UFP to FP

You've heard of UFO's....well I have a lot of UFPs: Un-Finished Projects.  They know me well....so they remain patient.

This paper pieced project has been waiting patiently since December of 2021 and now it's an FP: Finished Project!  I made it to be a colorful little mug rug..... I use one every day on my puzzle table.  It's just the right size for a small lunch plate or a cup of tea and a cookie.

It's all done by hand....except the quilting step. I have to limit my hand stitching....but I still find anything done by hand to be meditative.

The filtered natural light of my backyard continues to be the best for photographs. The colors just pop! And I do love the rock wall...and the woods as my backdrop.  

I wrote about my first English paper pieced projects in a post back in 2021. It's where you can see how I make and baste the squares around paper squares.

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2021/11/english-paper-piecing.html

 

Because I didn't want to lose any of the outside edges of the squares 

by machine stitching a seam, I sewed the border on by hand. 

 

I used the same technique to get a mitred corner as 

I would when I machine stitch a border.  Next I placed it on a piece of heavy weight batting that was cut slightly bigger and layered it all on top of a piece of fabric backing. 

I chose colorful variegated thread and stitched in the ditch by machine....this quilting is what holds all the layers together. I had to start and stop at the edge of the border and pull all the threads to the back and tie them off.

I actually like the effect quite a lot...

and it was way faster than hand quilting.  

and it covered up my little gray hand stitches.

I secured the border around to the back.  It got a little wonky in a few corners...it should have been narrower so there was too much fabric to maneuver.  The striped fabric might have been an odd choice to go with the batiks....but I had my reasons.  

I like the whimsical frame it adds....and although the prominent color is red...it's has the whole rainbow spectrum in the stripes....including pink! Postal tracking tells me it arrived at its destination today....and I hope the special recipient enjoys this  FRP: Finished Rainbow Project!

Speaking of pink.....isn't this a fabulous object that Kathy found!

I guess this is an IFO....Identified Found Object. 😂