I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t think I’m the best at teaching. Many times I do the things I do because the fabric, pattern, or embellishments “talk” to me which can be hard to relay to others. But, when my friend Kristina asked me if I would teach her how to paper piece so she could participate in the Shirts 2.0 Swap– I said “Yes!” immediately and enthusiastically. Why did I say yes?
- I really do enjoy paper piecing even though that surprises many folks who know me. It can be tedious and time consuming. I seem to find it therapeutic. Follow the numbers, stich, press, trim, repeat.
- It’s not an ‘art’ it’s a technique. Since the only part about paper piecing that ‘talks’ to me are the fabrics that I choose to use or the patterns I choose to do – teaching the process is possible.
- I have worked with Kristina on other projects before and I know how she works and knows how I work. She already knows I’m crazy, hyper and have a hard time focusing. I know that she’ll keep me moving forward and on task when necessary. AND I knew she’d be honest if what I was saying didn’t make sense or tell me that I was a horrible teacher.
Anyway – Kristina arrived and I did a quick ‘how to put on a border’ lesson since I was finishing THIS quilt. Did I mention that she brought snacks!? Quick Recipe Break
Pickle Roll Up Dip
- 1 (8 ounce) brick cream cheese
- 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
- 2 (3 ounce) ham lunch meat
- diced 4 -5 diced baby dill pickles
- 1/3 medium yellow onion, chopped
Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve with pretzels Then it was time to get to paper piecing! 
I made space for Kristina to set up in my work room and put Frozen on to entertain Pip as we worked. Kristina told me she was better at learning by watching first so I put together a shirt while she observed and shared a few tips as I went. 
She was stitching away before I new it! 
Shirts in progress. 
And here is Kristina with her first shirt! Looks fabulous! 
And here are my two shirts! 
I’m pretty sure Kristina is hooked on paper piecing. Here’s one ‘bee’ block she posted… 
and another bee… 
and another bee and a heart! I had a great time with Kristina over paper piecing and enjoyed seeing her figuring out a new method that is fairly tedious, yet super accurate. I’m glad she got the ‘paper piecing’ bug and I can’t wait to see what she all creates from here!
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