Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Hugs and Kisses Hop...and you can still win!

Some of you may or may not have wondered where I have been for the past couple of weeks.  I actually have been having panic attacks over this Hugs and Kisses Hop.  It is a little known fact that I loathe, dispise, and generally hate paper piecing...or I should say doing paper piecing.  I love looking at finished quilts made with paper piecing.  But paper piecing and I have a long, bad, terrible history together.

You can see by this quilt made circa 1996 that for some reason this lovely snowman quilt is NOT square...it is so crooked that I could not bring myself to finish it.  He would have been cute, and in real life most snowmen don't stand up straight anyway, but it bugged me and remained unfinished.




Now, here is my problem with paper piecing...I hate the fact that I cannot figure out how big to cut the piece of fabric to cover the tiny little piece on the pattern.  It seems that I will cut a huge piece, carefully sew it (ON THE WRONG SIDE), turn it over, iron it, and for some reason although it is massive in size compared to the teeny tiny little piece it is supposed to cover, it misses that line by a half inch or more?!?!  

I decided to look at tutorials, and I took the Carol Doak Craftsy class.  I have watched it so many times in fact I was afraid Craftsy was actually going to call me and tell me that I had used up my time allotted for my class and to stop it! (Did you know they actually have a Craftsy app?)  I'm pretty sure I could turn the sound down on that class and tell you what she is saying word for word for the entire class.  By the way, she also has her own paper and ruler to use for this, which I also purchased because I was sure this time everything would work out.



So, the time has come, I start sewing, carefully cutting my pieces just like Carol tells us to do, measuring exactly like she tells us to...and somehow I end up with this...


I know I folded, flipped, cut, sewed, and pressed just the way she told me to, but alas, it did not turn out the way her perfectly sewn, perfectly square blocks do...and I'm quite certain no one would want a card from me with a paper pieced anything on the front.  I bet you can't wait to see what I actually ended up with...




Is it the four block lap sized quilt I was planning on, no it is not...BUT, it does look like an actual heart and I am pretty impressed with my arrow point (isn't that why most people paper piece, for the points?)  I think it is safe to say that you will not be seeing many more paper pieced projects on my blog...although, does anyone have a cute pattern for a shamrock?  :)

Thanks to Mdm Samm for encouraging me to try it once again.  I've done it and I'm moving on to the ruffles.  Here are the participants for the last day of the Hugs and Kisses Hop. 

Oh yes, I haven't drawn the winner for the gift certificate yet, so if you still want to enter you have until tomorrow evening (February 20) at 5 p.m. to do so, you can find the post here.  Happy Hopping and Stitching!!  --Kristen

63 comments:

Doris Rice, The Quilting Queen said...

YAY, you conquered it, even if you didn't like the process! It's just LOVEly! Good for you for sticking with it. Can't wait for ruffles myself!

Thearica said...

You aced it! yay for you!

Judy B said...

Way to go, you did it! Thank you for sharing.

Anita said...

Great looking heart; way to go!

dream quilt create said...

I think your heart is beautiful! If you hadn't mentioned it,I would have supposed you were an expert paper piercer :)

Michelle said...

Your heart looks great and I love the fabrics!

Marian said...

100%.. great job.. and omg, you had me laughing my ... off :)

Hugs!!!

Shari said...

Congratulations! This is a lovely looking piece...I do just love the points achieved with paper piecing and yours looks very pointy indeed! I'm really happy for your achievement!!!

charlotte said...

I'm with you sister. I do not care for paper piecing and avoid it at all costs. But, your heart did turn out lovely. Congratulations.

Sharon E said...

Nice job! Paper piecing makes me run the other way! It's on my "to do" list of things to master. Hope I live to be 100.

Jeanie said...

Looks to me like your hard work paid off.... your heart is really cute and your points are perfect! I hope you'll finish that sweet little snowman too... he's really cute!

Jeanie said...

Looks to me like your hard work paid off.... your heart is really cute and your points are perfect! I hope you'll finish that sweet little snowman too... he's really cute!

Elizabeth Coughlin said...

You did a great job; I'm impressed!

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Good job Kristen!! I don't care for paper piecing, didn't join this time because I was going to be away and afraid I wouldn 't get it up.

Dorian said...

Good for you, for perservering. It takes practice for sure. And you did a great job.

Linda C said...

You made a wonderful heart, Kristen and way to hang in there. Surely the class was helpful and gave you some good info.

I know I use a larger piece and then use the cutaways to help strike the correct angling but that system is not fail proof either. I waste fabric.

And yes, I have a fairly nice shamrock that could be foundation pieced. I'll email you a link to what mine looks like later and I can print it up any size you like too.

Mary said...

You did a great job on your heart. It turned out so cute.

Diann said...

I came out beautifully. Don't give up on paper piecing!

Linda said...

Ha ha! Your persistence paid off! Just look at the beautifully shaped heart! You did a great job!!!

Carol said...

It's beautiful! You figured it out. Thanks for sharing!

jan said...

Kristen! I love your Heart. The fabric is perfect for it! Glad you got it done. I am not a paper piecer either.
Thank you for sharing.
xo jan

Scrapatches said...

Kristen ... your heart looks beautiful. Here is a free Craftsy PP shamrock from Sewhooked ... http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/quilting/other/shamrock-paper-pieced/7011 ... have fun ... XO :) Pat

Carol Swift said...

You made me laugh this morning with your post...too funny! Your little heart actually looks beautiful, but I know how frustrating paper piecing can be. You did good!

Purl Buttons said...

I LOVE it! You really DID do a great job. I think I would take that Snowman and skip back to the border and make them wonky on purpose. I like the energy an uneven border can lend to a block. Then, you could do 10 more, one for each month of the year! YAY! January-snowman, February-heart with perfect arrow, March-umbrella (maybe a duck? Pair of flowered garden boots?)

