Crazy Paper Piecing

Break free from oppressive precision! Paper (or foundation) piecing isn't just for precise, traditional patterns such as log cabin or pineapple anymore. Curved seams, irregular vertices and meandering strips can all come together to make a dynamic image while still employing basic paper piecing techniques.

Fabric Collage

Have a particular picture in mind? From Santas to still lifes, get the effect you want. Forget about piecing and sewing seams and treat fabric like paper and layer an image using reverse appliqué, fusibles, fused interfacing and raw edge appliqué. Create a giant flower, a holiday accent piece, design a still life or portray a dream image.

Have you ever purchased the almost perfect fabric because it was the closest you could find to what you had in mind? Make it perfect!
Or maybe wished that print had one more color in a particular place? Alter commercial fabric to suit your exact needs. Different sorts of bleach dye discharge (bleach pen and a spray-on bleach solution), fabric paint, spray paint (yup, good old Rust-oleum!), stencil paint, Shiva paintstiks, stamping ink and an assortment of markers and pens.

Incorporating Found Objects

Do you save cool doodads like pretty feathers, buttons, stamps, fortune cookie fortunes, baby teeth or other small items? Bring your treasures in and we’ll incorporate them into a quilt in a fun and funky way; layering them under lightweight vinyl and then quilting all around them. This is an original design by Elizabeth . This quilt utilizes some paper piecing and is also a good way to use a large-scale print as the outermost border.

The fabric is the star in this quick and easy quilt. Collect theme fabrics that reflect the likes and interests of that special someone and then put them together in this high impact quilt. Bright colors and black and white prints make this quickie really pop. Random strips tie the colors together and create a sense of movement. This particular quilt depicts: sushi, lobster, olives and many, many bugs--all favorites of my oldest son.

Introduction to Paper Foundation Piecing

This has got to be the simplest paper piecing pattern out there. Each square block has two corners sewn in a different color but the eye pts the squares together and you magically see a field of lazy stars. Learn how to manipulate the paper squares, sew from the back and put together a stunning quilt that just sparkles. This is a good quilt to use up those little scrappy bits that you've been saving.

Strips are Where It’s At!

Like paper-piecing but are dissatisfied with most of the quilt designs that you've seen? Build your own block with paper-pieced strips that you arrange to a pattern that is pleasing to you! Stop at one block or make several, you decide.  Put the block together with a border or keep stripping with bigger strips! This is an original design by Elizabeth .