Originally Posted by Iceblossom

We all think and process things differently. I'm one of those who just doesn't get paper piecing... but I admire the precision and ability to do very complicated things. I have friends who are fiends at paper piecing but despite them showing me, I still just don't get it. I also don't like the waste but I've learned if I am not generous with the fabric I don't have quite enough so then I have to take out stitches or start over. With my vision issues I can't take out stitches very well anyway and besides, those friends told me to make tiny stitches.

In my list of planned current projects I'm doing a contemporary quilt of a farm scene, there will be a few paper pieced blocks -- maybe 8-10, and most of it will be largish pieces of large-scale prints. Down at the bottom will be crops grown in Washington, so yes to potatoes and apples, but no to pineapples. There will be some roads, and after the quilt is quilted in an all-over chicken wire pattern using a lightly metallic thread, I will be putting in a number of embellishments like purchased tractor appliques, little bunny buttons hiding in the cabbage fabric. Stuff like that.

The middle will be farm animals, mostly fabrics but with a paper pieced pig face, a mother hen with chicks, a horse face, etc. I've already made a large original barn block. There will be a morning glory print alongside the silo and then two tiny paper pieced hummingbirds. I think my big mistake was starting with the hummingbirds, I've made two failed attempts so far (four blocks total). I knew I'd be making these blocks multiple times and that this is something I really want to do but is also a learning project.

Top part will be the horses, complete with a pieced rail fence (or at least the fence posts and grass will be pieced, the cross bars will be ribbon), a lake with waterfowl, and I think some other farms off in the distance, or maybe just mountains and trees.

I think when I'm ready to start up with this again I should go with the larger pieces, like the pig and horse. I need some successes or at least "almost there" or "good enoughs".