Today I’m tackling one of the most intimidating projects I’ve tried in a long time: The Heart of a Lion foundation paper piecing pattern from Pride and Joy Quilting (and yes… I went for the big 50" size). I’m not normally a paper piecer—it’s just not my preferred approach—but Verushka’s designs are so gorgeous I couldn’t not do it. In this video I walk you through how I prepped 77 pages of pattern pieces, how I organized sections, and how I planned 23 colours using a very rough (but super helpful) coloured-pencil map right on the pattern. I also share the real-life problem solving that happened along the way—because there were mistakes. I’ll show you my improvised “light table” setup using a phone flashlight (and how my acrylic sewing table basically becomes the ultimate light table), plus how that helps both with taping pattern pages together and placing fabric accurately. And if you’re tempted to be frugal with fabric… learn from me: don’t. I had to rip out seams more times than I care to admit, and I ended up “franken-piecing” a few areas to recover when fabric didn’t quite cover. It took a lot of hours (those eyeballs are no joke), but I’m thrilled with my lion—and I’d do it again.