I have been following along this week at the Summer Sampler quilt along.  After choosing an easier path to be happier on Monday, I dove right into paper piecing on Wednesday.  I'll give credit to Faith's excellent tutorial for making the technique so approachable.  So much so that I was glad Friday involved even more paper piecing.  Who wouldn't fall in love with the sharp, tidy angles it creates!



My family was playing "war" in cards when I finished this block and paraded around the room like a mama with a newly hatched chick.  They were slightly puzzled, but admitted that it did look "different" than the kind of sewing I typically do.

I won't lie, I think it's spectacular!  I adore the double-bladed star points and the small square frame before the Kona cerise background.  Come on, you want to make this block, don't you?  It's not fussy, really!  But, you will gain a pile of scraps...



Which is, I suppose, the only thing I can say against paper piecing.  And yet, I'm not tempted to try to paper piece with smaller pieces.  Instead, I'll just have to brainstorm more scraptastic ideas, yes?



Kelli made a comment on the "happier" post that gave me such inner clarity.  I realized that there is a need to balance the drive to challenge myself with the need to know myself.  On Monday, choosing to simplify the block was a moment of knowing myself - what I really want from sewing and where I'm going.  On Wednesday I challenged myself with a new, mysterious technique.  On Friday I challenged myself in color.

Because you know I love color.  But, after reviewing my Summer Sampler blocks, I decided I wanted one with more black.  After toying around with making a block with a black background, I landed on using this black pinstripe.  It reads fairly black, but adds movement and texture.  Though I wasn't sure how those lines would read, angling around the diamonds.



Do you like it?  Oh my gosh, I do!  I did not anticipate how much I would appreciate those lines and the mini-patterns they create.  What a pleasant surprise.  Hurray for taking on a challenge!



In the end the block strikes me as sharp and dangerous.  Kind of like a block you wouldn't want to cross.  One that knows where to draw lines and isn't about to blur the edges.  Ok, so maybe a little too dark and dangerous, but coupled with these other more cheerful blocks



I'd say the overall quilt has a personality I can be proud of.  And, I guess that's life.  Nothing is as simple as black and white.  There's a whole lot of color out there to be celebrated.  And, hopefully, in the end every block can be appreciated for what she uniquely brings to the table.  That's what we aim for anyways - for our quilts, our blogs, our community and ourselves to be an always-evolving work of art that's much more than a sum of its parts.  Knowing ourselves, yes, but challenging ourselves to grow, always.  Thank-you for taking this journey with me.