I tried a new (to me) thing! It's called foundation paper piecing (FPP), and it certainly isn't new, just new to me (I said that already, didn't I? I'm drowning in children. Send help.), but it was a fun departure from my usual sewing (almost exclusively clothing) after the end of the year rush was finished.

I purchased the Stitch Happens quilt pattern when it released, because, duh, it's purdy. Now Sittch Happens is a traditionally pieced quilt with lots of squares, strips, half square triangles (HSTs) and the like, not FPP, but I'm getting to that. It's a nice size for a large wall hanging. Not so enormous that it's hard to machine quilt, but sizable enough to be interesting. (It is however, too big for the wall it's shown hanging on here, so I've got to do some redecorating to hang it. But first I need to finish it!)

About the same time, a sewing friend (let's just call her Queen Mueller) had shared her pieced rainbow sewing machine. Her version is a foundation pieced block called Geometric Sewing Machine by Quiet Play Designs. And I think that's how I fell down the rabbit hole of FPP.

Quiet Play has a free spool block with an inset heart (and another free pattern if you surrender your email for the newsletter). I started with Heart on a Spool. There's not much instruction included. So I googled and gave it a go.

It was love at first piecing. FPP is cool because you don't have to spend lots of time meticulously cutting before you can get to stitching. The excess beyond the seam allowance gets trimmed after piecing. The designs can get rather intricate rather easily. I won't go into much other detail as I've only completed 2 FPP projects and therefore not an expert by any means!

I bought a few patterns from Quiet Play after that. It was the end of the year and there was a coupon code. How could I not?

The scissors were a lot of fun. Much more intricate than any piecing I had done before, but really not hard to accomplish. One can even FPP while drinking an adult beverage.*

*Extra seam ripping a possible side effect of sewing while imbibing.

Gratuitous pictures follow.

I stumbled upon an interesting quilt designer this morning, Sarah Elizabeth aka No Hats in the House. She has a great FPP tutorial here. She pre-stitches along the lines without any thread (using a long stitch length). This way you can see the lines from the back more easily. Love that tip! I can't wait to try that on my next time.

I'm not sure what the next FPP project will be yet, but it might be one of Etive and Co's. Check them out. Super interesting, especially the anatomical series!