Come Stitch With Me

Some folks know this as paper piecing, but I think “foundation” was added by modern quilters to differentiate this type of machine piecing (FPP) from the hand work required of English Paper Piecing (EPP).

Foundation paper piecing allows you to sew more intricate designs with greater accuracy and helps you maintain greater consistency when assembling basic units such as FG and HSTs if you use papers to construct those items. Below shows my set up for sewing FPP blocks and some 6-1/2″ Vintage Kite blocks made using paper foundations available at Fat Quarter Shop. Notice my stitch length is set at 1.4. A short stitch length makes it easier to remove the papers.

When my quilt guild asked for assistance with sewing blocks for the raffle quilt, the tiny paper pieced triangles (about 8 different parts in each triangle) were the only things left. I took a baggie home and unearthed my FPP supplies from a class taken with Deb Karasik ages ago. She’s now retired and no longer in business.

The first triangle block I totally botched. The second attempt actually looked good except it was ass-backwards. The third time was the charm. I turned in my two completed blocks. The coordinator thanked me for helping with the hard blocks and informed me I wasn’t the only person to turn in “reversed” blocks.

After the guild meeting, I pulled out my pad of Vintage Kite FPP papers and got to work. Three evenings and 15 blocks later, I remember why FPP’s not my first choice for a construction method – I detest pulling out the papers (messy & tedious). However, FPP is quite addictive once I’m in the zone and this pattern is a real scrap buster. I have 15 more blocks to make before I can assemble my quilt top.

Tools for FPP:

Microtex needles, size 80/12 or 90/14

Open toe foot

Clover flower head (super thin) pins

Glue stick

Add a Quarter ruler in 6″ or 12″ (may need Add an Eighth size for small blocks with tiny, tiny pieces)

Seam roller

Piece of cardstock or template plastic to use as straight edge (2″ wide by 9″ long works well)

Rotary cutter, mat and small ruler

Pattern printed in reverse on lightweight paper

Video tutorials on FPP:
Kimberly @ Fat Quarter Shop demonstrating how to make the FPP Kite blocks shown above.
Carol Doak, well known for her FPP, showing how it’s done.

I actually made 30 Vintage Kite blocks that will be turned into a small lap size quilt (40″x50″).

Hard to believe it’s been almost 100 days of tracking on Weight Watchers.

My progress has been painfully slow.

This month, I gained and lost the same 2 pounds multiple times. Can you relate? I finished the month up 1/4 pound over where I was at the end of May.

June was a frustrating month. I was off my normal schedule most weeks and just plain wanted to eat. After 3 weeks of gain, lose, gain, I allowed myself to eat what I wanted. One caveat: I had to track whatever I ate (and boy, was some of the tracking UGLY). Guess what? I’d lost 1.4 pounds when I stepped on the scale this morning!

What’s my takeaway from June? A learning opportunity for what maintenance will look like when I finally hit goal weight? A test to show myself that I can stick with it even when I hit the dreaded weight loss plateau? Who knows? I’m just glad June is now in the rear view mirror.

Bring on July. I’m ready!

If you LOVE a fabric, but have no specific project in mind, how much do you typically buy to add to your stash?

Fat Quarter? Half Yard? One Yard? Yardage? Entire Bolt?

I love scrappy quilts, so having a large variety of fabrics to pull from is important to me.

Most fabrics: 1/3 yard cut from the bolt

Binding fabric: (stripe, check, diagonal design): 1 yard

Background fabrics (white on white, cream) – 3+ yards

Fabric has gotten even more expensive lately and my LQS have announced prices increases coming July 1st. I visited a new-to-me quilt shop in North Georgia today. Fat Quarters were $4.00-$4.25. Let that sink in….the equivalent of paying $16.00 per yard of fabric. Fat Quarters in a quilt shop are some of the most expensive fabric you can buy. One-third yard of fabric is going to cost about the same as the Fat Quarter and you get a lot more for your money. Sure, you have to wait in line to have it cut, but that’s okay.

If I find a white-on-white print that I absolutely love and the shop offers a finish the bolt discount – I have been known to buy whatever’s left on the bolt because I know the fabric will get used.