} Quilter
Anne @ PlayCrafts
Rachel @ Let’s Begin Sewing…
Jan @ Sew And Sow Farm
Anna @ Quilting Along The Grain
Cath @ Wombat Quilts
Sarah @ {No} Hats In The House

Friday, July 19
Karen @ Little Birdie Quilting Studio
Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures
Katie @ Snuggle Up With A Dish From Karma
Alison @ Making Happyness
Ella and Nesta @ Ella & Nesta’s Little Room
Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Nicole @ Modern Handcraft
Aylin @ AyliN-Nilya
Kelsey and Amanda @ Everyday Fray

Friday, July 26
Vicki @ A Quilter’s Mission
RobinSue @ RobinSue Quilts
Elisa Lea @ Lovelea Designs
Elizabeth @ In The Boon Docks
Jenny @ A Note To Follow Sew
Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts
Sonia @ Fabric & Flowers
Emily @ Sew E.T.
Em @ Sewing by Moonlight

Finish it up Friday {21.06.2013}: Hexagon Trivet + Winner

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I was just reminded on the radio that it is the longest day of the year today. The scary thing is that means we are almost 1/2 way through the year….where did that time disappear? I have so much on my to do list still for the year, however, one of those items was the Patchwork Please Hexagon Trivet. Today, I have finished one!!

For those that do not know (I am assuming that will only be a few people), Patchwork, please is a great book of crafting/patchwork projects. I have rave reviews for this book , 5 stars, and the projects are simple and relatively quick.

Some of the projects, I have already made from the book include the pin cushion, pencil case and the market tote.

For the hexagon trivet, my favorite part is the center, featured fabric. A friend of mine that I meet in blogland, Melanie Paul @ The Original Thread, designs her own fabrics and sells them on Spoonflower.com (as Madex). The center fabric is one of hers, it is retro kitchenalia and comes in various colors. This was a paper-piecing pattern which was relatively easy, however I had two things to remember next time I make this:

Choose my colors up front, I actually had Citrus and Navy originally and I did not like them so I unpicked the two rows (this was a little tedious).
Since, I also did this late in the evening, I continually made mistakes on which line I should be sewing on, which meant more unpicking. Note to self: should not do projects after 11pm.

Here is the back, it is using left over scraps from the Les Amis fabric line.

Another view of the front:

That was my finish it up Friday project, thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend. I am linking up with Amanda Jean @ CrazyMomQuilts, also linking up with Kristy @ Quiet Play (click on button). Also, don’t forget to check out the Zakka Along 2.0 Flickr group to join in the fun of the sewing the projects in the book.

The winner of my Lotta Jansdotter give-away is:

And the luck #6 winner was….Elizabeth @ In the Boon Docks. Elizabeth I have sent you an email, just let me know your address.

Weekend finishes…Chair Bags, Pencil Case, Coffee cup sleeve

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I am switching my posts around today, as I am waiting to get photos of the hubby for the our weekly recap and menu plan. So, instead today here are my weekend finishes.

1. New 3 pocket chair bag (chair pocket) set for my Etsy store. I desperately need a couple of girl sets, so I chose purple to start. The materials I used for these were corduroy, and home essential fabrics that I had purchased at JoAnn’s.

2. A pencil case using one of the projects from Patchwork, Please by Ayumi Takahashi. It is a paper piecing project with small pieces. Unfortunately, this one is definitely not perfect, I had traced the pattern onto paper, and with the slight inaccuracies from tracing, then the slight sewing inaccuracies the pencil tops were a little wonky. I would recommend using a photocopier instead of tracing, at least I will next time. I chose not to do the embroidery stitching this time as I thought there was enough color with the choices of the fabric below.

I used the following materials:

Yellow: Riley Blake, Yellow on yellow Chevron.
Orange: Crosshatch in Tangerine from the Architextures collection by Carolyn Friedlander for Robert Kaufman.
Green: Metro Living Circles in Chartreuse from the Metro Living Collection from Robert Kaufman Fabrics.
Purple: Lizzie House’s Pearl Bracelet in purple for Andover Fabrics.
Blue: Bubbles in Blue from Maritime Modern by Marin Sutton for Riley Blake.
Grey: Essex Linen Blend
Main Pocket: Osnaburg (with Pellon Shape flex for strength….I really need to purchase some neutral linen)
Lining: Lucie Summers, Summersville, Alphabetty Seafoam Fabric.
Ribbon: From JoAnn
Zip: From ZipIt

The back is quilted simply with a straight line.

If you like this and my pin cushion you should join the Zakka Along 2.0 :: Patchwork, Please Flickr Group which starts June 3rd (I am just loving this book and being too keen which is funny as I am always so late to participate).

3. I made another hexagon coffee cup sleeve – this one I am keeping. I tried a couple of new things with my design, I changed the stitching I used to join the hexagons which definitely hid the stitches a little better, and I sewed the elastic tie between the layer. I used the Sew Stitchy by Aneela Hoey for Moda fabric which I used in the above pin cushion. Additional materials you can find in here.

4. The last project I made, which I did not get photos for. It was a little Easter pouch/pocket that I made as a gift for Sean’s friend. She loved it and all the goodies inside.

Linking up with Plum and June and with Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts

“Royal – X – Plus Block”

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