Penny Sampler Episode 5: May




The Penny Sampler blocks have got new buddies: lots of little penny plusses that are sitting on the green sashing.



This  month's episode was a really hard one for me. It's not that the blocks have been too difficult to make, it's more that I felt kind of paralyzed when I thought of choosing fabrics for the tiny penny plusses, cutting and then sewing them. I had a hard time to find any kind of motivation and my creativity had left me for a four week holiday.
It was that fatal combination of too much stress (most of it created by myself), awful weather and exhaustion that ate up all my energy and creativity.



Then, last weekend I cought a cold and spent the whole weekend flat on the couch feeling like a dead beetle. But what do you think? I stayed off work from monday till wednesday (thursday is a holiday and friday is a free day anyway), felt immediately better and my creativity hit me full power. Now my brain is bubbling with ideas for using up scraps, EPP and new quilts. And the sun is shining full power all the day!!!

My thought was "as long as you are ill, you have to do only things that are good for you!". I took my time and finished all the cute little penny plusses in just one day, with no stressing or pushing at all, just one step after the other. And what is the most important thing: I enjoyed every single minute of this process while thinking about creativity and a peaceful mind.



It's incredible how often I have to tell me the obvious: take one step after the other!
And again, the Penny Sampler Quilt is going to become a very special quilt for me, because it is teaching me exactly this simple thing. That's why I found the perfect name for the finished work: "Festina lente". A Latin quote that you could translate similar to "take your time" (sorry, the German translation is far easier for me).

While working at the penny plusses I found out that this time is the first time I have been working with such a lot of so tiny pieces. Rachel has been right, accuracy is essential here. Luckily I have got enough experience in exact sewing during my time of sewing historical costumes. Anyway it takes a lot of concentration and you must not haste or you are going to regret it 😏.



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