Work In Progress Wednesday
As much as I love wool appliqué, I have been missing piecing blocks. So I decided to take a little break and pull out some paper foundation fun. I have had my eye on a little mini New York Beauty block for quite awhile. The pattern is from a Fons and Porter magazine that I’ve had for years.
I gathered my fabric, small cutting mat, and my essential quarter-inch ruler. This block is small enough that I could really use an eighth-inch ruler, but I don’t have one so will make do with the one I have. It is a handy tool for paper foundation. The ruler has a lip on one edge that you butt up against the seam allowance, allowing a quarter-inch seam to be cut.
One of the other tools that I find essential is good lighting, as it helps me to hold the fabric and foundation paper up to the light to see that I am aligning my fabrics correctly.
The trickiest parts of paper foundation is getting your brain around the rhythm of working off of a foundation. I haven’t done paper foundation for awhile, so this is a practice block to remind me of the process and to see if I really want to make a mini (these pieces are pretty small). If you’re new to paper piecing, you can watch a video tutorial here.
Here’s how the quarter-inch ruler works. I fold the paper foundation back, butt the lip of the ruler against it, and cut the quarter-inch seam with my rotary cutter.
I’m making progress — look at those tiny points!
Once you get in the rhythm, it goes pretty quickly.
Once all the stitching is done, it’s time to trim the excess fabric.
Look at those little bright points! Now it’s time to add the curved pieces.
I decided I wanted this fun and bright.
In the picture above, can you see the crease mark I made on the orange fabric? There’s a matching one on the black and white, but it’s harder to see. These are the center marks of both pieces, where I will begin pinning.
Before pinning, it’s time to remove the paper. This tweezers that I just got in my Sew Sampler box from The Fat Quarter Shop is perfect for this task; it’s difficult to get my fingers in those little points!
Pinning is key, together with working carefully with those stretchy edges.
Here’s the finished block, a little wonky but not bad. I’m not sure if I want to do blocks this small. I’ll try another one tomorrow and see what I think.
So now I’m off to do more wool work. I’ve satisfied my yen to piece for now.
I’m linking up with So Fresh Quilts and QuiltFabrication today.
14 Comments
Margaret Spooner
That’s really lovely! Sometimes you just have to make one block and it satisfies that itch, but a whole quilt of those would be stunning!
piecefulwendy
Thank you, Margaret! I think I’ll whip up another one today and then decide. I love New York Beauties!
heatherdpear
the striped fabric really works in this block. Well done
piecefulwendy
Thank you!
Susan
Very pretty block – love the colors with the black and white! Thanks for linking up at Midweek Makers
piecefulwendy
Thank you, and thanks for hosting the link up party!
Louise Hornor (@LouiseHornor)
Thanks for writing up your process so clearly. I’ve only tried paper piecing once, and no curved piecing yet. So I’m still absorbing tutorials on both and this is helpful!
I hope you do more of these blocks; I love the bright cheeriness of them.
piecefulwendy
Thanks, Louise! The curves really aren’t so bad; it just takes a little patience and care.
Linda Dutch
Love your block, the b&w stripe is a great contrast with the brights! I enjoy paper piecing, just hate the mess when you pull out the paper!
piecefulwendy
Thank you! Yes the paper is the messy part, but it’s so satisfying to see those nice little points or intersections, right?
Karen Goad
love the block you are working on – I had to come over and visit after you stopped by my blog earlier – may I ask where you get your wool from – on line or local – I have no local so need to buy on line
piecefulwendy
Well, thanks for stopping by! I buy most of my wool locally. The wool project I’m working on is from Primitive Gatherings. They sell wool online and it’s really very nice to work with. Hope that helps!
norma
I love your little block – pattern & colour are lovely.
piecefulwendy
Thanks, Norma!