There comes a moment when you must take all of the inspiration that has been accumulating inside and putting it into something of your own. I have been learning and playing and having fun recently with all sorts of quilty ideas. I love inputting information and thinking about, but I've reached a breaking point and had to create something. Mostly I've recently been inspired by Carolyn Friedlander and her beautiful fabrics and paper pieced quilt patterns. I wanted to create my own paper pieced pattern so I could learn how it all works. I remember an art professor in college telling us that when we are lost on visual ideas we should draw the clothes on our bedroom floor.
So I started with a couple of drawings. I scanned the top drawing to my computer and used Photoshop to clean up the drawing and alter some of the measurements. After a weekend of tweaking, testing, redrawing, enlarging, and tweaking some more I think I have finally made a pattern that works well.
I'm calling the pattern "Under-Ruse." It creates a block that is 9 1/2" square, or 9" with a 1/4" seam allowance all around. It includes four separate pieces on two pages that combine together to create the block pictured above.
I am happy to share this pattern with you. Please let me know if you find any mistakes or have suggestions. I look forward to seeing your creations!
I'm linking up with the Paper Piecing Link Up at Quilt Art Designs!
Haha, oh this is fantastic! Perfectly depicted - I especially love that it's not symmetrical (well, the leg-bits) because that's much more accurate!
ReplyDeleteDid you find drafting the pattern for this to be particularly difficult? A few re-dos were mentioned, but no hair-tearing-out frustration? I've toyed with the idea of making my own paper piecing patterns but haven't been able to find any information on it that clicks with my learning style.
Cedacanthus, thank you for seeing the humor in this block. I hope you might consider printing one for yourself to try and let me know what you think.
DeleteI had to do some revisions to the pattern, and it was a bit time consuming, but I didn't find it to be all that difficult. I do have some more ideas that I would like to try out and then maybe I can have a better idea of how complex it really is to design and draft a pattern. I think once I figure that out I will try to make a tutorial about drafting a pattern. I know that we all have different learning styles and perhaps my explaination will be one that 'clicks' with your learning style. :)
I do see the humour in this block. And think it is a really great design. I could have used this back when I posted my last Friday finish... http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.ca/2014/03/tgiff-charley-harper-meets-superior.html Your visit and comments were greatly appreciated. Wish you would have thrown in a link to this then!!! How do you like the actual process of paper piecing?
ReplyDeleteYou might be surprised that there are others to pursue this particular subject: http://fandominstitches.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/pattern_yfronts_ofenjen.pdf.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised Afton! Thanks for sharing the link. One of my FB quilt buddies pointed something like this out to me as well. :)
DeleteNo inspiration and a lot of fun!! You had a great teacher. I love your block.
ReplyDeleteLol, I love these, so cute but also very well designed. I second Cedacanthus's thoughts, and would love to see a tutorial on your pattern designing process. I've seen a few but nothing has clicked with me so far!
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