eo-5 Willow Quilt Final Assembly

The biggest challenge I am finding with paper piecing comes when it is time to quilt the top to the back. The variation in the thread grain across the block can result in something that does not sit very flat.

I suspect that a pro at paper piecing would be mindful to always cut scraps to result in pieces that have a uniform grain alignment. I will need more practice before I can do this.

I chose the same red fabric for the backing and the binding. I also pinned the quilt as densely as I could. The quilting was done with both white thread for the frame and red thread for each block.

eo-5 Willow Quilt Top Assembly

The nine blocks came together fairly quickly. The biggest challenge was the mental gymnastics required to cut the scrap pieces correctly. While the majority of the Kona cotton used here is a solid woven color (same on front and back) - the linen pieces are stamped. This required a little more thought and was a source of mistakes and good practice.

The blocks are shown above (the blocks are sitting on a white sheet). I did not use a gradation in willow stems from top to bottom. I ended up emphasizing the background color variation. I was hoping for a desert sunset effect - with the colors clear but also almost washed out in the distance by the sun. 

After trimming the blocks, I added the white frame around each. I used a block-width section of white between the rows and a long pieces separating the columns. You can also see that I rearranged the blocks in the final layout.

eo-5 Willow Quilt Block Assembly

Once I had the design worked out, the block assembly process was pretty straightforward. The image below shows the newsprint design for the top, brightest, row of blocks.

I went ahead an colored in the willow branches, to remind me of the orientation of the different parts of the blocks. To assemble each block, I had to divide the blocks along the willow branches, assemble each section and then add the willow branches in as the last steps.

Above, you can see how the blocks look when sewn to the tracing paper. After completing a block, I would pull the paper off by tugging the block on each edge. This would tear the paper at the seams. 

The reverse side of one of the blocks is shown above. You can see that I am not perfect at aligning seams. However, this was not a study in perfection. I was am happy with the effect of the different background colors.

eo-5 Willow Quilt - Design

The Willow Quilt design will be focus on the detail of willow twigs against a changing background. I want a series of nine blocks with a gradation in color - from dark to light. A foggy morning walk gave me the idea:

The density of the plant matter changes as the willow branches out. Also, the background is darker near the bottom of the image. 

I hope to create a windowpane effect, with each block surrounded by a white frame. The block size should be approximately 8.5" x 9.5" with a 6" border between each. The final quilt would then be approximately 44"x 47".

Each block will be paper pieced with a different design. I plan to draw the design on newsprint and then trace onto tracing paper. I don't plan to ever make this quilt again, so I do not want to use a CAD program to create the template. In a way, this makes the project a weird combination of art (one-of-a-kind) and craft (paint-by-number!).

eo-5 Learning how to paper piece

To learn how to paper piece a quilt block, I started by reading any blogs posts I could find about the topic. I also found a few patterns that I could download for free.

Some possible blogs to explore:

Sewing under the rainbow

Tartankiwi

The Tartankiwi blog has a nice tutorial series on paper piecing.

I then just tried to make a few blocks. I started by printing out the patterns on regular tracing paper that I cut to a regular 8.5" x 11" size. A typical pattern is shown below:

The pieces are added in number order. The wrong side of the fabric would face the paper.

I think the process works well for creating a flat block. I usually have problems when not sewing parallel to the fabric weave (triangles!).

I also tried some more complex patterns that I was able to find:

As the designs became more complex - I had more of a challenge keeping the blocks flat. I think it will take a lot more practice to work out how to work with paper piecing well. In the meanwhile, the design for eo-5 will have to be fairly simple.

eo-5 Willow Quilt

The fifth quilt in the Eastern Oregon series will be based upon the riparian area along the John Day River in the autumn. The twigs and trunk of some of the bushes (willows) growing in the vicinity of the river become a vibrant red. The muted colors of the region also begin to glow as the grasses become completely desiccated and the morning temperature begins to approach freezing.

I want this quilt to focus on the willow stems and the river (rock and just the dark color of the river) and surrounding dried plant material to supply the background. The plan is to use a paper piecing approach.

This will be my first attempt at paper piecing. Paper piecing is a bit like the process of paint by numbers. Instead, small pieces of fabric are sewn to a thin (hopefully transparent) piece of paper.

The paper piecing method is well suited to using irregular shapes and sizes of fabric - often quite small pieces. The challenge is to lay out the block to make the assembly possible (i.e.laying out sections with seams that do not intersect).

I have never done any paper piecing but I really love the quilts made by Ruth McDowell. To get started, I found some freely available paper piecing designs on the internet and practiced a bit.