Never go fabric shopping when you are hungry :)

A quick trip into town this morning to look for possible background fabrics, found me outside our local hobby craft; I don't normally shop there, as they are more of a craft store and have a very limited selection, however I did see they had a sale on - who doesn't love a bargain?!

I was feeling a bit hungry as I had just been on a 2 hour walk with Jasper...

Chocolate anyone...

 or a nice pastry...

 While I was trying to decide if either would work, I had to go and have a coffee and a large piece of cake! eventually I decided at £3 a metre to get both :D I then remembered that I hadn't shown my 'Box of Chocolates' quilt before...

 Fussy cut chocolates...

 Funky cups of coffee...

 and chocolate muffins on the back!

I think trying to diet for the summer was a really baaad idea!! I seem to have become obsessed with food :D

Cherry Pie Background

Yesterday I loaded my cutter with a new blade and spent a couple of hours cutting all the pie wedges for the re-named 'Strawberry Tarts & Cherry Pies' quilt (thanks for the suggestion Fiona!) as I was cutting I remembered a sale fabric I bought a few years ago to make a summer table cloth (it never got made!) I think it will be perfect for the backing...

My problem is what to use for the pie backgrounds, I did originally intend to use a plain cream, but wonder now if it is too insipid?

I really like the quilt Frances made with the Navy Background, so I pulled a piece of Black Moda marbles fabric, but maybe my pies are too soft and the black too strong?

I don't have enough of any one fabric...

I could combine two or even three...

I think maybe I need to look for a marbled biscuit kind of colour, like pastry?
What do you think? If it were your quilt what would you do?

Cherry Pie

We have a couple of short trips away planned for this summer, a holiday and various family visits. Some of my family will also spend part of their summer here with us, and as it is apparently frowned upon to spend several hours in your sewing room when your mother is visiting!! I need a portable project that I can carry around with me, on holiday and out into the garden, something requiring minimal equipment and easy to stitch while chatting. I decided upon English Paper Piecing after being inspired by all of May Britt's projects and her workshop with Sue Daly. I have purchased a couple of Sue's starter packs at various quilt shops over the years, but have never actually done anything with them :) I have however done lots of EPP in the past and am a huge fan of how easy and portable it is, and the fact that you can get away with being a little less than accurate in the cutting out stage :)

These starter packs include an acrylic template as well as pre-cut papers, so the patches can be rotary cut. The clear templates are also great for fussy cutting.

I decided to start with Pies & Tarts. The next problem was fabrics, what colours to chose? I like the original in all different colours, but as my red fabric drawer is getting difficult to close :) I decided to use some of these.

I had some cream/red fabrics that were intended for a different project that was abandoned, so I pulled those too. I have never made a two colour quilt, but I like this combination of cream/red. I think the fact that I can still use loads of different fabrics will stop me getting bored :D

A quick check to make sure I am happy with the fabric combinations...

I just need to cut a few hundred more wedges and I will be set for summer :D  I only need a needle, thimble, some scissors and thread and I have the perfect take along project.

Project Notes:
Quilt Name: Cherry Pie
Quilt Size: probably 49" x 63"
Block Size: 7"
No. of Blocks: 63 pies and 48 tarts
Method: English Paper Piecing using a 'playing with papers' pack from Sue Daly