That is a fantastic quilt! I also don't like ripping the paper off, so several years ago I switched to using an inexpensive muslin, or ugly fabric in my stash to use as foundation ... no ripping, yay
I did a paper piecing star pattern for a wall hanging in my class. I was told to use a shorter stitch, like 1.8 or 2, it makes the tearing off of the paper easier. Did you try thatA?