Quilts from Grandmother's Garden: A Fresh Look at English Paper Piecing

October 06

Traditional paper piecing isn't something you see much of in books simply because of the time it takes to make a quilt. Jaynette uses traditional English paper piecing of hexagons, but this is not a book for purists, as the hexagons are then appliqued to a background to make small wallhangings. Small is the operative word as these hexagons are only fl inch across. Jaynette places them in traditional grandmother's flower garden patterns as well as using them to create baskets of flowers and even a landscape. She introduces her own technique for joining the hexagons; I assume as the normal stitching method would not work on such small pieces. Given the minute dimensions and how fiddly it would be to sew, I'm sure you could scale them up quite easily. But then, perhaps I am missing the point of miniature quilts.

Iss 148, May 06

Many first time quilters' introduction to patchwork is English Paper piecing in which each patch is tacked over a shaped paper template, often hexagonal, and then whip stitched together by hand. The small projects in this book take a fresh look at the technique with hexagons first stitched together to create applique units. The ten projects include a 'Welcome Home' wall hanging, holiday wreath, flower basket and garden scenes - all of which have an appealing charm and will attract both beginners and more experienced quilters who enjoy working by hand. The basic techniques cover everything you need to know in order to undertake the projects including some handy tips, advice on choosing fabrics and selecting interesting embroidery stitches for those final decorative touches.