Learning to Love Paper Piecing

Have you tried paper piecing?  I did a year or so ago and as much as I wanted to, I just couldn't fall in love with it.  It seemed tedious, messy and I just couldn't get into a groove.  I got frustrated and ended up throwing it into my scrap bin and calling it a day.  I was disappointed, but figured I'd just have to be happy with traditional piecing and english paper piecing.  But of course, I'm always dabbling and looking for something new to try.

Recently after running across a pin of a beautiful paper pieced block on Pinterest, I decided to give it another go. Since I've started joining a small handful or swaps, it felt like a good time to try.  Mini-quilts are perfect for practicing new techniques or blocks on a small scale. 

I started my journey with this tutorial on Sew What Sherlock.  I armed myself with a pile of scraps, a fresh needle and a large pot of tea.  The tutorial follows the Sister's Choice block, which is free in Sew What Sherlock's shop.  It's a fairly straight forward block, and could be pieced traditionally, but it would be time consuming and some of the intersection points would require extreme precision. 

This tutorial is great.  It is clear and easy to follow with great photographs and well written directions.  The technique took some getting used to.  I will admit I used my seam ripper a few times when I started, but with each piece it got easier and started feeling natural.  And the results speak for themselves.  the intersection points!  I can't get over those perfect corners!  I've never had such accurate corners with a block like this.

There are some cons.  You use quite a bit of paper.  I'll be buying a box of the cheapest copier paper I can just for this purpose.  Tearing off the paper carefully at the end takes time and is messy.  There is a little more waste than I'm used to.  But overall I'm hooked.

I've already purchased a new pattern and spent last night making a practice block.  I'm planning to use it for the Anna Maria Horner Mini Quilt swap on Intsagram.  I think it will be darling when it's finished.  Find the pattern by Charise Creates here.  Eventually I'd like to tackle Leonard the Llama by Sew What Sherlock.  I just need the right project.

Picking this technique up has opened a whole new set of doors and I can't wait to share some new projects with you.  I'm sketching some ideas for some original block designs that hopefully I'll have ready by summer.

Have you tried paper piecing?  Did you love it or hate it?  Please share your experiences and projects in the comments!