English Paper Piecing

I'm pretty sure my love for old quilts began quite a few years ago when I spotted some at Annie's house. Her mom had these quilts hanging on a display stand and I can still remember seeing them out of the corner of my eye. They were gorgeous! She told me that they had belonged to her mother-in-law and that they had been on the guest bed where she would sleep when she visited Annie's dad before they were married. So sweet! I love old things and even more I love the old stories that go with them :) So it must have been that very day that the quilting seed was planted in my heart.

This past year I've started dabbling in my own quilt making (after learning the prices of quilts, I thought "I think I could make that!"). One of my favorite blogs to follow, MessyJesse, is really where I've gotten a lot of my inspiration from. And this year I noticed she was doing a lot of paper piecing. I couldn't quite figure out what it was, so I googled it and watched some videos. This one was the most helpful and really gave me the confidence to try on my own.



I've really been enjoying the process and completed my first hexagon flower last week. I love how this technique allows you to make the exact perfect shape without the stress of making perfect cuts. I also really love that I can work on this while sitting on the couch next to Paul, because it's by hand I don't need to be at the machine. It's relaxing and rewarding. Mom suggested I make a pillow, but I would love to make this a long-time project and eventually make a whole quilt of hexagons.