I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. I think all that turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie gave me a case of Blogger's Block. I also have a case of Designer's Block. Well not exactly, but I ran into a problem I haven't solved yet. I played around with a spiral design by skewing it in Illustrator. Is that fun, or what? I came up with the following plan for a 48 x 48 inch quilt with lots of room for magnificent FMQ. Not so bad. Then I started breaking it up into the pattern pieces that will be needed to make the quilt.
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| Roman Candle |
See the part that runs from the center ending in a paddle with red and blue? It is made up of two long, skinny triangles, mirror images of each other. Well, I isolated that triangle in Illustrator and it is about 24 inches long! Oooops! Design flaw. How on earth am I going to print a paper piecing pattern on 8.5 x 11 inch paper?
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| Recalcitrant fan or paddle piece. |
*Can I glue pieces of paper together with washable glue? I don't have any Paper Solvy on hand to try it.
*Can I tape two pieces together? I am reluctant to to do that because of increased bulk and sticky on the needle.
*How about tracing it onto freezer paper? I worry that some of the points are too narrow to do it that way.
*The best idea I have come up with is to trace it by hand on Golden Threads tissue, which comes in a roll. I haven't used it for paper piecing and I am afraid it is too thin to put through my printer (worth a try though). Maybe tracing paper?
*Of course, I can always redesign that portion of the pattern. Last resort!
Now is the time to incubate the problem and let the ideas percolate as I walk the dog, practice the piano, cook dinner, sleep at night, work on the current UFO. Finally, I will sample some of the possible solutions. I also welcome any ideas from you, my readers.
What about taking it to a copy store and having them print it on a large format printer? It's a pretty design.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good idea. It is worth stopping in to see what kind of paper they could do it on. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI've taped paper together and sewed over the line without thread in the needle to weaken it and then sewed as normal and it worked out ok for me so far!
ReplyDeleteOh, that's a good idea. I'll give it a try. Did your needle get sticky? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMy needle didn't. I've also used tape when I'm not ready to lose little pieces in my paper piecing. Never had an issue.
DeleteOh boy that is a striking design! What a power of work you will be putting in, it will be so worth it!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to choosing fabrice and stitching once I get the glitch solved. I will be stopping at a printer Sat to see what kind of paper they have. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThat's "fabrics". My computer can't spell!
DeleteMardi - that is a magnificent design! I have found that you can tape paper together with that blue painter's tape. It does not gun up the needle and is pretty easy to tear away as long as your stitches are close together. Gluing the paper together with glue sticks works very well too.
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it I have used tiny piece of tape when I need to hold some paper together for paper piecing and haven't had a problem. I can probably position the design so I can tape where the lines aren't too close together. Thank you.
DeleteSo pretty! I'm not familiar with paper piecing, but I hope you figure out a workable solution, because this will make a stunning quilt!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It has been fun so far. Long way to go!!
DeleteThis could be amazing! I love the design and cannot wait to see it!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It will be awhile before I even get to the fabric auditions, but I will keep you posted.
DeleteI've done paper piecing with patterns too big for one sheet of paper, and it's come out just fine to splice two or three sheets together. I print or copy it out so that there's a good overlap to match it up perfectly. Cut plain old scotch tape into thinner inch-long slices, applied to the back side of one overlapping edge with hang over. With that laid on the table, oh-so-carefully lay the overlapping piece on top. Then I trim all but about 1/4" of the overlapping area off the front. If the stitching lines are far enough apart, I just put the tape pieces so there are gaps at the sewing. If not, I just stitch right through that 1/4" bit of tape. It all pulls out just fine in the end!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your support. I think I will go ahead with the tape. I may audition the glue too and position the pattern on the paper strategically.
DeleteOh! And this design is so captivating!!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I can't wait to work on it, but it will be awhile yet.
DeleteHave you tried to use longer paper in your computer printer. You will be at least able to use legal size and reduce some of your paper joints, but on one of my printers I can use 22" long paper.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely an option. I can print up to 13 x 19 inch paper. I want something lighter weight than regular copy paper, although it is used by some paper piecers. I think I'll see what is available at the office supply stores. I checked Kinkos today and their paper is all too heavy. It might be worth buying some 14 x 17 inch paper.
ReplyDelete