EPP for MNQ

To explain, that would be English Paper Piecing for Monday Night Quilting. I am very fortunate to have a group of ladies who try very hard to get together on a weekly basis. I’ve been going to MNQ for about 16 years now, nearly every Monday evening for a couple of hours to stitch and chat. With the help of the lovely Jessica over at Life Under Quilts, I’m going to be trying to focus on getting more done on my EPP projects. The hexie project above was started with the help of the Get Your Hex On Flickr Group last spring. I was first introduced to EPP by my sweet friend Miss JJ from PragmaticPatchwork. I was intrigued but not sure I wanted to do it. But I decided to take the plunge and join the Hexie Virtual Bee on Flickr. When it was my turn to be Queen Bee, I chose to make this design after seeing something similar online that reminded me of Hawaiian flowers floating on water. It’s a much brighter palette than I’ve used in the past but I’m loving it.

Hawaiian Hexies
Hawaiian Hexies

I even took it to hospital with me in the late summer, though I didn’t expect I’d be there long enough to use surgical tape to make a design wall in my room. It did make for something bright and pretty to look at though.

Hexies in the Hospital
Hexies in the Hospital

There are 11 of us in the group and everyone made me one hexie flower. I did three extra and all of the blues. I think I’ve got about 150 hexies completed, using the 1.5″ hexie papers. I think I have about another 50 to complete & then another 50 or so to put around the edges for a different kind of finishing. They will wrap around to the back. We’ll see how that will go.

These are my usual tools. I have a big bag I carry my projects in so everything I use goes into this little plastic box that snaps shut and keeps everything from being all over the bottom of the bag. I piece with Aurifil 50wt and love my glue stick! I made the blue needle case a few years ago and have used it since.

Tools of the trade
Tools of the trade

I’m linking up with Jessica and the others with the hope that it will keep me focused to finish this. I was intending to add a bit at the top to allow it to hang across the front of my upright piano. I over-estimated the size so now it’s much bigger than I expected (about 55″ x 30″). Perhaps I’ll need to get a bigger piano. 😀

Thanks for stopping by!

Hearts 1st Sig White-sm

 

 

Follow on Bloglovin

 

16 thoughts on “EPP for MNQ

  1. helen beall says:

    That water color is so perfect for your brights! Glad to see another Aurifil lover, too. It’s the best choice for all sewing. Like their 12wt too.

  2. Allison says:

    Wow – very beautiful and I bet there was a lot of ‘hospital room envy’ when those hexies were on the wall 🙂

    I have never tried the glue stick, but see that a lot of people like them so I may just have to give it a try one day.

    Very nice on-the-go kit too! Can’t wait to see everything come together and thank you for sharing!

  3. pragmaticpatchwork says:

    Beautiful, my dear friend! Vibrant and colourful. Never have I seen a prettier hospital room, either. And to answer your previous comment, YES glue sticks really do work (special ones, at least, but it looks pretty similar, only smaller, to usual stuff… but this claims to wash out nicely). It totally takes the faff out of it, and allows you to get stitching fast — which is personally what I prefer. I found it really helped for larger shapes where you have to do pretty intense basting if you don’t want the paper popping out. JJ

  4. Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge says:

    Don’t you just love hexies! I think 2013 might have been the year of EPP for me, but I’ve mostly stuck to small projects like needle cases and pillows. A full quilt just seems a little too daunting for me. I’ve never used a glue stick for my EPP. Does it really help?

    • Elita says:

      Yes! As you can see by the subsequent comment from Miss JJ, I too think the Sewline glue stick is fantastic! They are easy to use, wash out completely, and don’t gum up my needle or machine when stitching over it. I did do basting in the traditional manner but only once, in a class, to see what was the difference. Much prefer the ease of the glue stick! 🙂

  5. Gloria M. Howe says:

    Thank you so much for including me in this block. I know all of these things about you but this will
    help keep me up to date with what is happening. Love you so much! WoWa

  6. LPC says:

    Oh, you and Miss JJ are putting me to shame with your beautiful hexies! Time to break mine our again, methinks 🙂
    LPC xxx

  7. Jessie Aller says:

    I bet your pretty flowers were a great conversation starter in the hospital! Do you get tired of basting the blues? I find it so hard to keep going with the same fabric over and over!

Leave a Reply to pragmaticpatchwork Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.