Mamma mia!

Pieced, Mamma!

And, here she is -- my very first paper pieced project. She is a little Russian doll. Sandra, my partner in all fabric crimes, gave me this pattern for my birthday, along with an offer of lessons on how to do this. It is not perfect, but for a first effort, it isn't bad. I really enjoyed the process.
Last Friday was the day of my lesson under the guidance of Sandra, who is an awesome teacher. We had a lot of fun.
Sandra had to leave before we were finished doing all the sub sections, so I was on my own for the last one.
That one went okay, it was the one before -- when she was there -- that went badly. It not Sandra's fault. I was pretty entertaining as I struggled to learn not to sew EXACTLY the way I have always sewn. It is a bit like learning a new language, driving, and reading a map -- all at once. Things were bond to go a bit wonky.
At first, I produced what can only be described as a cone head. I had to do the whole section all over again.

If at first you don't succeed, friends will take photos...

When it was time to put all the sub-sections together, I discovered another mistake. I just redid the other block. Bonus: all the redos helped reinforce my new skills!
And, it made Sandra laugh -- and she tried really hard not to -- but it was pretty darned funny. Now, my Things to Do and Make Pintrest Board is slowly filling up with paper piecing patterns. Sandra is also going to lend me some books. Oooo, I love learning new things and then obsessing about them, don't you?