Quilt Along

I'd like to share with you the very first block made by a young quilter (I think 14 years old).  It's got beautiful colors, and the points match beautifully.  The seam allowance turned out to be a little off, but hey, it's her first block.

"Eliza's Nine-Patch"

The pattern came from a "Shop Hop" star sampler quilt, and the quilter is my little sister - in 2003.  She made two from the pattern and then got distracted by school and life.  Eight years later, she dug up her stash, the two blocks, and the patterns, and wanted to get going again.

"Eliza's Nine-Patch" and "Star Dreams"

So I challenged her to a quilt along.  We are making the same quilt in (very!) different colorways, a block at a time.

My pink and green "Eliza's Nine-Patch"

I haven't made a sampler quilt, and I feel like I should, to practice lots of different shapes and types of piecing.  It's a sampler of stars, so there are plenty of triangles, and some inset seams (my nemesis).  My biggest challenge so far, however, is giving up my rotary cutter.  I'm using freezer paper templates, but cutting individual pieces is very slow going compared to my usual methods.  I'm almost caught up to her first two, and I'm really enjoying the challenge!