Jennie's Threads

well I'm a little behind in finishing off the second batch of Dear Jen blocks. There were four English paper pieced blocks this month: This one held me up... I'm a firm believer that any block can be EPP'd but the fine ends of the outer curves on this block nearly had me doubting that belief! And then there were two applique blocks. It was this one that I left to last and really didn't fancy - not just applique, but bias applique too. I used Sarah Fielke's method to create the bias binding, and her tip for transferring a pattern to dark fabric and it all worked out beautifully. So much so that I enjoyed working on this block the most of any this month! Onto month 3. No applique but lots of curves. I'm thoroughly enjoying the challenges of these blocks!

Every so often I come across something on Instagram and I fall for it. Something I just know I'm going to have to jump on board with. And let's be honest, they are normally quilt alongs or blocks of the month. Well, this was one of them. Within about half an hour of Jen Kingwell announcing her Dear Jen block(s) of the month I had paid up! I then forgot about it until the day before the first patterns were released! The plan is six blocks a month for a year. Easy. Except these aren't easy blocks. Jen's method is to make your own templates and then hand piece. Me and hand piecing are not friends, so I'm going to apply other methods. This first month I have made two blocks using foundation piecing and the remaining four using English Paper Piecing. Can you tell which is which? I know in future months there will also be some applique and probably some surprises... I really enjoyed picking out random fabrics and putting them together. It's how I created...