Patchwork Please - Happy Hexagon Trivet

Thank goodness I've got Bloglovin'...

otherwise I may not have realized that

this week's Patchwork, Please Zakka 2.0 Sew Along

is all about the Happy Hexagon Trivet!

This sweet project was one of my must-makes,

from the first time I paged through my copy of the book.

I see that it is rated 2-stars on the difficulty scale.

There must only be 2 stars on that scale,

because I found this project to be

a lot more complicated than I expected.

I made the mistake of trying to blend

regular paper piecing and freezer paper template

techniques.

{Note to self:  Don't ever do that again!  Try just the normal paper piecing.}

That being said,

I'm super excited about the way

my new mug rug turned out.

I'm showing off one of the three Cath Kidston

mugs I purchased a few months ago.

{They are among my most loved possessions.}

Let's get to the "likes" and "dislikes" for the project...

dislikes are always first.

Right off the bat,

I was highly disappointed that the paper

piecing pattern requires enlarging.

Oh.My.I.Hate.That.Part.

In the end, the entire pattern still fit on a single page of paper.

Why couldn't the publishers have printed it at actual size???

I was going to bind my project as described in the book,

but my outer fabrics would have been nearly covered

by the thick binding.

That's most likely because I didn't remember

to cut the outer edges plenty large enough to allow

for a decent seam allowance.

That brings me to the Likes.

I used my own tutorial for Machine Binding,

with a 1 1/2" single fold binding.

It worked pretty well, even on the angles.

{Like:  new skill acquired.  I had never bound a hexagon before.}

Also, I really like the size of this project.

There's plenty of room for a large mug and a snack.

Alternately, a little tea pot would fit perfectly on this trivet.

I also like the way it looks on the back...

just as cute as the front, really!

Most of all, though, the best Like for this project

is that it is such a beautiful design.

Ayumi's gifts are being shared all over blogland.

Her version is exquisite,

and I love every variation I've seen so far, being made by others.

I love cherries in the kitchen,

and this project was great for using

a variety of cherry prints and polka dots I've been collecting.

Maybe time will help me to forget

all of the labor pains I withstood,

to end up with my lovely mug rug.

A nice cup of tea will also work wonders!

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December's Across The Pond Project

Just in the nick of time...

I've finished my December project

for the Across the Pond Sew Along!

Our lovely Amanda, The Patchsmith,

has outdone herself this month,

with TWO versions of a clever and useful placemat.

One features whimsical appliqued trees...

And here is the paper-pieced style!

I happen to love the paper-piecing process,

so I chose to make that version of Amanda's pattern.

This is what mine looks like!

 If you don't mind a bit of detail...

and a lot of photos...I'll walk you through my design process.

Fabric selection is almost always the best part for me!

I started with some fat-eighths from my Cherry Christmas bundle,

by Aneela Hoey for Moda,

and I still have plenty left for other projects.

{Whew! I can continue to hoard some of it!}

I mixed in a couple of other prints, like some Modern Meadow by Joel Dewberry and Glace by 3 Sisters for Moda. 

{I love the celery greens with tiny bits of red and brown.}

I had more fun creating the snow-topped trees,

especially because we have some REAL snow outside!

{The little birdies on the trees are too sweet!  Oops...some of them are upside-down!}

Once the trees were stitched and pieced to the background...

it was simple to finish up the top with patched borders.

{I skipped the napkin ring, because I may want to use

mine as a wall hanging sometimes.}

My background was an ivory linen.

Maybe I could have selected a sharper contrast, but I like it very much.

The linen is luscious for quilting, especially once I got it fused

to my dear friend, Pellon 987F fusible fleece!

{The overlapping straight lines in the corner are my favorite part of the stitching.}

For the borders, I made some crisscrosses, and the quilting was done!

I used my machine-binding tutorial,

and my edges came out perfect in no time!

This project is very versatile and would make an adorable table topper...

as well as a useful placemat.

I'm going to enjoy it all winter long!

Susie, Amanda, and I welcome you to jump in 

and join the Across the Pond Sew Along,

at any time!

{Jump in to the Sew Along, that is...NOT the Pond!}

Please feel free to share photos in our Flickr group!

Happy New Year, friends!

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Signature Pillow

If I could sew whatever I wanted to sew, what would I make?

This is my favorite question to ask myself!
So often, I'm making a project for someone or for some reason.

There was the Zakka Style Sew Along...

And there were gifts to be made...

And orders for custom sewing.

All of those are great reasons for sewing, right?

I just LOVE it when someone asks me to make something special, 

just for them! 

{You betcha!}

But, what if I could make something special, just for me?

What if I could sew something

that says "Hi, I'm Amy, and I made that!"

What, exactly, would I choose to make???

{I think I've just solved my identity crisis, while making a pillow!}

The colors are turquoise and lime...

Bits of Paula Prass's Flights of Fancy, Sis Boom's Pretty Please, and Patty Young's Flora and Fauna

the prints include lots of polka dots...

the quilting is modern...

and the textures are smooth, mixed with stitchy and cushy.
When it was done, I knew it was MINE!

Here's how it all came together:
I've been admiring the Lone Starburst
paper pieced block by Six White Horses for quite a while.

{Anna has been so generous, offering a free templates for this awesome block!}

Lone Starburst block by Six White Horses

I've "favorited" a whole bunch of them on Flickr.
Finally, when I saw Cindy's Terrain star, I knew it was time to give it a try!

{I love every version of this block I've ever seen!}

Lone Starburst by Adventures of the Singing Quilter - Cindy

I got busy with my own block...ahem...for a few hours...

and eventually
I finished 8 of the sections, each with 8 pieces of fabric.
Keep the seam ripper close, people!

{It's just a good thing I don't swear on a regular basis, 
because some bad words threatened to pop out more than a few times.  
Mothers: work in private on this block!}

Next I auditioned some borders...and the Ta Dots by Michael Miller
won the beauty contest.

{The runners-up were featured on the back...lime Mints from Paula Prass's Summer Soiree, paired with Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market print.}

Once my borders were added, I fused the back of my entire block
with Pellon 987F fusible fleece, then added a backing of muslin.  
This gave me a really smooth finish for the pillow top, 
and it was so easy to sew all the straight lines
with my walking foot.

For the back of the pillow,
I used Pellon ShapeFlex 101 fusible interfacing, to add some body
to the quilting cotton.  Perfect!!!
I used a decorative flap to hide the zipper closure.

 {A little peek under there...cool,huh?}

I stitched it all together,
and it was like magic to reveal the finished pillow!

I hope someday that people who know eamylove

will be able to look at what I made and know,

"Amy Made That!"

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