100 Paper Pieced Quilt Blocks
A couple of years ago I took a photo of our family cat Smokey Joe which I thought would make a good foundation paper pieced pattern. When we sadly lost him last summer I dug out the file and finished the pattern and posted the results on Instagram (and the pattern in my shop). From that IG post I was contacted by an editor at David and Charles publishers to ask if I would be interested in contributing some fpp patterns to a book they were putting together - which of course I was.
This is my contributor copy, the book is available for pre-order now and is released on 17th August.
I agreed to do 3 patterns and a project, I was only just getting accustomed to the software I was using to produce fpp patterns and thought 3 designs wouldn't be too stressful (and it was during the school summer holidays too)! The animal blocks seemed most up my street and whilst this all came about from the Smokey Joe pattern choosing the kitten block seemed only right and the puppy and fish seemed to fit well with that.
Well, a couple of weeks back I found out which other designers were involved and to be included among them was such a thrill (and came with a healthy dollop of imposter-syndrome). They are all designers that I really admire - for example I learned how to foundation paper piece with Kristy Lea's (@QuietPlay) patterns and I made one of Juliet van Der Heijden's (@TartanKiwi) pattern's into a cushion for my youngest son's best friend.
The book arrived last week and it looks fantastic, it has the most brilliant selection of patterns and is really easy to use too. There is a good section explaining how to foundation paper piece at the front of the book - and I have a couple of demos on my YouTube channel too. In fact I loved it as a fan never mind as a contributor and I've used it already - my eldest son turns 14 at the end of the week and I couldn't resist making up the blocks of his favourite foods. I'll turn them into a cushion for his bed this week in time for his birthday.
The burger and pizza blocks are by Joanne Hart (@UnicornHarts) and the pretzel and popcorn are by Monika Henry (@PennySpoolQuilts)