Judy Niemyer

I was invited to join a "Stitch Group". It would be devoted to make Judy Niemyer quilts. I haven't done much paper piecing and thought it would be fun. How big of a commitment could it be?

So I went to Judy's website and checked it out. Until I was asked to join I didn't even know who she was or what she did.
Judy Niemyer www.quiltworx.com

I choose this pattern to work on. It was not so busy  in colour of most of her quilts seemed. And I liked the neutral space.

Little did I realize that this was a companion quilt. That means that it is make with the left over arcs of the quilt below.

So I sent for this pattern.

So far the commitment to time has been a bit more than expected.
One evening pulling fabric from the stash. I found 50 fat quarters or pieces of fabric to use in the quilt. 25 dark and 25 light. The twenty five had to be five different colour-ways.
Then (and still now) my basement is littered with the rejects and boxes that hold the fabric.

Then I had to prepare the fabric to cut. Ironing 50 fat quarters...easy to get done. It was... I like to iron. But wonderful friends dropped in to set up the fountain I bought to Springs ago. My hubby is not to handy in areas that he is not familiar with. It was much easier to set up when I realized that the top of the fountain was actually the bottom! 

Some of the fabric waiting to be ironed. 

Pile of fabric on the ironing board. First I made it damp with water and then I sprayed with Ellens Best Press. 

Once all the fabric was ironed I was done and it was supper time... 

After supper I packed up the required equipment and fabric for the next day.... 

My first day was inspiring. Most of the group was merrily sewing away making their blocks. One lady was doing the sewing by hand.... That is an amazing feat! 

I managed to cut out most of the fabric templates in the first stage. I still have to cut them up  into groups to go into bags to sew into the blogs. 

I will say that Judys method is very methodical. It is hard for a newbie to follow with out help. My help came in the form of reading the pattern about 50 times and watching Judy on you tube. 

I would have had to rely on the group to get me to understand what to do if I did not watch the videos... 

So I will document the progress as I make it. My goal is to get the fabrics all cut out and ready to start sewing next month. I will also have to watch some paper piecing videos along the way. 

Even though I am trying to go into the art quilting/fibre art world more I think that every traditional style quilt will teach me skills as well as beautifying my home. It really was an exercise in colour theory to pull the fabrics. 

I love my new group. So funny and inspirational. Thanks for inviting me! 

Jo