Anonymous said...

oooh my, Kristen, I really had to LOL when I read your post!
But you know what, there is a technique to do paper piecing without sewing through the paper, yes, because I never sew through the paper and like that I can use my paper patterns more than 15 x !
I will write once a tuto about this, if you are interested :-))
The heart is beautiful, really, and the fabrics chosen are great!!!

Agnes B. Bullock said...

Great job!

Brandy said...

Woo! Way to go, it turned out really well. Thank you for sharing your story, I don't feel so alone about paper piecing anymore :) Soma also gave me word of encouragement, which was kind. Great job though Kristen!
~Brandy

Marcy said...

Great job! Love the colors.

legato1958 said...

Your heart is very pretty, and whenever you bring it out every Valentine's Day season, you'll be so proud! It's lovely in your fabrics!

Susie

Vickie said...

Your heart should be happy because you did it and very beautifully !

Jane's Quilting said...

Beautiful... you did a great job!

LJ said...

That's the way - don't give up - sorry, though, I don't have a shamrock pattern. :( I think your heart turned out wonderful - fabulous fabric! Now that you've watched the Craftsy class (often), and bought special paper and rulers you have too much invested to NOT continue! Truly, you're too hard on yourself.

MoeWest said...

The end result is what counts and your pp heart looks perfect! And now you want more?? Haha, I have 3 shamrock pdfs I can email to you.

Cindy Maki said...

It took me a while to figure out paper piecing, but now I love it. Love the heart. The snowman looks great too. Don't give up.

Suze said...

Actually, there is a FREE paper-piecing shamrock pattern on craftsy:
http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/quilting/other/shamrock-paper-pieced/7011?SSAID=261334

You did a phenomenal job. The point of that arrow would pierce a heart!!!! I'm glad you stuck with it and finished it. It is great!! You are an inspiration for us to show a great finish after struggles. Thanks for participating.

If you are on Pinterst, I searched "paper pieced shamrock" and found several. The one above is the only one I actually went to see if there was an actual pattern behind the picture.

Amanda Murphy said...

It is always good to try new techniques. Glad you persevered!

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

ROFL I sew feel you there. Every time I paper piece I watch a bunch of youtube videos and still have that problem. My biggest problem is I hate all what feels like to me "waste". So I am going to say you aren't going to be doing any Judy Niemeyer quilts? :)

Sheila said...

Thanks for the smile , I hear you loud and clear as I don't care to do PP either and avoid it if possible . Your heart turned out just great !

Anonymous said...

Kristen-That link didn't work for me so enter me in the contest. Don't feel bad about paper piecing. I have some of the same problems. I couldn't see any of your pics, I don't know why my computer didn't load them. I'll try again. Thanks for sharing, but know that you're not alone.

Soma @ inkTorrents.com said...

Your pp heart looks beautiful. You did it and it is perfect!!! Are you sure, you are not an expert at paper piecing? :)

Thank you for joining the blog hop!
-Soma

Corrie said...

I know...I haven't mastered it at all either. You did great. Great fabric too.

Baa. xxx said...

Yah! you did so well - we were too scared to try - hee..hee... so you are brave and courageous! and your arrow is perfect!!

Sparky said...

wellllll look at you..you did it…and that was the most difficult piece..you note I did not lol
you win lol

beaquilter said...

lovely quilt :)

Createology said...

Your honesty is so refreshing. I do not "get" PP as I have tried it also and with Carol Doak's perfect paper and ruler. Your Heart is beautiful and the arrow perfect. You did a fabulous job and your persistence paid off. Thank you sew very much for Hopping...

Unknown said...

Lovely! I love paper piecing but signed up for Carol's class, too, because I'm sure there are some great hints and tips I've missed along the way. Beth @ Words & Stitches

maggie said...

Very impressed. I am convinced that I do not have the " paper piecing gene". My little quilty mind is just not wired that way. lol
You have overcome and I'm guessing that now you are "hooked" on p.p.
Well done.
cheers
maggie

maggiemine42@gmail.com

Janarama said...

Despite the problems, your little heart quilt is really beautiful!

StitchinByTheLake said...

Kristen I'm with you! I've done paper piecing and just don't quite understand the logistics of it. You'd think I would since it's sort of like geometry, which I taught once upon a time. But in the end you did great and you completed your project - and it was cute. :) blessings, marlene

Margaret said...

I knew you could do it and You did a great job. Thanks for sharing your project.

Jeanne Gwin said...

Lady Kristen, I feel the same way you do about paper piecing, I just don't get it. But,,,,I encourage you to keep trying and I think you will finally manage it. Great job on your "Arrow". It hit the mark!!

sandra said...

You did a wonderful job with your heart and I am with a lot of people I just can't conquer it.

Vicki B said...

I have the same problem with paper piecing but I keep trying.

Just Quilt It said...

LOL. I think it looks just great!

Jamie P said...

you did good!!!!!

Jamie P said...

I am a proud follower!!!

Lana said...

I had the same fear!!!! You did a great job though and I love the fabrics too! Next time will be easier!!!

Heidi [Banks of Frog Creek] said...

You did it! Lovely job :)

Bente-I like to QuiltBlog said...

Hi Kristen,
you heart is so cute, beautiful fabric choise.
x-o
Bente

Wendy said...

your paper piecing is brilliant!

Carla said...

Sorry I'm so late to see your cute heart. You did it and it is beautiful. Great job!

Calicojoan said...

Paper piecing can be a challenge. It had to grow on me. LOL! You did great.

Wendy said...

Your heart looks great and I agree, the arrow is perfect!! Well done!