Numbers & Punctuations and Blogging!

I have so many things I want to blog about... but I feel like I'm running around with my head cut off as it is. I really need to learn to simplify! Anyone have any tricks? ;) Either way, here I am stopping in to say hi! I'm still alive. :)

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway last week! It was SO much fun reading all your birthday wishes! I would gladly celebrate with many of you. ;) I did pick a winner, but stalled in announcing who it is because I wanted to finish up another pattern to make available for the pattern pool. :)

Yep, I FINALLY finished the

My ABCs: Numbers & Punctuations 

an alphabet paper piecing pattern

 

 

I started this at the beginning of this year, but for some reason didn't finish compiling the pattern. Well, here it is! :) 

I started making a cute little counting fabric book. Here are my pages so far:

 It will go up to ten. I fussy cut all the "pictures" for the pages and look forward to putting it together. This would work well to embroider or applique pictures too. (another pattern added to the list.) :)


About the Pattern:

This pattern includes 24 pages! 53 patterns total!
:: 4 pages of instructions and diagrams for using this specific pattern
:: 2 sets of the numbers 0-9. One set with E and one set without E.
:: 2 sets of punctuation marks. 14 different characters in the set without E, 19 characters in the set with E.


I made this pattern completely compatible with any and all of the My ABC patterns (lowercase, uppercase, and the complete set). In order to do that, there are two different sets of patterns. One with E and one without E.

See how there is that extra piece on the bottom? That piece takes out all the hassle of using letters such as j, g, p, q, and the punctuation marks , ; ( ) all of which extend below the letter line (is there an actual term for that?).  If you are using any of those characters, simply use the pattern pieces with E. If you are not using any of those, use the other pattern and you have one less piece to deal with. The Lowercase only pattern contains the E set. The Uppercase only pattern only has the pattern without E. The Complete set has all of them (uppercase with and without E, and lowercase with and without E = 4 total sets of the alphabet)! The perfect mix and match pattern. And now there are numbers and punctuations to go with them!!


 I was so lucky to have Martha of Weekend Doings test the pattern for me months ago! Thanks Martha! You can see her blog post about it HERE. She said I could share her pictures with you too.

 

 I love them!

(You have to go stop by her blog. It SO great! Her photos are so beautiful, and it's just comfortable. I want to stay and read for hours.) :)


Here is what she said to me in her review email. I hope she doesn't mind. ;)

"Thank you for the opportunity of allowing me to test your new pattern. You have done an amazing job! I have to admit though, when I first printed out the pattern and flipped through the pages I was very intimidated by it. I was like "holy smokes how am I going to do this?"  I don't have much experience with paper piecing. This was actually my second time using a paper piecing pattern (the first one being your Illusion Pattern). Well, it is not complicated at all! The instructions you included with the pattern are very concise and explain very well how the pattern works. The examples are very helpful.

I wish I had had more time. I really wanted to test all of the numbers and punctuation sings. But as you know, sometimes life just gets in the way. I was able to test the question sign, the exclamation point and  the number 5. I pieced the exclamation point and the question sing enlarged at 150%. The number 5 I pieced it at 100%. The end result is stunning. It is amazing to see how they start to take shape piece by piece. I found the pattern to be very accurate. All the pieces of the pattern that I tested consisted of two sections and when the time came to put them together they aligned so perfectly. 

This is a very versatile pattern and I can see myself using it again and again."

I am so honored to have such a kind and positive review! Thank you Martha from the bottom of my heart! And... for all of you who are intimidated by paper piecing, DON'T BE! It's so much fun! :) You can try it out on any of my patterns, and if you have any questions or problems along the way, I'd be more than happy to help you!


Tammie of craftytammie also reviewed the pattern for me. Her numbers are so cute! (I forgot to email her until right now to see if I could share her pictures. I'll blog about them later if she doesn't mind.) :)

Here is what she told me,

"I will be honest with you, I've only paper pieced 4 or 5 blocks, ever. And I was nervous about some of those teensy bits in these numbers. But so far, so good, the only errors have been mine (forgetting to trim, or not using enough fabric to cover the seam allowance) I'm enjoying the process, and they are so stinking cute when they're finished!"

  Everyone always tells me my patterns are so intimidating. lol. I'm SORRY!! ;) I don't mean for them to be. Trust me, you don't have to be intimidated. I'm too lazy to make complicated blocks. Honest. :D And I make the same errors. Thank you Tammie!! (be sure to check out her blog too! She has some, ok a lot of, awesome projects! I've gotten to know her better on Instagram, and I think we're good friends (I think so anyway).  ;) I totally forgot she tested this for me, so when I saw that she did, I was really excited about it. It's fun to remember where I first "met" people. She did find some mistakes with the pattern, but they have all been corrected.


If you are new to paper piecing, you can find a full tutorial on my blog, including Supplies, Cutting, Piecing Block, and finishing. Although the pattern used in the tutorial is not the same, the principles are all the same! You can find the tutorial HERE.

If you are on Instagram, check out my feed right now! I am hosting a giveaway for you and a friend to win a copy of this pattern as well as My ABCs Complete Pattern! I'll pick a winner tomorrow sometime. :) Just tag a friend on my picture, AND repost the picture for an extra chance to win!

My ABCs: Numbers & Punctuations 

can be found on Craftsy and Etsy.

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Merry Christmas!