FMQ: January's Leaves

Ugh.  I guess the lesson I learned in January is that I didn't make enough time to practice, so I didn't get better.  I only took 4 15 minute sessions during the whole month - I sketched leaves the first time, then FMQed them the other three times.  There wasn't much improvement, although the third time, I gave myself the freedom to do whatever I wanted...  I wrote my name, I did some squiggles, I even tried some pebbling.

The whole time, it was difficult for me...  I felt like I was wasting fabric and batting...  I tried to conserve my space.  Of course, that's ridiculous - I was using ugly old fat quarters that I'd bought (super cheap) for a project a while back and never used.  Probably because they were ugly...  And I was using a batting scrap, so that was free as well.  I think for February, I'm going to make a whole pile of sandwiches, and if I use them all up, FINE!

I'm glad that I didn't make sandwiches for my final sampler quilt yet...  I would be really frustrated that I couldn't do January's square yet.  I think my plan is to practice more in February, and if I get confident with the new pattern, then I'll try the leaves again.  I need to master my pace (and what the heck - I've never had back thread issues until this month...) before I work on a final project!

Here's some pictures...  the color variation is simply flash vs. no flash.  I think I need to work on my photography.  =)