Ballet with Kaffe progress - and how to sew a 10 pointed star

I've been working on my Ballet with Kaffe quilt for a few months now.

I've started four large rosettes, but I'm only putting seven of the 10 pointed stars on each rosette until I decide on the final layout for my quilt.  I hate unpicking English Paper Piecing, so I like to leave my options open as I make the rosettes.

I also don't cut the pieces too far in advance.  I like to check my plans every step of the way, and frequently change my fabric selections before I get to the cutting stage.

I started with these fabrics above for my most recent two rosettes, but you can see below that after making the centres, I changed my mind slightly for both of them. I used the three fabrics on the right above for each centre, but I changed the next round slightly.

I do believe that it's the attention to small details like this that make my quilts stand out.  Yes, it means I spend hours (or days) dithering over fabric selections, but I don't cut until I'm really sure my fabrics are right.  If I'm not happy with my choices, I keep experimenting.

I love how this centre turned out.  English Paper Piecing makes matching stripes easier than hand piecing.

10 pointed stars

People have been asking me about the 10 pointed stars and how to make them line up properly. Here's my advice:

1.  Make two sets of 5 long diamonds, being sure to stitch right up to the points.

2.  Start from the centre and sew out to one side.  Use Clover Clips to keep the ends aligned.

3.  Then sew out from the centre to the other end.

Mine don't always turn out perfectly, but I know they will look better once the papers have been removed.

I hope this helps some of you struggling to get these stars to line up.

Willyne's third book will be released very soon.  I'm excited to see what new patterns she has come up with.

You can find more information about both of my millefiore quilts on the tabs at the top of the page - la passacaglia and Ballet with Kaffe.

Yazzii bags

Have you heard of Yazzii bags? They are really useful for storing sewing supplies. I bought this bright pink one and decided to personalise it.

The beauty of Yazzii bags is that they have fabric exteriors so it's easy to sew coverings onto them.

I chose a pattern from a Sue Spargo's Magnolia book and I added some ribbons and Tula Pink fabric too.

I know these bags aren't cheap - I was fortunate to buy this one from a friend in Canada who had never used it.

It has so many pockets and compartments and will be great to take to Symposium in Christchurch.  I'm doing five days of classes at Symposium, so will need lots of different threads, needles etc.

So now I have two Yazzi bags - a small green one, and a BIG pink one.

Here's a link to my blog post about my first Yazzi bag which I embellished with a pattern from Wendy Williams.

Capital Quilters 12 x 12 Exhibition - Open NOW

We had the official opening of our 12 x 12 exhibition last night and it was great to see such a variety of mini quilts on display.

There were 12 categories and members could enter as many quilts as they liked.  I entered three quilts and here they are:

1.  Bedazzle

I made a modern interpretation on a whole cloth quilt by hand quilting and embellishing one piece of Kaffe Fassett fabric.  I used some of my embroidery threads and some beads to add bling because the theme was Bedazzle.

I won a Highly Commended ribbon for this quilt and I was thrilled.  There was one winner and one highly commended in each category, so I was very happy.

Here's a better photo taken at home:

2. Flora and Fauna

I used my favourite wool felt applique technique to make a bouquet of flowers.

3. Round the World

I bought some special Frida Kahlo fabric at Bolt of Cloth in Auckland and decided to use it in this mini quilt.  I fussy cut some images of Frida and then worked around them to build it out to 12" square.  This quilt includes machine and hand quilting.

Most of us had been keeping our quilts secret, so it was lovely to see them all revealed and be able to match the quilt with the maker.

The Best of Show award went to Lyn White for her amazing mini called "Light Show at the Museum". Congratulations Lyn.

Here's all the details of the exhibition.  Best news is it's FREE, so if you live in Wellington I recommend you make plans to visit either this weekend or next.