There and Back Again

In 2011 I saw a new quilt along inspired by JRR Tolkein's The Hobbit. Tolkein is one of my husband's and my favorite authors so I was immediately intrigued. When I found that the patterns were free (a big pattern price tag is great at discouraging you from doing things you have no business doing) I decided to make the quilt never mind the fact that I knew nothing about paper piecing. I'm not sure I would have finished this quilt without the enthusiasm of my husband. After month 2 (which featured a 7" block with 144 pieces) I was starting to doubt this whole paper piecing method. By month 4 I down right hated paper piecing. I fell woefully behind, but I finished all of my blocks. The blocks were published in chronological order of the books, not by level of difficulty. I think if I made this quilt again I'd start with the easy blocks and work my way up to Cloaks in the Hall. 

Despite my dislike of paper piecing I do love Fandom in Stitches and the talented designers behind the There and Back Again quilt along. They have some amazing quilt patterns that are extremely creative and are based on beloved movies, books, comics, and more. I enjoy seeing the new patterns that are constantly being added (all for free) but the method of piecing just isn't for me. 

I apologize for the poor picture. Between the wind and storm that was approaching it's amazing I got any pictures. This shot gives you the best idea of what the blocks look like, but the colors are a lot richer in person. The sashing is a dark blue and the center block is bordered by a rich brown color. I promise when I do the photo shoot for the finished quilt I'll get better pictures.