Sunday Drive Quilt - Why I English Paper Piece Squares

It all started with Lizzie House, an old favourite fabric designer of mine who recently released a new collection called Love Letter. Those Pearl Bracelets were such a long time essential fabric of mine until they all ran out, and I was so excited when I saw they were coming back in several beautiful, useful colours this year! I ordered all the prints from the collection that I knew would be perfect for the often small pieces used in English Paper Piecing. Once they arrived, I started adding other prints to fill out the ones I'd bought. The basics from Jen Hewitt's Endpaper for Ruby Star worked perfectly, as did the sweet, line drawing animals from Gingiber. I was so happy with the soft, spring hues, with just the right touch of saturated prints to keep it from being too flat. I knew I wanted to make a quilt from it right away. 

I'd been in the mood to English paper piece squares for a while before I started this quilt, keen to make an EPP Trip Around the World quilt. I considered making one out of these prints, but then I got the idea of blocks, made from a centre and 3 rounds, which I could include as a an alternative design in the Trip Around the World Pattern. That idea then grew to a collection of 4 quilts, 2 with the squares flat like this one, and 2 with the squares on point. You can find the Postcard Quilts Collection here!

I cut the fabrics into metric fat 8ths for the bundle. Imperial fat 8ths are 9" wide, while these are 10". That extra inch means you can cut your fat 8th easily, and with minimal waste, into (32) 2 1/2" squares! I cut each of the prints from a bundle into the 32 squares before playing with my block layouts. 

Planning the blocks was my favourite part of this quilt! I created a system to keep a good balance of prints by laying out a block, and then setting it and the prints I'd used in it aside. Then I repeated the same with the next block and the next block until I'd used each print once. Once I'd made my way through the all the prints, I worked my way through them again in the same manner. I planned each of the full blocks, basted them, and put them in ziplock bags for my mum and I to stitch. I wanted to finish all the full blocks first, and lay them out on my design wall before I planned the edge blocks. Edge blocks are a great opportunity to make up for any lacking or overkill in contrast, creating the final touches of balance. It also allowed me to plan the outside rounds of the edge blocks based on what blocks they would sit next to. 

My mum gave me the feedback once she'd stitched her share, that she LOVED stitching these blocks. I did too! They come together quite simply and quickly (about an hour of stitching), and because each seam follows a 90 degree angle, there's no tricky corners to stitch into or around. This makes it very easy to hold and light on your hands. If I was machine sewing blocks like this, I'd have to sew them together in rows rather than rounds and I just know that they'd get muddled next to my machine and I'd get sick of getting up and down to the iron! These blocks were relaxing and fun, and the only thing we needed to pay special attention to while stitching were the directional prints (the stripes and some of the flowers). 

Once the layout was settled, I started adding sashing. I used Ruby Star's Speckled in Sweet Cream. I bought a bolt of it for myself last year and I've been using it as my go-to sashing (when not using scrappy) ever since! 

Once I made the rows, complete with sashing between them, I handed it back to my mum to finish, so that I could work on the Trip Around the World quilt.

I called the quilt Sunday Drive, partly because the colours reminded me of Spring, the weather inviting me outside, the longing growing inside me to picnic, to garden, to explore, to soak up the not-yet-scorching sunshine. In Spring I often find myself heading out into the garden just because I can. Not to do anything, not to be productive, but just to watch the chickens, or to check if there's any new flowers. Making this quilt, though I made it through my Summer, reminded me of that joyful rebellion against productivity. So what if these squares could be machine pieced? This quilt was my invitation to just being. It was here for my joy. There was nothing in me or outside me asking for justification for why I'm taking it slowly, or why I wasn't using my time more efficiently. It was like a Sunday Drive to the lake or the mountains or the local caves, not a daily commute.

I've been asked many times while making these Postcard Quilts, why I'm hand stitching squares, instead of using my machine. My answer? Because it's FUN. I love the rhythm and the quiet, relaxed action of hand stitching. I love sitting on my couch rather than upright at my machine. I love not having to worry about matching seams or pressing between rows. I love not needing to keep all my squares in the correct order as I sew them together. I love finishing a round, admiring how it's changed the feel of all the ones before it, and then deciding what to add next. I really, REALLY love English Paper Piecing squares! And because I'm not making 1000 quilts to sell, and because I don't need to make sure we all have enough covers for the winter, because the goal is not the finished product, but the joy making it, I get to choose to take my time. 

Maybe you can relate? Maybe you feel the gnawing demands of efficiency or the idealistic ones of practicality holding you back from making something slow? If so, I highly recommend the gentle rebellion of English paper piecing squares . It's the perfect way to remind yourself that you, too, are worthy of joy.

I really enjoyed making The Postcard Quilts by English paper piecing, and I think you will too! Buy the pattern, templates and fabric to make your own Sunday Drive today!