Have you ever tried paper piecing? What do you think of it? I must admit that while I have tried it in the past I’ve never really enjoyed it. I think that may be due to the projects that I tried. Although I can happily chain piece four hours I find I am not generally a fan of repetitive tasks and so given that my past trials of paper piecing saw me piecing together eight segments for one block, again and again, it is perhaps understandable that I wasn’t too much of a fan. However, following the paper piecing class held by Karen from easy patchwork at Peaks I have discovered a new admiration for this method of piecing.

PaperpiecingIn Karen’s class we constructed a lovely leaf block. There were just two pieces to the block, both different and that was it. That is was possible to create something so beautiful so easily, and so quickly was definitely a turning point for my relationship with paper piecing.

LeafKaren had suggested a number of ways in which we could use our leaf block including on a cushion or wallhanging. I choose to incorporate mine into a table mat. The leaf block had been constructed from scraps of some autumnal Sandy Gervais fabrics that I had in my stash and I choose to combine them with Grunge Basics in Peacock as my background fabric. I toyed with several ideas for quilting the mat but eventually decided to stick with the leaf theme. I stitched in the ditch around the leaf segment in the block and then continued the stitching so that I outlined a whole leaf shape incorporating the pieced block. I then added a few more scattered leaves and the overall finished effect reminds me somewhat of leaves in puddles, a sight that can be all too common in autumn time.

Pieced matIf you would like to have a go at making this block yourself you can find a copy of the pattern available in Karen’s Craftsy store. I’ll definitely be making more, as one table mat is rather lonely all on it’s own.

7 thoughts on “How I Came to Enjoy Paper Piecing

  1. I’m getting more and more comfy with paper piecing but it can still drive me mad every now and again. This turned out really nice and worth the effort!

  2. I love how you finished the table mat with your quilting. Extending out the leaf like that does wonderful things. Your description of leaves in a puddle is so spot on! I can really like paper piecing, but it depends on my mood it seems. Maybe some patterns are just more fun and better constructed than others. Glad you found one that works for you!

  3. Oh your quilting!! I love love love how you finished off the leaf!!

    I’ve tried paper piecing but hated it. I hated the back and forthing and lining up. The fabric wastage and not knowing exactly how much I needed. I was talked into buying a Carolyn Friedlander pattern (Aerial) which is paper piecing with just strips so I do plan on trying it again. Maybe that will work better for me.

  4. I rather enjoy paper piecing. I love how the lines come out so crisp and everything lines up so beautifully and that I can do smaller more precise pieces. I just love this placemat and the illusion of the rest of the leaf in the quilting. You did a wonderful job on this project. I’m a big fan of the grunge basics lately too, I really like the texture they provide while still being a base color.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.