Ferris Wheel Patchwork

I've recently been spending time doing some traditional hand sewn patchwork (known to the English as paper-piecing and to our friends across the pond as English Paper Piecing or EPP).

Along with a Tilda quilt for my daughter (which I have been piecing on holiday and haven't taken any pictures of yet), I have picked up some patchwork I started many moons ago.

The Ferris Wheel pattern is simple as it is made up of hexagons, squares and triangles. (I've seen lots of tutorials on blogs so I'm not going to go into details of how to sew it here). However, it's really effective and it is fun to put together while I'm watching TV or catching up with friends during the 'social distancing' currently in place.

My bedroom is mainly pink and grey and eventually this will be a runner for the foot end of the bed. I've been sewing this on and off for years as I gather left over fragments of grey fabric and then run out again!

This shows a completed section of the front of the patchwork:

This shows the back - it's the section with the paper removed:

For anyone interested in the pattern, there is a downloadable copy of the instruction file available here in a shared folder on my GoogleDrive: The Ferris Wheel Instructions has the overall information and calculations for the numbers of pieces to use. 

You can buy a copy of the Ferris Wheel Printable Template here which has both a colouring page to help with designing your layout and the shapes to cut out (sized at 1 inch).

This is a screenshot I took from @JennyRach on Instagram of the cushion I made for her in a swap back in 2015 using the same pattern. It looks very different in black/white and rainbow prints ...

This is a close up of the stitching, just a simple blanket stitch done on my sewing machine to match the colour around the wheels:

Let me know if you tried this out, or shout if you have any questions!

Swapping fun

I have recently signed up for a couple of Quilty Mini Swaps which I have always found to be great fun. It's a wonderful excuse to do something a little bit different to blocks and personal projects and widens the quilty horizons!

One of the new swaps I have joined is the UK Mini Swap. It is hosted by the lovely Nina (@BossyOz on Instagram) and I am linked up with Heidee once again as she is my 'swap mamma'. 

This is my swap 'button'

I won Heidee's foxy giveaway back in the autumn and she sent me a wonderful package of quilty treats!

All the information for the swap is shared here on Nina's blog.

I am delighted to be a 'swap mamma' for one of the UK Mini Swap teams.

A 'swap mamma' supports the swap members,  acting as a point of contact for queries (and holds the swap partner information) which can help spread the load from the swap owner. This is particularly helpful in large swaps and when key milestones are reached like the initial swapping of partner information and posting the finished item.

I have also joined the Rainbow Mini Swap, which has us all making rainbow themed mini quilts and is the brain child of Kate Basti (@katebasti on Instagram). Kate also has a shop on Etsy selling her creations: StitchNKitsch and she is based in Ohio so it's an international swap.

I was inspired to go for a Ferris Wheel pattern for this swap, by something one of my swap buddies said about patchworking (English Paper Piecing). 

It's made up of 3 shapes: hexagons, triangles and squares. These can be used to create 'wheels' - here I have used brightly coloured fabrics to highlight the pattern with a black/white background and outer edge. I have a few more edging pieces to add in this photo and then I'm on the the next step. It's a work in progress but I'm pleased with it so far: 

 

I'm planning to post a tutorial for the Ferris Wheel pattern .... watch this space!

My partners are going to stay a secret .... I know who I am making my quilts for and they have provided me some clues as to what they like, including some of their favourite quilting inspiration and a little about themselves.