July means summer and Christmas

In July I have to plan two lots of sewing.  Firstly the summer EPP sewing which I seem to start planning in about January.  There are two great EPP books out at the moment for inspiration.  The first is Hexagogo by Tacha Breucher.


 She takes takes hexagons and re-mixes them to make fresh modern quilts.  Like this union jack (yes, I love this quilt).


Or this funky quilt.


The other great EPP book out right now is Feathering the Nest by Brigitte Giblin who mixes all kinds of EPP projects with a lovely vintagey feel.


So after some browsing these books and internet chatting and mixing up ideas, I've come up with two summer EPP projects.  The first is a variation on Katy's Spring Carnival pattern made into something not a million miles from my favourite quilt circles (Georgetown Circles) so I'm going to call this quilt Georgetown Carnival.  If anyone wants to play along with me on this one, you can get a template set from Katy's etsy shop here and you can download printable templates from a link from the tutorials page on her blog which takes you here.  I'm going to make this quilt from vintagey fabrics - Curio from Basic Grey, Etchings from 3 Sisters, maybe some French General wovens, all mixed with some creams and greys. 


The second EPP project will use equilateral lozenges which I have drawn up on my iPad using Touchdraw and will be a much brighter project - again scrappy but this time bright scraps against a pale background.  If anyone fancies playing along with me on this one, let me know and I'll make the lozenge template available to you.  I think I will call this one Fruity Lozenges. 


And finally it's July, the time of year when Christmas fabrics ship out to shops and need to be snapped up.  And with that in mind, I've bagged some of Aneela Hoeys new Xmas line, Cherry Christmas for a secret project which I'll be able to show you when Christmas is a bit closer.  


What are you working on this summer?  Do you have any EPP plans?

Comments

  1. Wow, those hexagon quilts are inspiring! I have a whole stack of hexagons and I can't figure out what to do with them.

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  2. I am an EPP addict! Have fun starting your projects. I will be checking in on your progress ; )

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  3. Both those quilts look fantastic! I'm excited to see them in progress!

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  4. I love both of your patterns! I don't do EPP but my summer sewing plans include finishing piecing the hexies I started last summer (and hopefully starting ET) and (machine) piecing a Christmas quilt...when I finally decide what design I'm going to use! (I'd better decide soon as I'm starting it on Monday - I'm sick of dithering about it!)

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  5. OOh love your Georgetown Carnival idea - I just had a little play with my existing Spring Carnival pieces on Instagram ... Been playing with them all day for a blog post so this is such perfect timing ... thank you!

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  6. I REALLY like the Union Jack made with hexagons. Thanks for the lead to the book!

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  7. I'd love a lozenge template. I've been trying to figure out what I want to EPP out of a stack of fabric and I think this might be just the thing. Your picture makes it easy enough for me to work up on my own, but since you offered I'll go ahead and be greedy!

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  8. I love the book feathering the Nest and was planning to start working on Tesselations II. Your designs look tempting as well!!

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  9. I DO! I am just getting towards the finishing stages of hand quilting my hexagon quilt..so I have been searching like crazy for some EPP quilt ideas. I have looked seriously at Candied Hexagons. YUM!! Then I went to instantpiecing.com and did the mega download of all of their EPP shapes I figured it couldn't hurt to play with the shapes for 9.00 while I tried to figure out what I wanted to do. I also purchased New English Paper Piecing by Sue Daley It combines EPP with Applique and Stitching. It explains the techniques nicely. I also purchased Bella Bella quilts by Norah McMeeking (not EPP) but Paper Piecing. You can also purchase used books on EPP on Barnes and Nobles and Amazon for as little as .01 plus shipping and handling, which I umm got a little carried away with, and can't wait until they arrive. I hope they are in good condition like they say, because I really want to start a new EPP project. I just need a new project to keep my hands busy after I finish this hexagon quilt.

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  10. Both projects look promising. For the Georgetown carnival, will you piece the light gray parts, or applique each wheel onto whole cloth?

    I've been basting 1" hexies like crazy (almost 800 of them), and I'll soon restart piecing my red and blue hex quilt.

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  11. I've been basting hexies. I also want to do something that involoves mixing shapes similar to your first project.

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  12. I have a couple of epp's on the go at the moment:perfect for summer sewing. And I have just started to epp a double wedding ring template:wish me luck!!

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  13. My next EPP is the ET block and some Octagons for Brit Quilt Swap. I am trying to resist the urge to do a lozenge quilt now you've tempted me. But I'm putting on that on my future EPP list. Otherwise I'll just keep going back to hexies!

    I'm also thinking about Christmas and intend making some gifts from now on rather than the panic making in about November!

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  14. Love your hexi quilt proposal - love your fabric ideas too
    I need to be thinking of what I'm taking on holiday with me - hand sewing or drop spindle .....

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  15. Thanks so much for the inspiration and links. I am anxious to start a new EPP project and just ordered the new book Feathering the Nest. I like your idea for the Georgetown Carnival and of course am considering Candied Hexagons. Oh what is a girl to do!!

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  16. Love your Spring Carnival interpretation...! I have no EPP projects on the go but I think I should give it another go. I've only tried it once and have mixed feelings about the results. I have a feeling that it's definitely a skill that improves dramatically over time, if you give it that time. Thanks for the nudge!

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  17. I am working on the slowest Spring Carnival in town, although now the holidays are here, hoping for ample Parklife with the kids and time to sew!

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  18. Why yes I do actually. I've been doing a lot of EPP lately from Hexies to diamonds all in preparation for something I haven't decided on yet....=D

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  19. I'll play, but being winter down here it would more likely be throat lozenges rather than fruity :( So I can start sorting scraps, how big are those squares?

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  20. The next book looks great! After I complete my GFG, I was thinking of figuring out something modern for hexes. Thanks for show casing the book!!!!

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  21. oooh that's really, really nice. Especially the colours. It reminds me of those fiddly colouring books we had when we were young.

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  22. Fruity lozenges is making my mouth water!! I shall be truddling on with my rose star blocks :)

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  23. My summer project was a bit earlier than yours Lynne - I finished up a version of Katy's carnival pattern.Did most of it while on holiday.

    http://bluepatchquilter.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/busy-bee.htm

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  24. Love Fruity Lozenges...would love the template. Looks like the perfect mid-summer Olympic watching project!

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