Kicks Quiltalong: Darryl Block

Hey guys! I started sewing on my Kicks quilt this week. I'll admit, I've gone back and forth about a thousand times on my fabric pulls, and second guessed every choice. I finally decided to just start sewing, because the pattern is awesome, and I'm pretty positive it will look fun and cool even if I don't feel 100% sure about every single little fabric choice. This is my finalized fabric pull. Ha! Just kidding. I thought I finalized my fabric pull, but looking back at my fabric pull photos, now I'm back to second guessing. I like the concept of putting the shoe blocks in a circle (like the lower right fabric pull here) and might drift back to that. But for now, I need to start sewing something so I can get out of my own head!

This week, we're starting with the Darryl block, so I grabbed a fabric that I absolutely know I would like to use as a main fabric. I was really excited once I found this black Allison Glass batik in my stash, since the orange splots coordinate so nicely with the background orange. This is my first Darryl block:

I'm really happy with it! I also used another orange Allison Glass fabric for the stripes, a Jennifer Sampou shimmer fabric, a Dear Stella fabric (for the navy inside detail), another solid orange (this one was a Kona from my stash), and a Karen Lewis print for the laces.

These blocks have a number of sections to paper piece, but many of them are simple, so the blocks don't take too long to put together. I think I managed to get this entire block together in 3 or 4 sewing sessions. My biggest struggle is keeping all of my fabrics straight, and not putting them in the wrong place!! I usually watch tv while I'm sewing, but I've been sticking to music or silence for these blocks so I don't mess up!

Can't wait to keep sewing! If you'd like to check out what others are sewing, go look at #kicksquiltalong on Instagram. There are some pretty darn awesome blocks already :)