I am always amazed at the paper piecing designs that my friend, Penny Layman, makes. Seriously wowed. And when I heard that she was writing a book, I was anxious to get my hands on it. I imagined that it would be chock-full of cute patterns and also all the information needed to paper piece successfully. I was right!
I admit that I am a huge fan of Penny and completely biased, but that aside, this is a great book. The Paper-Pieced Home by Penny Layman has 40 different paper piecing blocks and 14 projects all centering around house and home. The designs have a retro vibe and are all well thought out. The best part? The designs come on an included CD that makes printing the foundations a breeze. Just pop it into the computer and print what you need.
I have told Penny and I will tell you: paper piecing is not my favorite piecing method. There I said it. BUT when the block is as well designed as Penny's are, it does make for some enjoyable sewing. Take the oven mitt block that I chose for this blog tour. It includes many tiny bits and the thought of anything remotely fussy almost always makes me want to run. Not this! It was a JOY to put together and I was able to do it easily and confidently given all the information that Penny relays in her book. I think it took me about thirty minutes after printing the foundation. Not bad! And pretty cute, if I may say so myself! I did increase the overall size of the block by about two inches by adding a border. Of course, I plan on making this into a hot pad (perfect for an oven mitt, right?!?).
I encourage you to take a few minutes and check out the other stops on the blog tour. Be prepared to be overwhelmed by all the darling blocks people are making. Seriously, so cute.
The Paper-Pieced Home
Blog Tour Schedule
3/16 McCall’s Quilting / Sewing Machine Block
3/17 Love of Quilting / Review
3/17 Sandi Sawa Hazlewood of Crafty Planner / Watering Can Block
3/18 Quilty Pleasure (Quiltmaker blog) / Review
3/18 Imagine Gnats / Rotary Phone Block
3/20 Verykerryberry / Lion Block
3/21 Artisania / Cast-Iron Skillet Block
3/23 Where the Orchids Grow / Lamp Block
3/24 Katie Blakesley of Swim Bike Quilt / Layer Cake Block
3/24 House on Hill Road / Oven Mitt Block
3/24 Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced / BBQ Grill Block
3/26 Pink Penguin / Allie-Gator Block
3/26 A Happy Stitch / Giraffe Block
3/27 Bijou Lovely / Jar Block
3/27 Two Little Banshees / Saucepan Block
3/27 Charise Creates / Espresso Mug Block
3/30 Karen Lewis Textiles / Couch Block
3/31 Poppyprint / Clawfoot Tub Block
3/31 One Shabby Chick / Stack of Books Block
3/31 During Quiet Time / Sleeveless Dress Block
4/06 Pat Sloan The Voice of Quilting / Author Podcast Interview
More information on the book can be found here on the Interweave site:
The Paper-Pieced Home: Quilting a Household One Block at a Time
By Penny Layman
Interweave/F+W; $26.99
http://bit.ly/1zClNAv
