My love for paper piecing came from my husband's Aunt. I admired her color-eye and techniques for many years. One afternoon she sat me down at her sewing machine and announced, "we're going to do some paper piecing". I had never sewn with metallic or sparkle fabric (her trademarks) and she had tons of scraps. She said the fabrics didn't have to match - she just wanted me to learn the technique. My first paper pieced square is displayed below:

She passed away in 2008 and I'm thankful that she took time to share her love of quilting and many techniques with me. What was your inspiration for learining a new technique?