Paper Piecing Dread

 I know there are a lot of quilters out there that LOVE paper piecing. I do not share that love. I have indeed done paper piecing before. I even had good results with it. That in no way means I enjoyed it. I found it messy, wastes fabric (which I could probably reduce if I did it more often) and overall just not my cup of tea. 

Now, it's not the paper that bothers me. I don't mind using paper as a foundation when making string blocks, or using thangles for piecing HST's. I don't mind ripping the paper off. I DO mind sewing from the paper side when I can't see the fabric. I'm also not a fan of trimming. I like cutting my fabric to the correct size, sewing accurately, and it's done. 

The Murder Mystery Quilt designer LOVES paper piecing. A lot of the women who do these mysteries LOVE paper piecing. Last year when there were paper piecing options, she also gave applique instructions and I did the applique version. The moderators graciously give their time and create paper piecing patterns for any months that the blocks are traditionally pieced. June's block directions just came out, and it's paper pieced. The first block does have applique instructions. There are four alternate blocks that are smaller, all paper pieced. I REALLY like the look of the alternate blocks, some more than others. 

One of the alternate blocks is a Grecian Urn, and I love the musical with Robert Preston and Shirley Jones. When I saw the Grecian Urn block I could just hear the actress in the movie dramatically saying, "Grecian Urn".

So, I don't like paper piecing, but I do like the blocks, so I will attempt to do the paper piecing. That said, I am dreading doing the paper piecing. A lot of the sections of these blocks finish at 1/4 inch. The big block option is easier, so I'll do that one first. If that goes well, I'll attempt the others. If I really hate it, I may try designing similar applique blocks, and ditch the paper piecing entirely. 

I'm not worried about doing both options. The fabric colors are different for the suggested block and the alternates, so I'm not worried about running out of fabric. If I do run out of a color in the end I'll just substitute something similar. I'm not worried about using the extra blocks in the finished quilt either, last year I changed up the layout a bit, and I'll likely do the same this year. 

My Janome is finally getting picked up from the repair shop! They've had it since May 3rd, so well over a month. They are not my favorite machine dealer, but the only locally certified to service Janome machines. Thankfully I can get my Bernina serviced elsewhere, and my vintage machines I bring to a sew and vac guy for a fraction of the price. The Janome needed a whole new needle bar assembly. I have no idea what was up with that, but DH is picking it up while he runs errands for his mom. I can't wait to get it all set up, and start quilting the two July deadline quilts. One of those is basted and ready to go, the other still needs basting, but it's all laid out ready to pin baste. I'll be so happy setting up the Janome tomorrow!

I've been working on fairly random projects while I was waiting. All things that were already cut out. 

This quilt is currently on the design wall, sorry I didn't close the door so you could see the whole thing. I made a bunch of these blocks, some with that gray background, some with white. I was busting all my 3.5" scrap strips. I assembled another quilt this same size out of the same batch of blocks this week, they will make good kid quilts for Project Linus. 

I'm not finished piecing the king sized quilts I'm making with Asian-Inspired fabrics, but since they are all cut out, I am already working on busting the scraps from those. Fabrics with metallic accents are not my thing, so my goal is to bust all those fabrics ASAP. This quilt center is just hanging over an ironing board, but it still needs a couple borders. I don't have any similar fabrics in yardage, so I'll use a black inner border, followed by a piano key border to bust more of the Asian-Inspired fabrics. I've got several quilts cut out to bust those fabrics, and by the time they are done, they should be about gone. I may have a few strips and strings left, but they can be mixed in with my regular scrap system at that point. 

These blocks have been cut out for ages! I made DD#2 a pineapple quilt with the same strips, and I cut so many strips I had enough left to make a log cabin quilt. I LOVE log cabin quilts! If I could only make one style of blocks the rest of my life, it would be log cabin blocks. Even the pineapple quilt I made originally is really just a variation of a log cabin block. I am sewing on the last log to each block, and then the fun really begins, choosing a layout! I have another log cabin quilt cut out too (red and cream), and I think I'll work on it when I'm sewing in the living room starting next week because I'll be dog sitting. One of the dogs is a puppy and not trustworthy to be unattended, so I'll set up a machine in the living room during the ten days DD#2 is out of town. 

My sister and I went to Hobby Lobby today, and I saw the Sewology quilting thread. They have a 50/2 for piecing, and a 40/3 for quilting. Can anyone tell me how the quality is? If it had been on sale, I would have bought one spool of each, but I try not to pay full price for my quilting supplies. I'll likely buy some when I see it on sale, but I'd love some input if anyone has used it. I go through so much thread!