I was given the opportunity this summer to pattern test for Elizabeth of Don't Call Me Betsy. I have never pattern tested before and was excited for the opportunity.
Elizabeth sent me a paper pieced pattern to test and I have to admit, I was a bit intimidated by the process. (I tried paper piecing when I first started quilting 4 plus years ago and never finished the quilt!) I knew Elizabeth has done a lot of paper piecing and I love her work so I figured she would walk me through this in the pattern and she did.
First up was picking the fabrics. I had a fat quarter bundle of Kona in Poseidon that has been sitting on my shelf begging to be used so I paired it with some Essex Yarn-dyed Linen in Flax and got to work.
It wasn't long before I had a pretty stack of quadrants all ready to go
and points that made me happy!
Once all the blocks were together, I taped out the size I was going for on my design wall and started playing.
I'm not very good at following a pattern when it comes to the layout. I like what Elizabeth did with the two layout choices, but I saw something different in my mind. She told us to have fun with the pattern so I went for it!
Next up was using the black and white photo to check my values (I really like how the small stars look here).
The sneak peak photo I posted on instagram.
And finally my finished top!
I needed to get this finished for Elizabeth, but since then I've decided I'm going to add another row and make it longer. (Plus I have a daughter that thinks square quilts are weird!)
I have a few other quilts that I've got to finish before I get back to this one, but hopefully I'll have it finished by the end of the year.
Elizabeth has the pattern on sale both on Craftsy and in her pattern shop for $6. It goes back up to $9 next Friday so go grab it now!
It's good to be back!
Tracey
