There’s a new sewing bag in the studio! This was an entirely unexpected but very welcome surprise that led to the creation of a dedicated sewing kit for all my English paper piecing (EPP) essentials and notions!
I’m hoping this new little kit encourages me to settle in for more EPP action, and I’m just thrilled this beyond adorable bag was gifted to me by my very talented quilty friend Ange, of A Little Patchwork.
You might remember that Ange made an appearance on the blog with her guest spot in the What’s in Your Sewing Bag series. She’s one of the OGs, and it makes me smile she’s making another appearance 😊
For more sewing kit inspiration, check out:
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Backstory
I always love a good story, and this adorable bag has a story to tell.
It goes back over 6 years ago when Ange and I first met on Instagram. If you didn’t know, I’m a huge fan of Ange’s. Her work is beyond pretty and is highly focused on EPP. You know my love for EPP, but my hands are not as into it – ha! This is why I love living vicariously through Ange as she works on her EPP adventures.
Cut to a couple of weekends ago when I had the chance to meet Ange in person.
When I first got her DM asking me where in Canada I live, my instant response was “I live in Montreal. Are you coming to Canada?????”
You have no idea how excited I was when she responded that she was indeed coming to Canada, and would be staying in Ottawa.
Plans were instantly made to meet up for lunch!
Quilty gifts are the best
I think it’s safe to say that you and I have a mutual appreciation for handmade gifts, and handmade quilted gifts are simply the best! This probably stems from the fact that you understand just how much work goes into creating a one-of-a-kind handmade item.
What Ange gifted me
So, after our lunch together and before we said our goodbyes, Ange handed me a paper bag filled with a bunch of goodies, and in there I found:
- A pack of Tim Tams – if you haven’t tried the OG Tim Tams then you’re in for a real treat!
- A pack of Caramello Koalas – we have Caramilk here in Canada, but I’d never heard of Caramellos. Since koalas are native to Australia, it makes sense that this is a unique to them product.
- A key chain (yes, I do love my coffee!)
- A cat pin (Ange knows me well!) – which I upcycled into a DIY needle minder!
- A handmade zip pouch featuring English paper piecing and hand-quilted
- A handmade needlebook featuring fussy cut details and hand-quilting
Fun, right?!
Notions you need to English paper piecing
What I love about English paper piecing is that you don’t need a ton of notions to get yourself set up. Here’s everything I keep in my English paper piecing sewing kit:
English paper piecing project – this has been a looooong time in the making! I started the Mischief Quilt back in early 2017 and I’m nowhere near to being done – ha!
- Needles
- Needlebook – here’s a tutorial to make your own
- Glue pen
- Embroidery scissors
- Thread
- Needle minder – here’s a tutorial to make your own
- Small clip – this is a new addition for me as I’ve been using it like you would the Sew Tites magnets. I just clip two of my EPP templates together and the little clip keeps them in place while I hand stitch them together.
That’s it! Super simple, right? And the best part is this kit is travel-friendly. So, if you’re on the hunt for a hand-sewing project that you can bring with you:
- To your kid’s hockey games
- While waiting at the doctor’s office
- While sitting in the car waiting for school pick-up
- While chatting with friends on the phone
- For those early morning quiet stitch sessions as you watch the sunrise
- For long car rides (if you don’t get car sick)
See, lots of opportunities to sneak in some EPP action!
Being organized encourages your creativity
Now that I’ve got my new EPP sewing kit all set up, it’s already encouraged me to dive into some Engish paper piecing action!
On Sunday morning, I spent some quiet time gluing my fabric in place to prepare for stitching more Mischief Quilt blocks together. It was so lovely to pull out my little sewing bag and have all my essentials in one spot.
Plus, just seeing my EPP kit instantly made me think of Ange and our time in Ottawa together. This instantly made me smile! It really is the simple things in life that can bring us the most joy.
For more hand-sewing ideas, check out:
Nothing like a new sewing kit to encourage you to dive into making! While I don’t expect quilty miracles that my Mischief Quilt will get done any time soon, I am thrilled to be better set up for EPP action and honoured to have some original pieces made by Ange in the studio!
I hope this post not only encourages you to create handmade quilty goodies for your friends, but I also hope this gets you curious about setting up your own dedicated sewing kit for English paper piecing. Maybe this is the incentive we both needed to get back to our EPP projects!
xo
Shannon
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