Finished

My yellow English paper piecing is finally finished and the pattern is written and will be ready to go out into the world after a final read-through next week after half term (UPDATED: The pattern is now available here). From both a technical and aesthetic point of view, for me this is definitely a favourite-EPP-thing-I've-ever-made. 

This was my first experience of sewing curves using English paper piecing. I started off using a few techniques to make piecing the curves feel more manageable (these are covered in the pattern!), but it gradually became almost as instinctive as piecing straight edges and I was eventually able to dispense with these crutches and do it entirely by sight and feel. I found the trickiest part of this design was actually wrapping and sewing the curved diamonds that tapered to such a fine point.

Above is the wrapping of the point and below is the sewing of it. I found these quite fiendish to begin with, but again, the repetition meant that it eventually fell into place for me and I've been able to put some tips into the pattern instructions that will hopefully make it a quicker learning curve for anyone else who sews them. 

In the past with wall hangings, I've always left the papers in place and framed the finished piece, but by the time I reached the end of this project, I had such a yearning to do some hand-quilting that I tore out the papers and set to work. It's odd when a longing to do something hits like that, isn't it - it always makes me think of Rapunzel's pregnant mother feeling compelled to encourage her husband to steal the witch's lettuces, as in this case it did feel self-indulgent not to just call it 'done' as there's no real function to the quilting with it being wall hung. I used Quilter's Dream 'request weight' batting to avoid puffiness (request weight is the batting with the least amount of 'loft' and height), some pale yellow King Tut thread for hand-quilting and several episodes of the recently aired BBC adaptation of War & Peace for entertainment.

I then bound the edges, but I think because I usually frame my wall-hangings I just couldn't get used to the way it looked (see the shot below) and after letting it sit on the wall to percolate, I realised that I'd just probably love it more if I framed it, so the binding came off and a frame was ordered and I do feel much happier with it now.

I've hung it over our bed and I really love the way its appearance changes throughout the day; in the morning sunshine it takes on a deliciously warm, golden glow. 

I'm now really tempted to start another one, possibly in pinks or blues, but I'm even more excited to see how it might look if others choose to make their own versions once the pattern is released.

This week has been half-term and I've been involved in a surprising amount of off-piste sewing. My fourteen-year-old wanted to make some pyjamas, so we looked at a few options and she fell in love with Tilly & the Buttons' Fifi pattern. We finished the camisole top in two sessions (I directed, she sewed) and we're now just waiting for a spare couple of hours to finish the shorts. 

I've also been sewing name tapes into all of my grandmother's clothes this week as she's moved into a care home just a few miles away. I've always felt a certain amount of nervous-but-hopeful-butterflies-in-the-stomach apprehension for the year ahead when sewing in my children's school name tapes, and it's odd to unexpectedly be reunited with these same maternal feelings, but on this occasion for my grandmother, as she ventures forth in putting down new roots, embracing different routines and making new friends. She is approaching it all with such enthusiasm that I can't help feeling in awe.

What are you sewing at the moment? 

Florence x