When I started making the National Park patterns, the one color I didn’t have was brown. I had strong opinions about brown (in that I didn’t like it). I bought 2 brown Kona solids, an orange with a splatter print, a sky fabric (which ended up being my ABSOLUTE favorite), a black with some lines, […]
Author Archives: Rachael
04
Sep
Sep
One of the most annoying things in FPP, is when we have little tails poke out. Don’t worry! It happens to all of us. But you don’t have to settle for those little guys sticking out. There are a few things you can do. 1. Make sure when you are sewing the acute angle, that […]
01
Sep
Sep
Are you wondering just how much fabric you’ll need to make a whole National Park quilt!? The thought could be overwhelming, but you’ll be surprised at how little fabric a quilt takes! I like to use, and recommend, fat quarters because you’ll probably be bored of a color before you are done with the fat […]
01
Sep
Sep
Generally the summer time is when we take off, go exploring, and sewing stays at home…then it can be challenging to find mojo to start up again. I created Summer Camp as a way to explore the outdoors and National Parks whether you were at home, or out and about. The goal was to get […]
Glue basting acute angles can be tricky. Especially long skinny ones. There are a few things I’d like to draw your attention to. First, I miter baste all my corners; this will help you immensely!! It cuts down on bulk, which is imperative for these tiny pieces. Second, I don’t treat all acute angles the […]
When you are glue basting hexagons, it doesn’t really matter how you do it. Swipe the glue, press, done. When you get into intricate shapes, or smaller shapes, the way you glue baste becomes important. I am a huge fan of cheap school glue sticks . I get a 4 pack of white, washable school […]
It can be tricky to find time for your hobby, especially when it involves another hobby (traveling). I asked the quilters in my quilt along group how they make time for sewing their National Parks patterns. Some use EPP, some FPP. You will be inspired! What I do is at the bottom. Do you have […]
I realized not too long ago, that for the past I-don’t-know-how-many-years, I have given homemade gifts for Christmas. One year, it was a painting, another year I made felt floral wreaths, another year I made a linoleum print. When you are crafty, I think you probably are more inclined to MAKE gifts instead of BUY […]
04
Nov
Nov
One of the MOST frustrating parts of foundation paper piecing has GOT to be working with directional fabrics. I wrote about it earlier this year, and I discovered today, that I didn’t address directional fabric when working with angles that are on the sides of the pattern. In the previous pieces, the angles were on […]
If you have never English paper pieced, start here! One of the advantages to English paper piecing is curved piecing! I was stumped by this…until I discovered a trick!! In this video, I’ll show you my tricks for English paper piecing. It’s about halfway through the video, if you want to skip to that part […]