I am in love!!

Yes.....I am in love. Actually, I am in love with so much of life (it is a passionate and visual kinda gal that I am) but the subject of my passion for this little while is EPP or for those of you whom are not in the know, English Paper Piecing.

LOVE.......all those itty bitty EPP hexies!

Why does EPP move me so??  Why does EPP transport me into a state of rhapsodic rapture?? =) Why......because in folding itty bitty scraps of fabric around itty bitty pieces of paper, then hand stitching each shape, every itty bitty corner lines up perfectly. Every itty bitty shape, in this case my fave shape of all time, the hexagon, snuggles perfectly to the hexagon beside, above, below; every which way. Yes indeedy, it warms the cockles of my li'l ole, persnickety heart that each shape is perfect! Me and EPP are a match made in heaven!

Now, before you heap burning coals of fire upon my head and point your finger at me chastising me regarding my perfectionist tendencies, let me assure you I am okay with the imperfections of this life.....I am.....I really, really am.  I saw the light as a wee child that nothing in this life is 'just so'. It's just that my arty farty soul is enjoying the exactness of EPP. I am loving the fact that I can sew teeny tiny, almost invisible stitches and each shape is lined up utterly, entirely, consummately......(you get the picture).......in the most perfect manner. Yes indeedy, I am loving skipping down the oft-elusive path of perfectionism, with my itty bitty EPPs in hand, happily stitching as I enjoy the view. 

My arty farty soul is having the best of times with my itty bitty EPP hexies, fashioning flowers as I go. Instead of using paper shapes for my hexies, I have used iron on shapes. I wouldn't use iron-on paper if I was fashioning a whole quilt entirely of EPP hexies, but as this quilt will be one made of blocks with a hexie flower in each block it should be fine. The dear lady in the quilting shop assured me the iron-on paper would slowly dissolve, so throwing caution to the wind I decided to give them a go. If over time it doesn't work I will let you know, shall I.

As you can see I have continued to build teetering, tottering piles of hexies, both for my scrappy quilt-as-you-go quilt and for the EPP quilt. Love, love, LOVE!!

Colour my world with hexies!

I am continuing to work on my scrappy, quilt-as-you-go hexie as well as English Paper Piecing. My scrappy quilt has grown much too big for stitching in the car as we (my good husband and my good self) meander through the countryside. There has been talk around town of the strange man who drives around the countryside with a movable quilt next to him in the passenger seat. Thus the need to have a smaller stitch-wherever-you-go, pretty. Somewhere underneath these folds and folds of a hexie quilt, is a woman. Somewhere underneath this pretty, is li'l ole me! =)

I have also been stitching lengths of fabric strips to cover the seams at the back of my quilt-as-you-go pretty. My persnickety tendencies again. I like to cover the back seams with fabric as it looks lovely and also makes the quilt stronger. Besides, by doing this one has two quilts in one. Sounds 'perfect' to me!

My EPP quilt is going to be a simple one (famous last words). It will be a quilt made of  blocks with each hexie flower being the star attraction. Each block will be bordered by scrappy 2 inch squares....but then I have been known to change my mind.

I don't know why me and EPP have taken forever to become acquainted. Strange really, considering my love for hexagons. I have been falling down the rabbit hole of Pinterest of late and have been oohing and aahing over the Milliefiore and La Passacaglia quilts that all those clever souls are stitching at the moment. Be still my beating heart! Each and every one is truly the most magical work of art. Someday I would love to dance along the bejewelled Milliefiore, geometrical pavement and stitch one of these exquisite quilts, but for now this arty farty soul is loving stitching my sweet, little itty bitty hexie flowers.

Until the next time............

To embellish or not to embellish..........that is the question!!

Well.....in my case 'tis a rhetorical question as there was never any doubt that I would embellish.....even if only a little!!

