Sun, Please!

In celebration of the emerging sun this season and the new freckles on my nose, I've created a new paper-piecing pattern, called "Sun, Please!" It is more geometric than literal, and I'm smitten.

To start, I stitched a basic red and white block that matched the vision of the block I had before starting, which still stuns me in its clean lines and simplicity. I love how it turned out and want a whole quilt of them!

...and of course, I had to modify the pattern to include a skinny outlined version, too.

Although there are 12 sections to this block, it is much easier than my other most recent effort, and I think that beginner paper-piecers could manage very well.

One of my favorite aspects of paper-piecing is the way that you can make a pattern completely your own by fabric choice and placement. Who says you have to follow the model the designer posts?

For instance, this next block is a scrappy version of the first shot of this post:

Do you notice that each point of the sun could be extended to create a bold pinwheeling version if there were different fabrics instead of the background color? Sometimes, secondary shapes emerge based on the seam lines. Regardless of the pattern, you can change up values (light and dark) to make a completely different block.

If you're interested in making this block, the 8-page PDF pattern is available for sale via Etsy, complete with two sets of templates (for both the basic and outlined versions), a planning sheet, some color placement options, and basic paper-piecing instructions.  Stitch up some sunshine!