Travelling PicStitch Bloghop

Welcome to the MRL stop on the Travelling PicStitch Bloghop!

Ever since I signed up for the Travelling PicStitch Bloghop I have spent a lot of time taking photos and trying to decide which image showed off my home in *Far Far Away* as well as gave me an awesome color palette...  As my readers know, I started this blog when I moved with my family from Brooklyn to a rural area located in Western New York.  For those of you who aren't familiar with New York geography we are an 8 hour drive from where we formerly called home.  And, as I've said time and time again, I'm so glad we decided to move here!  Here are some visuals about my area that I love...

Gotta love the American flag casually thrown over that 2nd floor porch.  [BTW Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers!  Hope you have enough leftovers to make turkey sandwiches!]  Plus doesn't that Rose Cottage Rooms sign look like something you'd buy to shabby chic up your home?  Nope that's just commonplace around here...

One of the reasons the Mr. and I decided moving here was happening was the Lake.  In fact, we just bought a house that has a lake view!

I tried capturing the amazing changing foliage that happens around here.

See?  There's some orange...

And I just LOVE these houses with these cool double porches!

Oddly enough...this was the photo I ended up going back to over and over...
First I made this palette with one of my favorite Chautauqua Lake photos...of me kayaking on my birthday.  However, I kept coming back to these blues and that just wasn't happening.  Love the gray, but blue isn't really in my fabric stash right now...so I had to say bye to that idea...

Eventually I came back to this rather simple photo of the foliage...I just love love love that limey green color which is in a lot of my home decor.  So, I knew no matter what I did I'd be able to use my English Paper Piecing Project in my home somewhere!

After ripping apart my stash (Keeping in mind that this was mid-packing to move into our new house so I was going a bit mad trying to find fabric.  When I signed up for the bloghop I had no idea we were going to end up moving to a new house!)  I love the way this palette goes so well with wood floors which is an important element in my new home.  I couldn't find a darker green fabric so I picked the darker brown (2nd up from bottom) because it had the green within it while picking up on the light green and grays at the same time.

Then.  I thought.  And thought some more.  Because, let's be real.  I am a sewing machine chica.  I bind by hand, but otherwise I am strictly a Bernina babe.  I was so excited when I joined the bloghop figuring this would be a great opportunity to do something new.  And, given the timing, I don't even know where my sewing machine is right now amongst all the boxes!  So it is actually a good thing I had a hand sewing project to do instead.  However, I had no idea where to begin.   Luckily the internet is a wonderful resources - yes?  I knew I had seen this here from the lovely Annabella and thankfully that brought me to Lynne's awesome template here.  Of course nothing is that straightforward in the world of MRL and now I sit in the evenings making lozenges and arranging, rearranging, rearranging some more while my husband looks at me with a quizzical "what are you doing."  I guess he was used to the sewing machine too!

At first English Paper Piecing was maddeningly slow going for me.  [Disclosure - I can't even find my damn sewing scissors so cutting fabric into small pieces is 3x as long with my kitchen scissors.]  With the half packed boxes around me I felt a bit of guilt spending time sewing by hand on the couch even when it is my own stupid fault for procrastinating on getting this started.  However, after a lozenge or two I began feeling much better, at peace almost, giving myself some time to enjoy the process and think about what I'm going to do in the house next.  (find my drinking glasses eventually I hope, the Solo cups are a bit too college for me these days)

I am going to make a cushion for the couch as I originally planned when I chose my palette...but do I go traditional piecing layout...

or something more modern.

Not sure.  I just have to show how off cute this is...fussy cutting is so easy with EPP...

I am loving EPP now and this is going to make an AWESOME cushion when it is done!  I'm already considering doing a 2nd EPP with the same palette using a similar pattern to the one I loved at Echinops and Aster during Janelle's stop on the bloghop!

Moral of the MRL Travelling PicStitch Bloghop experience?  Give English Paper Piecing a try!  Don't do it while you are unpacking.  And if you find yourself in Western New York take a moment to enjoy its beauty and look me up!

- rebecca lynne

Don't forget to visit the remaining stops on the Travelling PicStitch Bloghop!  

24 Diane @ From Blank Pages

25 Bev @ Missy Bee, That’s Me

26 Danny @ Mommy For Reals

27 Laura @ MayYourBobbinAlwaysBeFull

28 Nic @ Dragon Rambles

29 Dana @ Sea Sew

PLUS - be sure to show of your own EPP project with your travel photo inspiration and link up on Nov 30th for some awesome prizes!

Sponsored by Paperpieces.com, FabricwormPink Castle Fabrics ,  Marmalade Fabrics, the Fat Quarter Shop, WantItNeedItQuilt, and Aurifil.

Full details for competition entry can be found here.