Howdy,
it's time to release the results of the second month of my Penny Sampler Quilt adventure.
This month, too, was a month of applique blocks and I had the chance to practice my skills. Rachel gave us three blocks to make, two of them were really quick: the clover and the mitten; while the third, the little village, was a bit more work.
Here you can see the clover and the mitten.
While in January I was doing the hearts using the freezer paper method (which caused me a few new grey hairs, wink), this time I used the sew & turn applique method for all appliqued pieces, a method I prefer because I can applique almost every shape with it.
I love the sketch stitch applique and I know that there is more to come 😄.
Then I took a little break because I was feeling a bit intimidated by the thought of piecing "masses" of tiny pieces for all the houses for the little village. But last weekend I got hooked and grabbed my fabric box to dig through the scraps for the little houses. Then everything came together really quick.
Here you can see the finished village.
I first had a bit of a hard time while trying to decide which fabrics to use for the houses. I wanted to use up as many scraps as possible, and I have been successful. Yeah, a few scraps less (and some more 😉). The roofs are made of scraps, too. Here the choice was really easy, I wanted to use the brown and gingham red scraps.
I appliqueed the roofs by hand, because I like the look of it. And of course, I want to practice as many techniques as possible to learn as much as possible and to find my favorite techniques.
I learned something new and very important about quilting and me during this month:
I recognized that when I am working on a quilt I have a tendency of pushing myself to get finished. With this attitude I put me under pressure so that piecing and quilting a whole quilt can get really frightening for me. The result is a finished quilt top that is lying around for a long time because I lost my motivation. This is a pity because I love quilting.
While I am working at the Penny Sampler this year I am doing a small amount of piecing each month which allows me to enjoy quilting with all my senses (f.e. a pot of tea and a little treat) and without pressure during my free time. It's slowing me down, giving me the chance to look closer at details and to reconsider made decisions. And when I am finished with the blocks of the month I am full of motivation and curiosity about what will come next. I am forced to allow the quilt to grow on its own which is a completely new and wonderfully relaxed way of making a quilt. This quilt is going to be a very special quilt for me because it has taught me a very valuable lesson.
I have to say that I learned a lot from this experience. So I am going to write down a few small "mantras" to remind me of the really important things about quilting:
1) Break down the big to smaller portions.
2) Take one step a time.
3) Enjoy what you are doing.
it's time to release the results of the second month of my Penny Sampler Quilt adventure.
This month, too, was a month of applique blocks and I had the chance to practice my skills. Rachel gave us three blocks to make, two of them were really quick: the clover and the mitten; while the third, the little village, was a bit more work.
Here you can see the clover and the mitten.
I love the sketch stitch applique and I know that there is more to come 😄.
Then I took a little break because I was feeling a bit intimidated by the thought of piecing "masses" of tiny pieces for all the houses for the little village. But last weekend I got hooked and grabbed my fabric box to dig through the scraps for the little houses. Then everything came together really quick.
Here you can see the finished village.
I appliqueed the roofs by hand, because I like the look of it. And of course, I want to practice as many techniques as possible to learn as much as possible and to find my favorite techniques.
I learned something new and very important about quilting and me during this month:
I recognized that when I am working on a quilt I have a tendency of pushing myself to get finished. With this attitude I put me under pressure so that piecing and quilting a whole quilt can get really frightening for me. The result is a finished quilt top that is lying around for a long time because I lost my motivation. This is a pity because I love quilting.
While I am working at the Penny Sampler this year I am doing a small amount of piecing each month which allows me to enjoy quilting with all my senses (f.e. a pot of tea and a little treat) and without pressure during my free time. It's slowing me down, giving me the chance to look closer at details and to reconsider made decisions. And when I am finished with the blocks of the month I am full of motivation and curiosity about what will come next. I am forced to allow the quilt to grow on its own which is a completely new and wonderfully relaxed way of making a quilt. This quilt is going to be a very special quilt for me because it has taught me a very valuable lesson.
I have to say that I learned a lot from this experience. So I am going to write down a few small "mantras" to remind me of the really important things about quilting:
1) Break down the big to smaller portions.
2) Take one step a time.
3) Enjoy what you are doing.
Congratulations on your February progress! Your blocks are pretty. I agree - sew and turn applique is my favorite. But, it is wise that you are trying different techniques to find YOUR favorites. Loved to read what you have learned about yourself and how you can most enjoy your hobby!
AntwortenLöschenThank you, Rachel. Stitching the Penny Sampler is so much fun and I am learning so much. By the way, thanks for your wonderful instructions, they are so high quality and great to work with.
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