Just try

Sometimes you start something which you think you will love but it doesn't turn out that way. Other times there is a technique you think you will hate or be no good at and it actually turns out not too bad.

This is what happened with the sampler quilt I am working on and I guess a very good reason why a sampler quilt is a good idea in the first place. It "samples" techniques and methods and not only looks really pretty but gives you an idea of what you might like to work on more often.

I admired paper piecing for ages. All those pretty designs and accurate pictures. Look at sew take a hike blog. Too amazing! And how hard can it be, right? You get a piece of paper and sew along the lines. Easy? No!!!! Look at this attempt at a flying geese block - I'm embarrassed to say that this wasn't even by first attempt!

What was going on there??

So a big no no to paper piecing. Guess I will just have to admire those picture blocks from afar! But I will show you the finished block after much perserverance - I think it just about redeems me from the mess above.

So on to hexagons. Again, some pictures were really inspiring but I wasn't going to tackle them until I found a way to do these babies on a machine. But somehow it was too awkward on the sewing machine. So I bit the bullet and printed out the templates and started stitching.

Don't they even look inviting all piled up?

And.... I'm still going... But I love it! So relaxing!

This is my 12" block, still not finished and in the words of the other half - feels like you've been working on that forever! Wouldn't fancy doing a whole quilt like this but as a technique, something I am no longer afraid of. Now if only I felt that way about improv piecing...

So what's the moral of the story - who knows - I'm a quilter, not a lifestyle guru!