Run Baby Run: A Paper Pieced Sneaker

Some of my childhood was spent growing up in a suburb outside of Boston...I have always thought of the city fondly as the place with immense character and history, filled with brick, cobblestone, winding colonial streets, a harbor, chowder, lobster, where I visited with my father on a *date* to the Boston Symphony Orchestra when I was only 7 or 8 years old, to see the Ballet perform the Nutcracker, to a fancy seafood place where my brother insisted on ordering clams and then refusing to swallow them, the treat it was to go into the city and to eat breakfast with my mom at Au Bon Pain which to me with its awning and chocolate croissants was sooo fancy.  Yes, I have fond memories.

As soon as my Guild agreed to joining the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild's To Boston With Love project I jumped at the chance.  Plus, I knew I wanted my flag to have a running theme.  

Before having my three girls I was really into running...it was my zen time.  I know, funny that my zen time consisted of totally pushing my body to its peak of exhaustion, but that pretty much sums up my personality!  It was really the best way for me to unwind.  For weeks now I have been trying to get myself up and out in the morning to start running again.  After the bombing during the Boston Marathon I felt immense guilt for not taking advantage of my two working legs as much as possible.

What better way to epitomize running than a running shoe?  I found this paper pieced tennis shoe for free on Paper Panache.  (sidenote: Do you call it a tennis shoe or a sneaker? Or something else altogether?  Trainers?  I call them sneakers.)  Having never really paper pieced before I was a tad intimidated so I flexed my paper piecing muscles on something else first, to be shown later as it is a pending gift.

MRL Paper Piecing Tip for Beginners: If you aren't paper piece savvy, use solid fabrics with no wrong or right side.  Trust me, it will save you a lot of time seam ripping while you figure out what you are doing!  Guess how I know???

If I do say so myself - I am really proud of how this sneaker turned out!  I chose Boston colors with a bright pink tie of course...  

Front

Back

For the back I did a simple blue with a yellow circle as a nod to the Boston City flag design.  Totally modern and a small reward for myself after the intense concentration I spent creating the front.  Those laces were killer!

The flags will be strung at the Boston Museum of Fine Art on Memorial Day Weekend.  If any of you attend please tell me!  For those of us, myself included, who won't be lucky enough to show our support for Boston in person, feel free to check out the Flickr page and see all the flags being sent to Boston on May 21.

Linking up...