A finish: my first EPP project!

Two years ago I started an EPP project using diamonds and some beautiful fabrics in my favourite colour - purple! I was inspired by brilliant Quilt As You Go book by Jessica Alexandrakis. This book taught me the basics of EPP and gave the confidence to pick up this new skill.

I had no idea what I was going to make out of my piecing and it was put on hold on many occasions. Finally, however, I finished the piecing last month and made it into a cushion. The colour combinations are quite bold, but I love how it looks on our green sofa.

I also quilted it using a curved diamond inside most of the diamond pieces. This was a challenge and, at first, I tried free motion quilting (which I have now fallen in love with) but in the end decided I had more control using a standard foot.

It was my first time using EPP, and using binding and mitred edges. I really enjoyed the whole process and learned a lot.

Africa Quilt

To celebrate my parents' 30th wedding anniversary I decided to make them a quilt - my first ever quilt! Guess I threw myself in the deep end! Due to a change of date for their celebration party, my deadline for completing this quilt was brought forward a week. Yikes.

I learned an awful lot on the job with this project, but to start off with I had to find the right fabrics. I was luck enough to have been given a whole lot of fabric by my Mum which she brought back from one of their trips to Africa. I also supplemented this with a Postmaster's Choice Mini Adventure Pack from The African Fabric Shop.

I followed a fairly simple design - the whole quilt was a square and the border was made up of 3 inch pieced squares (+ 1/4 inch seam allowance) surrounding a 12 inch square of neutral off white. In the process of piecing I learned to do 1/4 inch seams and how to unpick at speed!

The motif of Africa was applied using raw edge applique, using fusible web and blanket stich. Another case of learning on the job!

I then learnt to layer and baste my quilt and had the excitement of using my brand new walking quilt foot!

Finally to bind the quilt I took myself off to the Coventry Sewing Centre, who run a patchwork quilting evening class and got some help mitring the edges!

Well they do say working to a deadline produces results! I have to admit I would have fussed and doubted myself far more if I hadn't been in a blind panic to finish this piece and I am feeling far more confident about embarking on the wonderful world of quilting picking up more skills as I go.