She Sells Sea Shells

Progress!

If you've never heard of English style paper piecing quilts, they are awesomely tedious but also produce absolutely beautiful, and seemingly effortlessly aligned, quilt squares. When I was pregnant with H, my mother-in-law gave me a sampler kit that was perfectly timed for my short stint of bedrest. It produced this little sampler.

I enjoy tasks that are the opposite of tedious. Give me a big ole batch of fabric and I'll cut it into squares  and sew strips to make a quick tied quilt. My friend in Massachusetts introduced me to machine paper piecing, and it produces the same effects with none of the tedium. I swore I'd never do another by-hand paper piecing quilt again. That is, until our local fabric shop posted a picture of their newest quilt kit, Hex on the Beach. First, the name, love it.  Second, the beautiful, mesmerizing flow of undulating colors with simple prints let me know that I'd be able to put this baby anywhere in my house and be in love with it. But I see it in the sunny corner of my bedroom draped over a chair with a fat knitting basket beside it. You can see it now, too, right?

Here's what it will look like after I baste fabric onto one thousand little hex shaped pieces of carstock, and then stitch those little hexes together one thousand times. Yes, one thousand. I should be able to lay this baby over my lap and knit just about the time I'm an octagenarian. It's pretty addictive, though, so realistically, I hope to finish it before next fall. I love the pattern of quilting that was chosen for the sample with a simple curvy line that recalls the gently lapping waves. 

Image courtesy of tulapink.com

Speaking of waves, I'm in the throes of planning our summer vacation in Maine. The ocean is calling my name!