Piecing Triceratops
Hi, Friends!
I finished piecing my Triceratops block this morning. He went together very quickly. These are such fun patterns to make. 🙂
This pattern has only 4 fabrics in it. I decided to stay with my golden background, as I’ve done with all the other “fast” pieced dinosaur blocks. I wanted his horns and crest to have high contrast with both the body and the background, so decided to use the darkest blue of the Stonehenge ombre I purchased for this project.
However, I think I could have made a better decision on the fabric used for the body. While I like the movement of the swirls, I don’t think there’s enough contrast between the body and the background fabric. And you know me, I like contrasts! In addition, I think there might be TOO much movement in the body fabric. But if it weren’t for those swirls, my little guy might have just disappeared into the background. So if I were to do it again, I’d probably use the lightest blue in the Stonehenge ombre fabric.
I think it’s always a good idea to review a project after it’s complete to take stock of what you like about it and what you might have done differently. Understanding those things really helps inform the choices we make going forward. It’s all just a big experiment. That’s one of the reasons I like working in a series, when it comes to my gem quilts. I can relax a little bit, knowing that I don’t have to get things PERFECT (not that there’s any such thing as perfection) and can use what I learn in the next piece.
Take-Aways from our Sew-Along
Given what I just mentioned about reviewing a project at its conclusion, I thought I’d take a few minutes to do just that. Here are some of the things I learned and realized while making these sweet patterns 2 different ways:
- I like Annette’s coding format. It’s different from the format that I use in my gem patterns, but it’s logical and compact. All the information you need is in one string of characters,
- Because I add hashmarks to every single line segment in my patterns, learning to work with Annette’s design of using only one hashmark per line took some getting used to. But it worked out great!
- I learned that I just don’t have the space in my life right now for English Paper Piecing — the “slow” piecing method. It’s definitely something I would love to be able to do during down time — like vacation or travel layovers — but those times are few and far between at this point in my life. All that to say, I’m glad I took the time during this Sew-Along to learn it and experiment with it.
- Even though I don’t have much time to do EPP right now, I think it would be smart to have a project ready and waiting in case those down times do come my way. I think I’ll start working on a way to transfer one of the Birthstone Series patterns onto Becky Goldsmith’s English Paper Piecing Specialty Paper and get one started. I’ll drop it into my little portable sewing box, so that I can grab and go when the opportunity presents itself.
- And when I do get to practice my EPP skills during the down times, I definitely need to work on making my stitches less visible on the front side.
- As a small business owner, I certainly like providing patterns via downloadable PDF documents much more than dealing with physical inventory!
What are some of the things YOU learned or learned about yourself during this project? I’d love to know.
Thanks for spending the late summer sewing with me! I hope you’re enjoying this gorgeous early fall and are working on some wonderful things. Please stay in touch, too. “Like” me on Facebook (@MJ Kinman Textile Artist) or follow me on Instagram (@mjkinman_textileaartist). I’ll follow you back so I can enjoy all the work you post. There are lots of new things on the horizon that I’ll be sharing on social media, so keep an eye out for new patterns and projects.
Meanwhile, be well and Shine On!
MJ
