What's going on this week is mostly a lot of thinking and planning and getting organized. Happy New Year! I'm working on my Midnight Mystery blocks, which I'll show you soon, but I'm also thinking about a couple upcoming projects.
One is a Wizard of Oz themed baby quilt. I'm waiting on some fabrics to arrive, so I can see if I can make my vision come to life. It's a gift for my sister who is expecting a baby in March. Probably no peeks until I give it to her.
The second project I'm trying to get a handle on is my Rainbow Mini Swap quilt for round 2. We ship at the beginning of March, so I have a lot of time, but I've decided to paper piece a million little triangles.
Okay, not a million, but a bunch. I've prepped a bunch of fabric for the project. I'm using five Modern Background Paper prints in white for the background, and a rainbow of fabrics for the feature design.
The paper piecing itself shouldn't be tough. I think these units lend themselves to chain piecing. Yay! But I'm a little intimidated by the upcoming y-seams when I attach them all together. The pattern is Hexie Tiles by Julie at 627handworks.
Another new project this month will be a Color Strata quilt. I'm taking my first quilting class, with Rob Appell when he's in town to speak at SCVQA at the end of the month. His free tutorial is available online. I decided to use Christa Watson's designer palette of Kona for this project. I'll also have a pop color to contrast with these reds, oranges, yellows and greens.
Tomorrow I'll show you the lengthy WIP list these projects have been added to. ;-)
Thanks for visiting. I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.
Cheryl
I am excited about the rainbow paper pieced project, it is going to be awesome.
sarah
Post authorThank you. I've tweaked my original idea a couple times and now I'm more excited about it, too. :-)
Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
The color strata quilt is going to be lovely, and I really like your rainbow pull for the swap. I am so impressed with everyone who does such meticulous paper piecing work.
sarah
Post authorIt was so hard to choose colors for the color strata, but I think I'll be happy with this. I think I've only used all solids for one small quilt, so this will be a bit of a first -- I'm hoping for lap quilt, though I may have to do something creative to get to that size since I only purchased one jelly roll. I do like paper piecing for the precision.
Laura
I really like your plan for the Rainbow Mini quilt - I'm impressed with how organized you are too! All I've done so far is sketched mine out. Very curious to see the Wizard of Oz themed quilt once you do the reveal as well.
sarah
Post authorI'm trying not to be so last minute as usual. ;-) It helps that this is the only current open swap I have (well, in addition to one mini mini swap). Thanks for visiting, Laura. :-)
Bo Brackmann
I am so excited about the Wizard of Oz quilt. One of my favorite movies!!
sarah
Post authorI've just started reading the book with the kids. And this morning we listened to some of the music. I'm excited to watch the movie with them sometime (soonish, I hope).
Lisa
This post is just filled with brilliant colour, just right to boost the spirits in Winter. I'm sure these will be wonderful when finished.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Lisa. It will be really fun to work on, and I'm sure hard to give away. :-)
Alison
I am still having trouble deciding what to do for my Rainbow Mini swap! I think your plan looks great though!
sarah
Post authorThere's SO much inspiration on the hashtag. I'm excited to have an active IG partner who gave me good info. That always makes a swap more fun for me. :-)
mell-meyer
Those all look & sound like great projects. And your swap partner will be amazed - well, I am. Those look like tiny, tiny bits! Started following you on instagram so I can see the finished one, too.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Mell. I'll certainly be sharing pics of this one on IG, but since I work on a lot of projects at once it may be a while. ;-)
Bethany Whipps
Wow!! You have some fun projects going on. I love the fabrics for the rainbow mini. Love. Love. Love.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Bethany. Maybe too many fun projects. (I'm working on tomorrow's WIP post at the moment... spoiler: It's long!) Thank you for visiting. I enjoying pulling the rainbow fabrics from my stash. You just can't go wrong with a rainbow! :-)
Denise
I'm intrigued by your zillions of triangles - you tease! And I really love the jelly roll for the colour strata. Looking forward to your next installment....
sarah
Post authorI'd say that I don't mean to be a tease, but I do since it's for a swap. ;-) Thanks for visiting, Denise.
Anja @ Anja Quilts
Your Hexie Tiles is going to look amazing. Love Christa's palette!!
sarah
Post authorThanks, Anja. I love the gradient in her palette which is just what I needed for the project. I hope the pop color of Kona that I ordered online is what I want when it arrives. Otherwise, I'll have to hop over to Intrepid Thread to actually look at the Kona options in person. (I need one of those color cards since I have decided to dive into solids this year.)
elaine
I have always been a little scared of paper piecing! I would really like to learn properly this year.
sarah
Post authorHi Eliane. I think the key to being successful with paper piecing is to start with something that's not too hard. Think large pieces and rectangles and triangles. The envelope block is a good one. My post mentions the book I got it out of, but there's a crafty pattern called "You've Got Mail" that is the same basic idea. I'd suggest looking for some youtube tutorials on paper piecing. There are a lot of great tips out there. And as with anything, there are different strategies for doing it.