While preparing to start my DWR quilt I re-watched segments of Carol Doak's Mastering Foundation Paper Piecing Craftsy class. I already mentioned how I was reminded what a great class it is and also that I'm re-inspired to add a couple of the projects to my to-do list. Since I only watched the lesson on setting up a sewing machine to foundation piece, I decided to start over and watch the whole class in its entirety.
The perfect time to watch a Craftsy class, I have learned, is when cutting out 194 arcs out of foundation paper! It's kind of funny that I was snipping away my Carol Doak's Foundation paper while listening to Carol Doak herself teach me how to paper piece! How cool is that?
It made the time fly by and I learned so much about the process as I watched Carol create beautiful blocks with intricate designs and precise points. She is a real doll - so funny and down-to-earth and she doesn't mind sharing all her excellent tips and tricks along the way. I really like how even though she IS Carol Doak, expert paper piecer, she is not snobbish about the techniques at all. There are lots of plain and simple things to do to make the process easier and she basically tells you in a straight-forward way how to do it.
I think I could squeeze in a project or two from the class over the summer, despite what I wrote on Saturday, because my set-up and machine are ready to go for paper piecing anyway. I could easily keep new project pieces separate from my DWR stuff without much trouble and work on both. It will be fun to have a small, easy block to work on concurrently with such a big, ambitious quilt. With that in mind, and after watching most of the lessons, I hit Staples to gather a few more supplies as recommended by Carol.
I had to order more foundation paper anyway (I found the best price at Connecting Threads) so I bought 2 more packs for the DWR and an extra two packs for class projects. At Staples I was so happy to find the Scotch removeable tape, which is perfect for repairing torn foundation paper or strengthening a mis-sewn seam. It also has a higher temperature tolerance so it won't melt when pressing the fabric on the paper.
I got two packets of multi-coloured binder clips which are good for keeping the small pieces of cut fabric organized. Carol uses tabbed binder clips which can be numbered but I couldn't find those. I will look on my next visit to the States to see if I can get some. In the meantime, I bought some removable labels which I think will fit on the side of the clip. Carol also loves to keep her fabric on a Styrofoam meat tray so I'm in the process of locating one of those!
I'm excited to start one of Carol's class projects and I was also delighted to see that we were given a copy of her book FOR FREE in the class materials. The 50 Little Paper-Pieced Blocks book has full-size patterns to make themed blocks, such as flags, crayons, hearts, trees, cakes, etc. What a bonus! These will be so fun for cards or mug rugs or little wall hanging gifts suited to the recipient. There is plenty for me to play with and as soon as my foundation paper arrives I'm going to get started. These small projects will also be PERFECT for me to take to my sister's at Thanksgiving and Easter. I can pack up my little bits of fabric and use my 3160 sewing machine since I only need to do a straight stitch on the line! Goes to show you that just because you haven't worked on a Craftsy class for a while, there will come a time when it offers the ideal project or technique you're currently ready for! You can use the link above if you want to check out Carol's class.