I have contemplated this for quite some time and this year I decided to take the leap and just do it.
I really enjoy English Paper Piecing.
I love Katja Marek’s designs. Her New Hexagon and New Hexagon 2 books are among my favorite books. Her Quilt Alongs (QALs) fill many of my BOM books. She offered QALs for free on her shop site, but you did need the patterns or books to follow along. She has since retired, I hope she is enjoying it and I also hope that she will keep designing . My Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden is nearly complete.
Opening the store distracted me from it, but I have pulled it back out and made a great deal of progress this month. This pattern is available from many quilt shops, including ours.
Paper Pieces has the QAL programs that Katja put together for free, but you do need the pattern or books to use the programs.
Back to my Big Project for 2025.
Along with her books she also published a perpetual calendar which has graced by desk every year since I bought it.
While I am going to attempt to make all the blocks from this book, I’m not crazy enough to think I could actually focus on one project long enough to make all those blocks, one a day, for a year. I know me better than that.
Instead I’m going to try to make all the blocks from her first book. There are only 52 blocks. I should be able to do that – right?
Best of all Paper Pieces has a set of all the pieces in miniature so the blocks are all done in 1″ finished instead the regular size. Smaller seams should make this faster – right?
I have no idea when I purchased the pack of paper pieces for this project. I found them a few weeks ago while sorting through my scraps for some fabric to make a Mini Maker Station.
The Mini Maker Station pattern is free and well written. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a way to keep track of all your bits and tools while sitting and stitching.
She also has tutorials if you want or need some guidance. If you think you might like to make one of these but can’t find the magnets and metal pieces let me know. I acquired more of them than I can use myself and I’m happy to help you out. The kits aren’t offered for sale in our shop, but you can contact me through the customer service email for our online shop.
The pattern designer has offered them in her Etsy shop, but none have been available for quite some time. When I decided I wanted to make a few more of the Mini Makers (they make great gifts for your sewing family and friends) I sourced the magnets and the metal pieces, but I couldn’t buy just the few I needed.
If you are interested in following along with my Big Project making tiny blocks check back next week for Block 1.