Tiny Blocks, Big Wonder: Two Months with Giuseppe

You know that one fabric bundle you love so much you can't bring yourself to cut into it?

You didn't buy it for a project. You bought it because it was beautiful — and now it lives on the shelf where you can visit it, because no project ever feels quite worthy of it. Right?

Well. I want to tell you how my friend Giuseppe solved that exact problem, because it's one of my favorite origin stories in quilting.

Giuseppe Ribaudo — you may know him as @giucy_giuce — is a fabric designer for Free Spirit Fabrics and one of the most delightful humans in the quilt world. Years ago, he had a treasured stack of fat quarters from a designer he adored, and he couldn't bear to use it up. So he hatched a scheme: he drafted a tiny foundation paper pieced pattern — flying geese small enough that he only needed to cut about an inch of fabric from each fat quarter. He got a whole project made from his favorite collection... and still kept the collection. Genius, honestly.

That little scheme became Tiny Piecing — and it changed his whole career.

Why tiny?

Here's the thing about tiny blocks: they turn everyday objects into art.

 Most of us make quilts that live on beds and walls at home. But a tiny pieced block can go out into the world — on a change purse, a pocket, a little zipper bag, a wallet. Something that could have been ordinary becomes a conversation. The cashier notices your wallet. The flight attendant asks about the little bag on your tray table. And somewhere down the line, someone googles "quilting" for the first time... and our community grows a little bigger.

I love that. A one-inch flying goose as an ambassador for the whole craft.

And then there's English paper piecing

Giuseppe's other great love is English paper piecing — the epitome of slow stitching. You wrap fabric around little paper shapes and stitch them together by hand, which frees you from what a sewing machine can easily do. Sharp angles, curves, kaleidoscope effects, fussy-cut motifs repeating like a mandala — shapes and intricacies that would make conventional piecing weep.

And here's what I find beautiful about EPP: there is truly something for everybody in it. It can be as simple as a handful of hexagons stitched into a flower, or as intricate as a showstopping medallion. It's portable, it's meditative, and it slows you down in the best way — intentional stitches, one at a time, in a world that rarely lets us move at that pace.

What this has to do with your style

So here's the thing. I talk a lot about developing a quilt-making style that looks like you — and one of the quiet truths about style is that it's built from ingredients you collect over time. A technique is an ingredient. A palette is an ingredient. That thing you can't stop noticing — tiny scale, slow handwork, a kaleidoscope of fussy cuts — that's an ingredient too.

You don't have to know yet what your style is. You just have to keep collecting — trying techniques on like coats, noticing which ones feel like you, and letting the collection slowly become a point of view.

Which is exactly what these two months in Meander are for.

Two months, two techniques, one wonderful guest

I am absolutely delighted that Giuseppe is joining us in Meander for September AND October — Tiny Piecing this month, English Paper Piecing next month. Each month, members get:

• A 12.5-inch block Giuseppe designed especially for Meander (a bay leaf that pays homage to Guiseppe's aunt).
• The full pre-recorded workshop for that month's technique, so you can learn at your own pace, in your own studio, as many rewatches as you like.
• A live Q&A with Giuseppe — bring your blocks, your questions, your fabric dilemmas, and hang out with one of the most generous teachers I know. And of course, the community — share your blocks with the group and see what everyone else's ingredients look like, because nobody makes the same block the same way.

Even if you've never foundation paper pieced, never hand stitched, never worked small — that's exactly what the workshops are for. We'll get you there, step by step, no experience required.

If you've been thinking about joining Meander, this is a lovely moment to come in the door. Two techniques, two blocks, two months of Giuseppe.

I can't wait to see what you make. And keep an eye out next week — I have something fun for you. (Hint: it involves discovering your color season.)