October BOM - #2

This project was made as part of a Craftsy course:
Craftsy Block of the Month 2012 »

Materials

Scraps, fat quarters, odds and ends from previous projects.

What was your inspiration?

Amy Gibson's Block of the Month Course, - both the video and the printable instructions.

What are you most proud of?

Finishing it! I was rather dreading this one as it looked so intricate. However, it was a lot easier than it looked and I shall certainly do other paper pieced projects. Prior to this paper piecing had been rather a mystery to me. A friend had very briefly shown me how it was done, but it really hadn't sunk in. Amy's demonstration was so clear and it's good that the videos are so unhurried: nothing is skimped. If I were to do this block again, I'd know how to get my head around the arrangment of the "geese" triangles and I think I would have arranged them slightly differently, so as to get a better colour balance. However, I'm happy that I finished it. I started the BOM course very late (on 4 October) and eventually caught up on 25 October. No housework done - but never mind, housework will still be there long after I'm gone, and the quilts will be there too - I know which I prefer! Now waiting for 1st November to see what we're going to do about the sashing and finishing!

What advice would you give someone starting this project?

Take it slowly. I found it was a good idea to print off an extra copy of the chart, cut out the individual pieces, cut out four fabric pieces for each section and pin the paper pattern on the top of each pile. That way, I'd the correct sized piece of fabric and the correct colour for each part and didn't have to fiddle around with a heap of fabric, saving an awful lot of time. There's a lot of waste in doing this block, but that can't be helped. Some of it may be big enough to salvage for future scrap projects, but a lot of small bits are only good for the waste bin!