A New EPP Project!!

I have been holding off starting a new hand piecing project for months now!

I was waiting for Marge Sampson-George's Dodecagon pattern/template/EPP papers set to arrive from Australia via a network of cousins traveling back and forth to the USA. 

We finally connected at the end of January!

 I pulled out the designated box of fabric and started to cut in preparation for some EPP while traveling this month.

I began by sorting out the papers into twenty sets so it would be easy to prepare little stitching kits for grab and go work.

I am working with an assortment of mid-19th century reproduction prints so it will be a more subtle fabric palette than most of the Australian versions I've seen on Instagram.  My color palette is based on greens, coral reds, sulpher yellows, and browns.  These are some of the prints I pulled out of my "Civil War" stash to expand my choices.

Here are the first five sets I cut.  You'll notice there is some fussy cutting but not much.  I am taking care how I "position" the templates on the geometric prints and stripes prints so that a design motif that might catch the eye isn't off kilter to the degree that it distracts but I'm trying not to overdo that strategy either.

During the second cutting session, I consulted Instagram looking for photos of this quilt that have been shared by others.  My purpose in doing this was to study the value balance and imbalance of blocks to determine my own preferences for value and color placement as I continued to organize sets of four prints for more blocks.

With ten sets cut, I decided it was time for a stitching run through -- okay, I had seriously itchy fingers -- to see how long one block takes.  I'm pleased with this block and will cut a few more before the traveling begins. 

Once I return to the studio, I'll put this first batch on the design wall and finish cutting the rest of the blocks I need.  This approach gives me an opportunity to adjust the fabric selections as dictated by the outcomes of the first batch.  Will I need more of the reds, less of the yellows, etc.?

If you haven't seen this block, it's easiest to find on Instagram by searching for #dodecagon -- you'll discover some other weird things, too but you'll be inspired by the quilts using this design!

Edit -- September, 2019 

Marge Sampson George now has the pattern, templates, and papers available via this Etsy shop for this quilt -- click HERE.

And I made my own Sew Together bag to load up for the trip!  My granddaughter and I found this sweet print on a shopping trip during the Christmas holidays!

One side . . . .

. . . . . . and the other. 

I fussy cut some of it to make extra small pockets on the inside.

This is a photo just before I did the binding and inserted the final zipper.

If you follow me on Instagram (it's @hueymary), you'll see photos of blocks pop up over the next couple weeks as I relax -- stitching, reading and birding in a warmer climate!!

Enjoy February whatever the weather!!

Mary