Qqqqqute! (my hubby's dad joke)

My foundation paper piecing technique is getting more and more refined as I have worked on designing and stitching through my bubbly letter alphabet (get the physical pattern here and the PDF download pattern here). One tip I discovered while stitching Q was that tape and irons don't necessarily go together! Initially, Q was just too large to print the pattern on one page so I printed it on two and then cut it out and taped the pieces together on the front and back of the pattern. Once I got to stitching, I had forgotten all about the tape and didn't see it. It was even hard to get the tape to show in the picture below. Next thing I know, I'm having a hard time pressing as my iron is not moving well! I was going over the tape and it was starting to stick. Thankfully I realized what was going on before I actually had tape stuck to my iron! From then on, I was much more careful to avoid the iron over the tape. Once I got far enough along that fabric covered the tape, it didn't seem to matter anymore. The fabric acted as a buffer between the tape and iron! Next time I'm combining pattern pieces, I'm going to try using a glue stick instead of tape. I'll let you know if it is a better choice. For now tape works great through stitching and removing the paper just not so well with the iron.

I embarked on this massive FPP pattern design project because I was inspired by Veruschka Zarate of Pride and Joy Quilting. I saw her quilted self portrait of her and her boys at QuiltCon this spring and decided to give FPP another try. She is the QUEEN of FPP! She just released a new FPP that is a depiction of Joan of Arc and I absolutely LOVE it.

If you haven't tried FPP or haven't tried it in a while, I would encourage you to try it again. The potential with this technique is limitless and there are soooo many FPP patterns out there! The technique can be mastered with just a little practice. I have outlined the technique here and have posted a lot of video tips about it on instagram.

Happy Quilting!!!