And besides.......Little Miss Rhapsody in Blue is clamoring that she has a little bling sewn to her frock. Her French lace-cuffed hands are on her hips, ever so impatiently stamping her shiny, bright blue, satin slippers, petulantly demanding that her gorgeous, blue-hued frock be embellished with a little razzamataz!!

And....what do I need to add an ounce of sparkle, a shimmer of glitz to Little Miss Rhapsody in Blue?

Well......I must, must, MUST have a plethora of beautiful blue ribbons, of various widths to fashion ribbon flowers into a gorgeous arrangement of floral beauty.

And, of course I must have a receptacle in which to hold these flowers.

  

I happened upon a gorgeous vintage Indian sari in one of my favourite vintage shops in Sydney (Frou Frou Old and New) which had four of these wonderful jewel encrusted embroideries sewn on to it. I, of course, snapped it up for a song, having no idea at the time of what I was going to use it for; but I had an inkling that it just might come in handy some day as I strolled down my colourful, quilting path. And come in handy it did!

This exquisite embroidery reminds me of the beautiful French jardinieres from a century or so ago, that were filled with masses of floral extravagance with the odd cherub smiling amongst the flowers, with scrolls and cartouches dancing everywhere. So.....I decided to carefully stitch it on the quilt and fill it with a bouquet of flowers and leaves representing every shade of blue as a feature of Little Miss Rhapsody in Blue.

This jewel encrusted embroidered fancy is a beauty. The beads and jewels are sewn on duck egg blue tulle and has  a gorgeous aged patina where the jewels shine with a wonderfully muted brilliance. It is truly stunning......... and how serendipitous that I should find such a treasure!

 So....after ruching length after length of ribbon into zinnia-like flowers, folding and stitching french wired ribbon into blousey roses, stitching dancing ballerina-like fuchsias,  manipulating ribbon into pansies and fashioning ribbon into 'boat' leaves; with the addition of the odd smidgen of French lace here and there; I then stitched these efflorescent blooms where they now sit for evermore in the vintage 'vase'.

An overspilling abundance of floral extravagance.

  

 And....my signature vintage glove holding two or three long stemmed flowers.

And to finish the embellishing, swirls and swirls of ruched ribbon, buttons, buckles, beads and a few pieces of vintage ornamentation meandering it's way across Little Miss Blue.

 

 

I have covered the back seams with a 50mm width satin ribbon to cover any messy seams (as the backing is satin and just would not behave; there are a few seams that, let's just say, are a little less than perfect.....AND I am a bit of a  fusspot). Besides, by doing this the seams will have added strength.

Now......drum roll please................after stitching what seems like millions of tiny stitches, numb needle picked fingers and the bearing of Quasimodo after being hunched over and stitching for what seems an eternity......here she is....................

Little Miss Rhapsody in Blue.......... posing in all her glory complete with a pert little 'Alfreda' concoction (a present from my daughter whilst she was in France) sitting atop her pretty little head!

  

A blue-hued, embellished hexie which I hope will give many hours of delight to my very special friend Michelle!! Ours is a friendship of thousands of fibres connected to each other; threads which have lasted the gamut of life experiences....oft times hilarious, sometimes sad, shared interests, companionship, bottomless cups of tea AND always......Cadbury's chocolate!!

 

So Little Miss Rhapsody in Blue is all neatly folded, tied with a shiny blue satin bow waiting to make an appearance at her new home......where I hope she will give many years of pleasure as her new owner gazes upon her, bringing to mind special thoughts of a special friendship.

 It has been said that the road to a friend's home is never far......mmmmm.....well in this case my journey with Little Miss Rhapsody in Blue will involve a flight on a giant silver bird, flying over a very big pond, crossing a state till we arrive in Ole Sydney Town. Not to worry......I am looking forward to enjoying a lovely long weekend celebrating with my dear friend. I do hope that Little Miss Rhapsody in Blue behaves herself in the cargo hull of the big silver bird......she is not one for being couped up for too long.......and let's hope that she doesn't go missing in transit!!