Giveaway winner and free quilt pattern

Thank you so much! You guys shared some paper piecing tips galore! I pulled out a few of my favorites and compiled them below, so as soon as I'm ready to start my own picnic blanket with Don't be Crabby and Amy's Crabby pattern I have your great advice to guide me. :)

- take your time, be patient and don't rush

- measure the width of the part that you are going to piece, then cut strips with a some extra

- don't be afraid that you're wasting fabric

- use Easy Mask paper that you find at the paint store. It comes on a roll in widths multiple of 3" (e.g., 6", 9", 12", etc.), is very thin for your perforations, but sturdy enough for feeding through your inkjet printer. Best of all it's very inexpensive and can be cut to whatever lengths work best for your pattern, unlike regular printer paper. 

- the freezer paper method which I much prefer over the method where you spend hours picking out bits of paper

- tack small pieces really well

- shorten your stitch length to 1

- backstitch at the beginning and end of each seam to secure it

- don't scrimp on the fabric so you ensure you're covering all the section

- check and double check your fabric will cover the section

- iron, iron, iron

- the add a quarter ruler makes it easy to figure out where and how much to trim. 

-remember, you are working from the wrong side, so whatever you're making will be the opposite of the pattern.

And now for our giveaway winner. Congratulations to #118 Cindy who said:

LOVE your fabric! It just makes me happy when I look at it. I'm new to paper piecing too, so my advise as a 'newbie' is to use larger pieces of fabric then you think you'll need. It's a little wasteful, but until I really know what I'm doing, it is saving me from having to rip out seams. :) Thank you for the opportunity!!!

I hope you love the fabric Cindy!

Don't be Crabby starts shipping in December (which is right around the corner!) so it will be making its way to your favorite LQS store super soon. In the mean time, make sure you grab a copy of this adorable FREE pattern, Come Sail Away, from the team over at Robert Kaufman. I love the little whale in the bottom right corner. And the sailboat with the whale on the side... And.... And....