Red Pepper Quilts: The Daisy Chain Quilt - An English Paper Piecing Project

The Daisy Chain Quilt - Part 5 A Finished Quilt Top | Red Pepper Quilts 2016

The Daisy Chain Quilt
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It is time for another Daisy Chain Quilt update and today is cause for celebration for I now have a finished quilt top! Just under five months in the making ... many, many hours of late night stitching. What's more, I am so thrilled with how it turned out.

There is no part of making this quilt that I did not enjoy. Choosing fabric is always a delight and (glue) basting the paper pieces is not so monotonous if you break it up over multiple basting sessions. It is part of the process and it is so satisfying to see a whole bunch of pieces ready for a long evening of whip stitching.

This is not my first attempt at English Paper Piecing but it is my first completed quilt top. This was my first time glue basting the papers and if it wasn't for glue basting this quilt top would not here. Glue basting was quick and effortless. I chose to leave in all the papers until the entire quilt top was complete and I re-glued less than 20 paper pieces during the five month period that this quilt was in progress. Once the quilt top was finished the papers were removed - I estimate that the paper removal took about 3 hours. Some papers were ready to pop out without a lot of effort, most needed some gentle persuasion. Very few papers (less than 10) had been stitched into and needed careful extraction so as not to break the thread. All up, no complaints and I will definitely glue baste again. And again.

QUILT STATS

Quilt top measures 67 inches x 75 inches.

First stitch 15 January 2016.

Last stitch 4 June 2016.

150 Daisy Chain Units (plus 12 half Daisy Chain Units).

1555 pieces.

Notions/Tools used:

1" Hexagon Centers
1" x 2" Jewel Pieces (6 for each Daisy Chain unit)
2" Diamonds (six pointed star)
Acrylic Hexagon Template with a 3/8" seam allowance for cutting fabrics.
Acrylic Jewel Template with a 3/8" seam allowance for cutting fabrics.
Acrylic Diamond Template with a 3/8" seam allowance for cutting fabrics.
Water Soluble Basting Glue - both Sewline and Sue Daley brand glue refills.
Straw Needles - Size 11.
Bottom Line thread.
Background fabric is Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton in White.

I have to say that I am really happy with my stitches. You cannot see the stitches (thread) when looking at the quilt top; visible stitches can sometimes happen when whip stitching. I think the use of both the of fine thread and a long thin needle contributed to this result.

This quilt top will be quilted by Karen Terrens from Quilts on Bastings - a professional long arm quilter who also happens to be my sister - and I am looking forward to seeing how she works her magic on this quilt.

I am now eagerly planning my next hand sewing project. Ironically now that this quilt is finished I have invested (after much research) in a floor lamp so that I will no longer need to use the light from my iPhone - balanced precariously on a pillow - to see what I am doing. Imagine how much more I'll get done without the frustration of threading a needle without sufficient light.