Is it just me, or has February flown past? I know we get an extra day this year, but it still feels like March is gobbled up the second half of February. I hope that also means that winter will pass into spring in what feels like no time. Elora and I spied lots of flowers on our walk around the neighborhood this morning. Though, we actually had a dusting of snow today, ironically. It was our first sighting of snow in The Netherlands.

Guess what I started sewing today? It’s a paper piecing pattern that’s part of the Penny Sampler Pattern Club. I don’t need the block for my own Penny Sampler, as it’s one of the optional blocks that can be switched for another. So, I got the idea to make it with scraps from my After the Rain quilt top.

I need to create a backing for that quilt, so that I can quilt and finish it next week. That’s the goal, at least! It’s good to make goals, though someone we always underestimate the time required, am I right? I think that’s because we’re having so much fun!

Anyways, this block is going to be a bird, and it’s part of the March delivery for those in the club. I’m loving making it up in these dark and moody fabrics. Totally different than my light and airy Penny Sampler.

My thought is to use the bird as an anchor for the quilt back. The rest of the back will also be composed of leftover fabrics, mainly large pieces arranged in rows.

That’s somewhat similar to how I used the leftovers, when I made the first version of this quilt, for the quilt back. Because they’re woven and a little lighter than your everyday quilting cottons, I’m prone to want to use the leftovers rather than put them into my stash. Shrug.

Fingers crossed it all comes together easily!