Pattern Testing For Tartankiwi - A Foundation Paper Pieced Panda

It's been a while but this weekend I've tested another pattern for Juliet @The Tartankiwi.  As you can see he's a panda and when I saw Juliet's own version I just couldn't resist him and asked if I could test the pattern for her.

The best collection of black and whites I had were some batiks that I used to create my applique portrait of my dog Tatty last summer - you can read more about it here and here,  I don't have many batiks at all, I'm not a huge fan so I chose eyes and background fabric from my limited collection, As I took the photo above I realised I was using the same colours that Juliet has used on her pattern image!

The pattern's another Tartankiwi triumph, he's fabulous and I'm thinking up a plan of how to use him.

Eagle-eyed readers might spot my original mistake in the photo below - I used the wrong fabric under his chin on the left of the pic.

It's driven me mad for so long and three years later, April 2017, I've finally got around to replacing that piece - see below.  I can now look at my block without cringing inwardly!!!   

Juliet's patterns are available now via her Etsy store and also her Payhip store.  

Here's a look back at the patterns I've previously tested for Juliet.

Click any of the images below to go through to my post about testing that particular pattern:

  
 
 

Disclosure: I do not receive payment from Juliet @TheTartankiwi for testing her patterns, nor do I receive a commission on any patterns sold via her Etsy store or any other sales method.  This post is purely informational and of no direct benefit, monetary or otherwise, to me.

I started out with a New York Beauty block as one of my NYC Metro Mod Quilt Guild blocks - you can read my original post by clicking the image.

Are you tempted to try foundation paper piecing yourself?  If you've already given it a go do you love it or hate it?  I love the precision, there's nothing better, let me know what you think.

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Disclosure: 

This post contains a Craftsy affiliate banner for which I am paid commission on click-through purchases. Otherwise, no payment or commission is received for click-throughs to shared links; the post is for informational purposes only and all opinions are my own.

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Uncredited reproduction of all content, text and images on this site is prohibited. All content, text and images must be credited to Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD and include a link back to this site.

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Linky Parties This post may be linked to some great Linky Parties, always a great source of inspiration too. If you click through to my 'Fave Linky Parties' page you can see where I like to share my work.

Paper Piecing A Butterfly

A few weeks ago Juliet from The Tartankiwi posted about a paper pieced Butterfly Block that she'd designed and she asked for volunteers to test her pattern.  Here's a link to her original post and when you see her block you'll completely understand why I was straight in there putting my name forward as a tester!

I'm thrilled that she chose me as one of her testers and when she sent me the pattern earlier this week I couldn't wait to get started so here it is:

Just to tease you - here's the front page of the pattern ;)

Choosing the fabrics.  Trialling fabrics in their relative placements (left) and lining them for overall value (right) 

My colour inspiration came from a Kaffe Fassett print that I bought at Liberty, London on my trip back to England in July (you can check out my post about my visit here).  I've decided I'll incorporate the butterfly into the front of a cushion cover, framing it with the Kaffe Fassett and finishing with piping in the Kona Grass Green.

My chosen fabrics for the project are:

Kaffe Fassett - Shirt Stripes GP51 Red

Kona Cotton Solids in

Carnation/Orange/Amethyst/Magenta/Grass Green

Michael Miller Solids in

Clementine/Lipstick

Bella Solid Moda - Pink

First pieces underway

I got so involved in piecing the butterfly that I completely forgot to take any more photos until I was finished!

So tell me, what do you think of this beauty?

Trialling the butterfly against my chosen cushion and piping fabric

Not sure when I'll get round to making the cushion itself, there're a few more projects to work on first but I'll share my progress with you when it happens.

Nervous about trying paper piecing?  Don't be!  Just watch my favourite Paper Piecing Made Easy YouTube video by The Crafty Gemini.  I found her video when I first attempted paper piecing for my New York Beauty Bee Blocks and she really explains everything very simply.

If you don't already have one, I highly recommend you invest in an Add A Quarter ruler by CM Designs - it's the best tool out there for all your FPP work (affiliate link).



And while I was busy paper piecing Tatty was also busy taking a very well deserved nap.

Juliet's patterns are available now via her Etsy store and also her Payhip store.  

Disclaimer: I do not receive payment from Juliet @TheTartankiwi for testing her patterns, nor do I receive a commission on any patterns sold via her Etsy store or any other sales method.  This post is purely informational and of no direct benefit, monetary or otherwise, to me.

Here's a look back at the patterns I've previously tested for Juliet.

Click any of the images below to go through to my post about testing that particular pattern:

  
 

Clicking on an image will take you to a new page of crafty goodness :)

Disclosure: 

This post contains Amazon and Craftsy affiliate links for which I am paid commission on click-through purchases (at no additional cost to you). Otherwise, no payment or commission is received for click-throughs to shared links; the post is for informational purposes only and all opinions are my own. 

Copyright: 

Uncredited reproduction of all content, text and images on this site is prohibited. All content, text and images must be credited to Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD and include a link back to this site.

Follow

Linky Parties This post may be linked to some great Linky Parties, always a great source of inspiration too. If you click through to my 'Fave Linky Parties' page you can see where I like to share my work.

Liberated Log Cabin - My August Bee Block

Bee Block time again!

My August Queen Bee is Binita and she's asked us to create a Liberated Log Cabin.  Binita's instructions are so open and flexible which made it an incredibly fun block to create.

I've made a Log Cabin block before but never a wonky or liberated one so I started out by making a muslin sample block.

I did think that this sample block isn't quite as 'liberated' as maybe Binita would like so when I got stuck into the actual block I tried to put more pieced sections into each side and to do some narrower widths to give more interest to the block.

I simply love this block.  I had it all sewn up in no time at all - no measuring or figuring out what should go where, just working around the piece as I pleased until it measured more than 12.5" on each side at which point I cut it back to a 12.5" square.

Great fun, great block and I'm sure the finished quilt will look amazing.

I've posted the block to the NYC Mod Guild Blog and you can take a look at it here.

New York Beauty Block News:

Speaking of finished Bee Block Quilts, my Queen Been for June, Kim has completed her New York Beauty quilt top and sent it off for quilting.  I was very excited to see the photo she posted on the NYC Mod Guild blog and had fun spotting my 2 blocks in amongst the others.  If you'd like to take a look at it just click here - the colours are fab.


Related posts:
Stop Blogging; Start Making
New York Beauty (June Bee Block) - Sunglasses Recommended!

And you can click this link to see all of my NYC Mod Quilt Guild Bee Blocks and Challenge Blocks/Quilts.