1/20/2015

Building Houses, FMQ and Paper Piecing

One of my quilty friends sent me a charm pack last year of Sweetwater's Road 15, thanks again Moira! I instantly knew I wanted to make a wall mini house quilt. I love Sweetwater, they will always be my favorite designers I think!



I originally was going to use a tutorial from Moda Bake Shop but I wanted doors. I found a super easy tutorial on you tube. It uses only charms and 2.5" squares. These were so fast to cut and easy to sew. I will share more when it's completed.

I really didn't make any resolutions this year. I have been struggling more each week with my health. Finding answers has been a long road. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer a couple weeks ago. My testing has shown a mutation that can indicate a more aggressive strain. I'm just in the beginning of all this, so there's many unknowns still. I don't think this is the whole of my problems but I'm hoping I am at least on a path now of getting back to better at some point soon! I decided this year I want to focus more on doing things I WANT to do in quilting. I love house quilts so that was first on my list. I also tried free motion quilting for the real first time! I think I did pretty good you guys!


I know I need lots of practice but I was pretty darn happy with my first go and I can totally do this someday!


I did enough that I know what speed will work good for my machine. I only had one issue and it was only in a couple places, what I think they call "eyelashes" on the back. I can't remember what causes that so I need to go back to my Craftsy class and look that up. Or I'm sure one of you have the answer :)

 Next I tried a very simple paper piecing. Twice. And I failed. I learned that you have to start with pretty big scraps until you get more experienced. I followed directions (what I thought to be) exactly and two of my pieces still ended up going the wrong direction. I will get it figured out because I love the beautiful quilts that can be made with this technique. Another one of my goals this year is to make harder quilts. Ones that may take twice as long but will be worth the effort!
I wanted to share something I found at Big Lots. They had these newsprint packs on clearance for 75 cents! I bought the last 3 they had hoping it would work through my printer and it did, perfectly! I had to trim them slightly to fit through my printer but they worked great for printing my paper piecing patterns. I may need a lot of them...


Anyhow, if you paper piece and have a Big Lots near, you may want to raid the clearance aisle!


13 comments:

  1. Sending hugs and strength to you, my quilty friend - sounds like you are going through tough times with your health. All my positive thoughts and vibes being sent your way xx. And I must add - those little houses are wonderful - a house quilt is on my list too, they are just so freakin' cute!

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  2. Christine,
    Your houses are so cute, and your FMQ is beautiful--I never would have guessed it was your first time. Dealing with cancer is never easy. You'll be in my prayers as you go through whatever treatment may be in your future.
    Maureen

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  3. I do hope that while you are just at the beginning of this health journey, that it leads to some answers and resolution for you soon.

    The houses are really cute, and holy cow your first free motions quilting was a resounding success! :)

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  4. Oh Christine I will be praying for you!!! I think your resolution is wonderful!!! Also free motion quilting is on my to learn list this year and I think your first attempt was amazing!!!! Oh I'm super inspired!!!

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  5. I am so sorry for your cancer diagnosis, Christine! But I am glad that you have a diagnosis and can start treatment. Hopefully, you are on the road to healing.

    And your FMQ looks phenomenal! I can only manage to do straight-line quilting, so I am quite impressed! :)

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  6. So sorry for you health issues, :( Will be praying for healing and strength. I too am going to be trying FMQ this year. Have done pot holders and one baby blanket. Yours looks wonderful. :)

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  7. Your quilting looks great. I would never have guessed it was your first time. I'm glad your focusing on what you want to do this year. I also want to learn paper piecing. How scary it must be to be diagnosed with cancer. I hope your treatment is short, and that you recover quickly and your health improves all round. I know the thyroid can effect your energy levels, mood, and weight, so I'm sure you will feel so much better when things are back to normal.

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  8. My thoughts and prayers are with you. I hope that you will be able to get the help you need now that you have a diagnosis. (And they may be able to figure out what else is going on.)

    Your projects here are adorable. And your FMQ looks great! I think the eyelashes on the back are caused by moving a little too fast on the curves if your tension is good everywhere else. I believe there is a post about it at Amy's Freemotion Quilting Adventures.

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  9. Great job on the FMQ! The house quilt is super cute.
    Wishing you a quick resolution to health problems.

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  10. So sorry to hear about your cancer. I'm glad you finally got answers to your health issue, I will keep you in my thoughts. Hugs.

    The houses are very cute! :-)

    Your quilting looks really nice! Which class did you take on Craftsy?

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  11. Christine, I so admire you! You just keep on quilting and creating beauty, even in the face of life's hardest trials. You know I am praying for you and keeping you in my thoughts. That was excellent FMQ-ing by the way. I love the Road 15 houses you've been making - that fabric is perfect for these.

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  12. Thank you for continuing to post even when your health issues could easily take over your life. Your quilting pictures are so inspiring and we would miss you out here in blogland if you stopped posting! Take care of yourself.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Tricia. That really does mean a lot!

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