New Stocking, TIF

Today, we have a bonus photo. I pieced the new stocking over the weekend. This one is for my youngest daughter, only 13 months. She doesn't really have favorites yet, so I chose the pink for her. My vision for this stocking was cotton candy pink, all baby girly. When I laid out all the pink fabrics, the deep pinks and fuschia won out. This probably fits in better with the others. None of them have pastels. The lighter patch at the bottom stands out, and doesn't really fit. However, it is a funny shape and overlapped by two curved patches. I don't know if I want to take it out. I may cover it with a motif in the brighter pink or use it to show off some stitching in the darker pinks.

It's been at least a couple of years since I pieced a crazy patch project. I don't remember it being so challenging. Perhaps it was because this will be part of a set that I pieced several years ago. Perhaps it was because my style has progressed and this is the first new piece in so long. Perhaps I'm just a bit rusty. Until I started looking closely at the other stockings, I had just assumed I'd be machine piecing this stocking. It could also be that I'm just too sleep deprived to do well with puzzles. Hand piecing is very much like doing a puzzle. The challenge is that the pieces are not sized to fit. I get to decide what size and shape I want each piece as I go along. Any way I look at it, I want to brush up on my technique.

Sharon B is planning a new challenge for 2008. Details can be found on her site. It's called the Take It Further challenge. The challenge involves doing a monthly project. I plan to use this challenge to improve my skills and piece a new crazy project each month. Talk has already started and this is looking like a fun challenge.