Rainbow colored EPP hexagon pillow WIP

I try out new things in quilting very frequently and lately I am trying to find the right thread and needle that work best for hand stitching the hexagons and other EPP (English Paper Piecing) shapes together.

I didn't wanna make a project that was of no use when it was finished so I decided to raid my little fabric stash and make a quick rainbow quilt with a fat quarter selection, to turn into a pillow case.

I made a bunch of hexagons, 10 of each color (2 spare ones included, just in case) and I decided on a gray outline of the rainbow simply because I found mini charm squares (2.5" squares) in my stash.

Here is a progress picture so far:

I will add 3 more rows of hexagons. So far it measures approx. 16" across and 17" high. No idea so far what I am going to quilt on this but I am loving it already. If you have ideas, feel free to comment and share with us.
BTW don't the dotted hexagon look like rolling dices? or is it me? lol

I have tried the "in-betweens" needles in the bottom part of my project and decided that they are too short for me to hold and the holes are bigger than I like them to be.

I am now using a Milliners needle with Masterpiece thread from Superior Threads. Love the Bohin Milliners needle (even it is bending slightly)

Below I am sharing the items I have purchased, so you can too.

I will keep sharing this WIP as it progresses and of course I will introduce you to my other WIP's since who doesn't have 1 or 2 or...lol 

EPP template generating gadgets - Part 1

One of the most asked questions I get from new English Paper Piecing (EPP) lovers/swappers, even seasoned ones, is the question if there is a faster way to cut templates for English Paper Piecing.

So, I am going to share my knowledge here of the products I found to be helpful for my EPP. Every time I will share something new that I have tried.

First I discovered this amazing Hexagon Squeeze Punch...oh my what an eye opener. Now I can sit in front of the tv (even on the go) and just squeeze this punch in 1 layer of cardstock paper and make unlimited amounts of 1" hexagons.

The cardstock/Index card stock, I cut for my hexagon templates with this punch is this 90lbs, gray, 250 sheets/ream.

I find it to work perfectly for my templates and easily removes when needed. It is just a tad "thicker" than normal paper but not flimsy and easy to cut with the Fiskars Squeeze Punch.

With the 1" hexagon Fiskars punch, I get 15 hexagons out of a 8.5" by 11" sheet. This means this ream of cardstock/index card stock will supply me with 3,750 hexagon templates 😁😁😁for about $8-9 on Amazon.

You can use a Scan N cut machine for cutting your EPP templates of course too. I have one and I do use it from time to time for these out of the ordinary EPP templates. In future posts I will supply you with the CSV files (cutting files) for any of the cutting machines out there like the Silhouette and Cricut.

I will work on Part 2 of this series so in the mean time: Make sure to signup for my EPP swaps and EPP Quilt Alongs.