"You've Got A Friend" by James Taylor kept running through my head all summer long
as I sewed the winter, spring, summer, and fall rows for the EQ7 Seasons Row-A-Long.
"You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again. Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
all you have to do is call and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, you've got a friend."
I love that song!
I'm so grateful for my friends in the blogging world.
You make my days so much better! Speaking of bloggy friends...
Marian at
Seams To Be Sew has worked hard to get amazing sponsors for this blog hop
and has kept us all motivated to create and share our rows with you. Thanks, Marian!
More thanks go to her helpers, Amy at
Sew Incredibly Crazy and Bea at
Beaquilter!
To stay in the loop of this blog hop you can join us on
Facebook and Flickr.
When
Amy asked me to play with her and the other EQ7 pros, I was so excited I just said,
"YES!" Then I freaked out a little and told her I was still learning so maybe I shouldn't do this. She said it was okay that I hadn't mastered EQ7 and that I could still join in. Thanks, Amy!
It's been a little intimidating to work with the other ladies who are so very talented, but I've had a lot of fun playing along and seeing their creative rows come to life in fabric. As for my row and my knowledge of EQ7, as a beginner I only know the basics of working in it. But some of it is so easy, I wasn't afraid to just go for it and play around. If you've been afraid to use your EQ, DON'T BE! They have videos to watch and there are lots of tips and tutorials on the web.
Some of the designers (including me) jumped in to make a whole quilt using some of the rows that had been created. I wish I could have used them all, but it would have been a seriously
HUMONGOUS QUILT! I'll be showing my whole quilt on
October 6th, but here's a pic of what my paper pieced fall row looked like before it was added to my quilt. It's made with Artisan Spirit fabrics from
Northcott. The colors are amazing and the fabric was perfect for the whole quilt!
The finished row measures 7" x 60"
To get started I clicked on the icon "Work on Block."
Please remember, I'm no pro at this, but I knew that as in any paper piece pattern, the lines had to
connect to other lines. When you click on the pencils on the left it lets you drag and draw lines.
Mine is a simple block, but it was an easy one for me to learn on.
You can color your block by clicking on the "Color" tab at the bottom of the screen. EQ7 includes
some fabrics and colors for you practice with, but you can also download fabrics, which was
great for me because I could see what some of the Northcott fabrics looked like in my blocks.
One nice thing about EQ7 is that I am able to print out my patterns in a paper piecing/foundation
format with the numbers already there. It also allows me to move the numbers if necessary.
You can see the heart pumpkin prints out in four sections.
Each part within the sections have numbers to show you the order to sew them.
The four sections get sewn together to create the pumpkin heart.
The plain heart has two sections with numbers which will be sewn together.
The flying geese pattern is so easy...just one piece!
Just a thought...adding an appliqued heart to the plain pumpkin block instead of paper piecing the
heart block is a short cut and still makes for a fun block. Plus, the plain heart is pretty easy to sew!
Trace the heart on the non fusible side of fusible webbing.
Iron webbing to the wrong side of fabric with the fusible side down
(follow manufacturers instructions for fusing.)
Cut out heart along the lines.
Iron heart, fusible side down, to center of completed pumpkin.
Zig-zag stitch or blanket stitch around the edges. Repeat on all three pumpkins.
I just love the rich, deep red of Northcott's Artisan Spirit Falling Leaves - Autumn Harvest.
Thanks, Northcott, for sending me some of this beautiful fabric and the Toscana, too!
Northcott's Artisan Spirit Falling Leaves # 5071-25
If you don't feel like creating your own paper pieced blocks, there are quite a
few patterns included with the EQ7 software...how great is that!
Look! There's even a paper pieced Jack-O-Lantern included in the patterns!
To find other patterns, open "Libraries" and click on the drop down "Block Library."
A "Block Libraries" box will pop up on the screen. Click on "03 Foundation Pieced" and
you'll see quite a few categories of blocks made specifically for paper/foundation piecing.
If you find yourself running out of your sewing room screaming in spite of tutorials and other
instructions you've read about paper/foundation piecing, EQ7 offers another alternative--templates.
Besides printing your block as a foundation pattern, EQ7 lets you select "Templates" to print out
the exact shape and size templates you'll need to create blocks. It's a pretty cool feature, I think!
These are the flying geese templates and key box. Some knowledge of sewing is required when
working with these templates because that information is not included when printing them out in
EQ7. Luckily, this is a fairly easy piece to sew together, especially if you look at the key box.
All pieces are sewn together with a scant 1/4" seam.
I printed my templates on freezer paper and ironed them to the right side of my fabrics.
You will need to cut this number of pieces out of your fabric for
EACH block:
A - 2 pieces
B - 3 pieces
C - 3 pieces
D - 3 pieces
Template "B" is sewn to "D" and pressed open. *Pay attention to the direction you connect them.
Template "C" is sewn on "B" and "D" and pressed open.
Repeat to get three flying geese.
Sew geese together as shown below:
Sew the two "A" templates to the sides of the flying geese.
This is what the pumpkin templates look like.
It includes a key box to know which pieces are which.
You will need to cut this number of pieces out of your fabric for EACH block:
A - 1 piece
B - 1 piece
C - 2 pieces
D - 1 piece
E - 1 piece
F - 4 pieces
G - 2 pieces
H - 2 pieces
I - 2 pieces
Sew "A" to "B".
Sew both "C" pieces to the corners of "D".
Sew "E" to the "C" and "D" piece.
Sew the A-B piece to the C-D-E piece.
Press seams flat. Set aside.
Sew the H-G-I pieces together in the following order as indicated in the key box:
H - I - G - G - I - H
Sew an "F" template piece to each corner of the H - I - G - G - I - H section.
Press seams flat.
Sew both sections together as shown in key box. Press seams open.
Add the heart shown above to three of the pumpkin blocks, if desired.
To make my fall row, click below to download PDF pattern.
It will include the paper pieced patterns and templates for pumpkins and flying geese.
You can download the pattern
HERE.
or you can leave me a comment and I will email it to you.
AND NOW...THREE GIVEAWAYS!
lucky winner who enters the giveaway below. Thanks Fat Quarter Shop!
You can only enter once at this blog. Multiple entries will be disqualified.
Northcott fabrics is giving one lucky recipient, 6-8 pieces of fabric at 1 yard lengths each.
You may only enter once. In other words, if you enter it here, do not enter it at the other blogs.
