Sunday, October 23, 2016

Slow Sunday Stitching Treat

Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching where we celebrate all the wonderful benefits of the art of hand stitching! I am so glad you can join us because I have an extra special treat for you english paper piecing enthusiasts!
I was at the London Friendship Quilters' Guild quilt show and saw so many amazing quilts, but 4 in particular that I want to share with you today. These quilts are all completely hand pieced, which means every single one of these thousands of tiny pieces of fabric was cut with scissors and hand stitched with a needle and thread. The pattern is called La Passacaglia and is found in Willyne Hammerstein's book called Millefiori

Let's start with our very own Cathy Shepherd who blogs over at Eagles' Wings Quilts. She frequently linked up to Slow Sunday Stitching while we watched over her shoulder as she pieced all these tiny shapes into this spectacular Passacaglia quilt. You cannot even appreciate all the amazing fussy cut designs she created, but trust me... you see something different every time you look at this quilt. Cathy edged all the rosettes in white and bordered them on a blue fabric.


And there were 3 more of these quilts hanging in the show!

Here is the second one sewn by Charlene O'Donnell. See how she made two borders (a gold and an orange) and then cut off some of the rosettes, and extended some of them into the border?




Here is the third one sewn by Lorraine Swanson using civil war colours. She edged the rosettes with brown, and added a larger neutral border and more english paper pieced blocks. See on the bottom right corner where she put examples of the tiny design units?!? I am telling you these pieces are TINY! I should have taken a photo with my hand beside it so you could appreciate the scale of these quilts.


And here is the fourth version sewn in brights with black pointed stars around the rosettes. This was made by Lorna Martin and she extended 3 of the rosettes into the border.

I am amazed by how each quilter used the same pattern, and how they each look so different! They were really unbelievable!

Some of the women at my quilt retreat were working on this same quilt last winter. This is Nancy on the left making a super small version, and Maria on the right making the regular size version. They are holding the same block from the pattern. Wow and wow! I sure do hope I don't fall in love with the idea of making this quilt!
Have you tried english paper piecing? What are you hand stitching today? We'd love to see what you're working on, so link up your blog post below and share your progress.

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

28 comments:

SandraC said...

How amazing that you shared these quilts today as this pattern has recently caught my attention! EPP was something I did a lot back in the day of being a hockey mom. It was a fantastic take-along project.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

These are all treats indeed...what amazing handwork and such a beautiful variety of color and interpretation of the same pattern.

Stephie said...

Oh wow, this is definitely a Sunday treat to savour! i love Charlene's version, the way her circles cross into the border is so well balanced it makes them look like they're floating...and I may be slightly biased: orange is my absolute favourite colour! I love EPP, it's such a great way to hand stitch on the go. Have a lovely day Kathy x

Jo said...

I have a few friends making this quilt. Stunning... that mini one is crazy but beautiful...

CathieJ said...

I have yet to try EPP, but hopefully it is in my future. I love how colorful all of those quilts are even though they are in vastly different colorways.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I never seen Civil War colors look quite like that - they do not look like them in this setting. I was going to make one two years ago I think it was when so the book and the pattern was so out there and actually started one but I couldn't get into it - so much detail, these are all so very pretty.

Kate said...

Wow! Those are extraordinary quilts! I can't imagine the work involved in each of those. It's always fun to see all the different interpretations of a pattern. These are all so unique, but each one is gorgeous. I've done some very simple Grandmother's flower blocks using English Paper Piecing. It's one of my UFOs.

Kaelyn Angelfoot said...

I love love love millefiore quilts but I sadly cannot get into EPP. I've tried and I just don't seem to have the patience for it. Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful pieces of art.

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

I wish my hands could tolerate EPP! The quilts you shared are amazing! My hats go off to each quilter who has the tanacity to complete one! What fun it must be to watch it grow with each additional rossette!

Sarah said...

What stunning quilts! I am very tempted to have a go at one of these, I do love EPP but wonder if I could take on such a project. That said I have sourced the book and templates so who knows! Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Those quilts are stunning!

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Wow, those are spectacular! Thanks for the quilt show!

Linda M said...

Absolutely stunning quilts. As much as I like doing my hand stitching, I don't think I'll be making one.

Julierose said...

Absoluely stunning quilts--so many pieces--just love them--when I can see correctly once again Monet's Jardin will be making a comeback,,,hugs, Julierose

Val's Quilting Studio said...

WOW!!! If that isn't motivation for our stitching. Happy Sunday Kath..thanks for the linky.

Suzanne said...

Those quilts are amazing! Wow is right!

Karen said...

The Civil War version is my favorite. Love the colors and fabrics used.

Barbara said...

Gorgeous quilts. Thanks for sharing.

Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore said...

Hi Kathy. These quilts are lovely, and it must have been great to see them all together. I live many miles away in New Zealand, but I've made la passacaglia too, so I've added my blog page about it to your link up above. I hope you don't mind.

Angie in SoCal said...

What a thrill to see all those La Passacaglias. Thank you!

Cathy said...

What a wonderful post! Thank you so much for all your compliments on all our work. We are considering what our next project will be.......

Jill said...

Beautiful hand stitched quilts. I would have loved to have seen Eagles Wings quilt in person. Thanks for posting photos for those of us who couldn't attend.

Monica said...

Thank you for those photos, Kathy! What an impressive show that must have been. :D

Janet O. said...

Those quilts are jaw dropping!
I have done enough EPP to know that there is no danger of me starting this quilt in my lifetime!! : )

Barb said...

amazing quilts!!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

I've enjoyed watching Cathy's quilt come together over the past 2? years. Very creative ways to set all the different versions. I've made a couple of hexie flowers, but, haven't done anything with them yet.

Denise :) said...

I couldn't believe I had nothing to show/share for SSS! I did end up working on something, but I can't share a pic of it yet . . . it's super-secret. So I guess I did SSSSS! LOL! I'll be back next week. Lots of beautiful P quilts you shared! :)

Miaismine said...

Wow! Those quilts are amazing! Mind blowing! I do love EPP and am starting to venture out a bit more with different shapes and sizes. Maybe one day I’ll finish my Grandmother’s Flower Garden!