Friday, November 2, 2012

Sew Seasonal - A Christmas blog hop. Day 2


Welcome to day 2 of the Sew Seasonal blog hop! 

So last week I gave you a little sneak peek of what I would be sharing as part of the blog hop.


Any guesses??

Alyce of BlossomHeartQuilts and Kristy of Quietplay have designed 25 patterns as part of this blog hop and I was lucky enough to score the pattern for Mary and Joseph designed by Kristy.


This is a fabulous pattern and I had a lot of fun doing it. The fabrics that I used for Mary's outfit, and Joseph's beard and headware are all from Figgy Pudding by Moda - a Festive themed collection that was released in 2009.



Now, I am in no way a paper piecing expert, but here are a few tips for paper piecing that I find useful.

1. Keep your stitch length short - it makes removing the paper at the end so much easier.

2. If you have trouble visualising what you need to sew, you can always trace your pattern onto tracing paper or baking paper and use that to sew through. I did that for a while when I first started paper piecing. I know have enough confidence to sew using regular paper.

3. If in doubt, use a bigger piece of fabric. I hate unpicking, and most of my unpicking results from using a piece of fabric that is too small for the job. Use bigger pieces until you gain confidence.

4. Spray starch is your friend. 

5. When joining each piece of the pattern together, I find i get a better result if I keep the paper on the back. It keeps everything rigid and together and allows you to see where your seams should line up.






Now I made my little block into a Christmas card to that we will give to my son's teacher as part of her end of year Christmas thank you.




If you would like to try this pattern or any of the others featured in the Sew Seasonal blog hop, you can download them for FREE here and here

Don't forget to head over and visit Jane at WhereJaneCreates for today's other project!





33 comments:

  1. Love the Christmas card idea! It looks so sweet! You did such a great job on piecing this one!

    Btw you've converted me to keeping my paper on my paper pieced blocks now! ;)

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    1. Aww thanks :). And glad that I have been able to teach you something after all the help you have given to me!

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  2. Awww, they turned out so well.
    Loving the Christmas card idea too - would never have thought of that. Might have to just "borrow" this idea if you don't mind! LOL.

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    1. It was all I could come up with at short notice and with most of my fabrics packed away. I used to do cards with cross stitch, so I thought why not with paper piecing!

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  3. Great idea to make it into a card! Those are some teenie tiny paper pieced bits - I am so impressed!! And starch is my friend too :)

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    1. I am getting better with the small pieced bits although I still use bigger fabric pieces than I need to. I have to work on that!

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  4. Great job! This is perfect for a card! ( You may want to visit me tomorrow.)

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  5. What a lovely idea to make it into a christmas card. Beautiful !!

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    1. Thanks alyce! I'm looking forward to trying some of your blocks too!

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  7. Gorgeous! I'm planning to do this one, with baby Jesus and the angel. What size did you do this block?

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    1. Hi Waverlee, I just did the 5" block. It wasn't too fiddly :). I am hoping to do baby Jesus and the angel as well.

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  8. This is lovely, so intricate and perfect points!

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    1. I really love the accuracy that you can achieve with paper piecing :)

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  9. Good job on the paper piecing! It still is my enemy!

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  10. Your paper piecing is wonderful! Love that you put it on a card - so cute!

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    1. Kristy designs such easy to use patterns that make the piecing a breeze! Looking forward to seeing your post on Monday :)

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  11. What a wonderful idea. I love it too that you put it on a card!

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    1. Thank you. I think it will make a very special gift for my son's teacher.

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  12. Nice to see that Mary and Joseph got some romance into that Christmas somehow.

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    1. There's a lot to be said about a bit of hand holding :)

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  13. What a great idea to make a card - very cute!

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  15. This is just beautiful! Your card is an inspiration.

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  16. Thanks :). I am really pleased with how the block turned out. Kristy is a very talented designer!

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  17. Beautiful block and I love how you turned it into a card! I am definitely going to use your starch tip in the future. I never thought about using it on my paper piecing blocks, but I can see how it would be a HUGE help!

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  18. Your son's teacher is going to be thrilled with her card, that is a great idea.

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