Welcome to my tiny contribution to this fantastic Paper Pieced Block of the Month/Sew Along @ Quiet Play called 'And Sew On'. If you are new to Foundation paper piecing never fear...this block is a gentle introduction.The pattern is super simple and comes from a conceptual photo that I sent Kristy back in November.
Tips
Freezer Paper
Rather than use A4 copy paper, I trace all of my paper pieced patterns onto freezer paper. That makes piecing easier to see as you sew and less messy when tearing it away at the end.
Audition Fabrics
This block is so easy to do this with. Gather the fabrics that you plan to choose and then fold them over and fan them to re-create the design. It supposed to look like a few fat quarters from your stash. Photograph your ideas and then compare them.
Think about the rest of the fabric blocks that will come later - especially the gorgeous final 'Sewing Room' block that becomes the focal point of the 7 designs. I tried to find similar colours and fabrics to match Kristy's block and Marieka's 'Seam Ripper' block. See photos of these two blocks at my previous post here.
Text Prints
These fabulous fabrics are just awesome for paper piecing and add a distinctive look to a block. I will point you to a couple of talented folks on Flickr to highlight what I mean. Check out ElnoraC and PaulaPatchwork. I love their work.
Ruler Prints
You might want to beg, borrow or buy some kind of ruler/measuring fabric to use for the ruler otherwise you could find something that symbolically represents it instead. I had some very quirky Japanese ruler fabric that was just perfect for my version but in order to get the text placed properly, I had to reverse the pattern to be a mirror image.
I hope that you have fun with this block. I certainly did.
Fabric Give-Away
I felt it important to sponsor my block by offering some fabric as a give-away. Check Quiet Play's post today for how to enter and to qualify you to win this Flower Fairy tote and Autumn Flower Fairy panel.
There are two other fabric give-aways for the January linky so, all the best.
Just love this block with the Lucky girls fussy cutting! So fab! Thanks for posting your hints and tips, lovely!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Fiona. Funny seeing tomorrow's date already!
ReplyDeleteI love all three of your colour selections Fiona! A great explanation and good on you for co-sponsoring this month :) Looking forward to making this block today :) Need to break up the quilting LOL
ReplyDeleteI have some Joel Dewberry fabric i've been hoarding....eek, maybe this is where I should use it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea for a block! Kristy is so good at translating an idea into a paper pieced block. Thanks so much for sponsoring this month!!
ReplyDeletethe fairy panels are so cute any girl would fall in love with them. I every much enjoyed you block, would never thought of using freezer paper thank you for that tip and the rest of your blog.
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