Time to play catch-up here I think. We’ve been enjoying a wonderful summer here so far and while that means we’re getting in lots and lots of fun garden and pool time it also means I’m staying far away from my computer and my blog. But now, as we experience a major heatwave, well major for us, I’m taking a little break from the garden, escaping the sun for a while and trying to play catch up with some blog posts.

As I am sure you all know only too well by now if there is one thing I do a lot of it is hand sewing. When first I tried English Paper Piecing (EPP) I was unconvinced that it was a method of sewing that I would enjoy. How wrong I was! Those first few hexies started my addiction with EPP and designing my own EPP projects. Because EPP is something that I can do pretty much anywhere any time I like to keep some pouches filled with supplies for whatever projects I am working on at a given time, and yes I usually have a few different projects on the go at one time.

English Paper Piecing | Mud, Pies and PinsAt the moment, for example, I am finishing up a mini quilt for the IG #handpiecedminiswap and another project for the #selfishswap; I have started trial piecing some maple leaves for the Flickr based Four Seasons Pillow Swap; I have my long-term project, the sun prints quilt; and finally there is my Liberty hexie collection – I try to always have a selection of ¼” and 1” Liberty hexies basted and ready to sew with just in case. What I work on usually depends on how much time I have available and whether or not there is an upcoming deadline.

English Paper Piecing | Mud, Pies and PinsBecause I have so many different projects on the go it helps if I have plenty of pouches in which I can pack the supplies for each individual project. However, I regularly find that there is no such thing as too many pouches. As a result I am always happy to add more to my collection and have found that swaps are a great way of doing so. One of latest additions came courtesy of the EPP swap group on Flickr of which I am a member. In the latest swap round we all made pouches to swap.

English Paper Piecing | Mud, Pies and PinsI received this gorgeous pouch from my partner and not only did she make me a beautiful pouch but she also filled it with lots of fabric goodies.

English Paper Piecing | Mud, Pies and Pins English Paper Piecing | Mud, Pies and PinsAs this was a secret swap I wasn’t making a pouch for the same person who created for me. When I first started to EPP I was playing around with hexie butterfly designs and decided I would dig into my hexie collection to recreate one of these for my partners pouch.

English Paper Piecing | Mud, Pies and PinsI chose a Grunge Basic fabric for the outer shell of the pouch and to this I appliquéd the butterfly, thread stitched some antennae, and quilted the whole with vertical wavy lines before going on to create a zippered pouch lined with Makower’s Sew Retro Vintage Pattern fabric in teal.

English Paper Piecing | Mud, Pies and PinsI added a detachable wrist strap to add portability to the pouch and as an added extra tucked a charm pack of Paris Flea Market fabric inside.

English Paper Piecing | Mud, Pies and PinsI do hope that my partner is getting as much use and enjoyment out of her pouch as I am out of mine. It currently holds the pieces for my #handpiecedminiswap and is well travelled as I have been working on this project a lot on my commute to and from work.

English Paper Piecing | Mud, Pies and PinsI hope you have enjoyed reading about my most recent pouch swap. Next up will be needlebooks. Hope to see you back here then.

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