Anael...a couple of tips I picked up in an appliqué class using butcher paper, or paper with wax on one side. Stack two pieces keeping the non waxed side up and iron them together, smoothing out all bumps and air bubbles. Trace your pattern on a see through paper, and iron it onto the wax side of the butcher paper. Cut the shape out of the wax paper and remove the see through paper pattern. Now iron this wax side down onto the wrong side of the fabric and cut the fabric around it leaving enough fabric to turn under. Using the very tip of your iron, turn the fabric over the butcher paper template. At this point I brush a light glue like Sew Stable on the seam allowance and iron it dry. School glue thinned with a little water might work but I've never used it. Now remove the template, it won't be too stuck to the paper, and your shape is ready to stitch to the block. It's kind of like PP and will give you a very precise form but it does take a little work. You can reuse the wax paper template up to 10 times if necessary. If you sew these on with a machine, use a very small thread like a silk 100 weight and your seams will all most disappear. By hand the finer thread works best too. You can probably find this process on line and see all of the steps in picture. Give it a whirl. You might be pleasantly surprised with the results.

QE, I have no idea what legal size scanning is. I use my scanner for the pictures of my blocks, patterns when they're in a book and sometimes for a document.
What's a duplex function?

My blocks are 6" finished, like the FWS. Good idea to borrow from there, thanks! I know the FWS does have blocks I like a lot without those tiny curves ;)

I'm going to get ready for a meeting tonight so talk to you later again!

QuiltE, its a matter of personal preferences and what you would use it for, that is the bottom line. I wished for it so many times when I was coping a block or pattern that was just a little bigger than I could copy before and I did not have a scanner table top to copy either. You had to 'run' the page through the HP T44 jet printer and that was not always possible with a magazine page or a book page. So on this one, I bit the bullet and went the 'whole' way and have the flat bed scanner that is 8 3/25 by 18 inches or I can 'feed' the page into the printer for a copy. I was truly looking at the ratings of each one and thinking of what I *might* want to do...that I could not do before. It works beautiful at coping a whole pattern from double fold magazine...double sided, or single side booklets...endless possibilities. Do it took me two or three months to pay for it, its worth that to me.

I love endless possibilities and that is why our two freezers are 'chuck' full and pantry too. Whatever dh wants for a meal, I can produce it with ease. Unexpected company is no problem with my freezers and pantry....even if they stayed for a month. That is why I can look around my quilt room and choose from a wide selection of possibilities without going to town for anything but staples of bread and milk and butter. If we had a goat or two, or milking sheep or miniature cow, we would have milk.

Anael ... duplex means that it will automatically flip the paper and print on the other side. You make that happen when you send your document to the printer and choose the printer. That's good news that some FWS blocks can jumpinto Sylvia's wedding plans.

QNSue ... thanks ... that's where I've been spinning right now. Do I justify the additional costs or not? BTW online HP prices in the USA are so enticing, compared to the reality of our landed Canadian prices.

I've been going thru the cost/benefit scenario for all the computer options too ... so many possibilities, and the consideration of where the overkill point is! My brain (and eyes!) are in overdrive ... no wonder my head is all spinny!!! :)

By the end of the day ... all should be finalized ............ I'm hoping! :D

QuiltE, use the toll free phone numbers and talk to a few companies to narrow your choice down, and also tie down to the penny on Canadian prices that way. I look a what I want on internet, then pick up my cell and call...talking to a real person helps to run by your options...helps me make the decision that is best for me. Hope it will help you.

it was a wake up call for me when I mailed packages of fabric out to foreign addresses in Brazil, Australia, and to the Netherlands. A one time thing, but it opened up my eyes a bit on tariff charges between countries.

This is how I applique, except it never occurred ta me ta double the freezer paper. :) I did applique the BB & this time I used a piece o' cardboard w/double sticky tape. I cut it out o' a cereal box. Made my fabric very stiff w/Mary Ellen's Best Press, & used the tip o' my iron ta press it over the edge o' the cardboard. Next I took the cardboard off, glued the edges & heat set it. I then glued it ta the background & top stitched it.


QNSue ... thanks ... that's where I've been spinning right now. Do I justify the additional costs or not? BTW online HP prices in the USA are so enticing, compared to the reality of our landed Canadian prices.

I've been going thru the cost/benefit scenario for all the computer options too ... so many possibilities, and the consideration of where the overkill point is! My brain (and eyes!) are in overdrive ... no wonder my head is all spinny!!! :)

By the end of the day ... all should be finalized ............ I'm hoping! :D[/QUOTE]

Hooray for you ta have it finalized soon.

GG, thanks for the explanation of making templates. I never thought of doing that! But: I hate needle turn applique. Does this template thing work with a sewing machine as well when you have to make tiny curves?
I think I will go the easy way this time and make a FWS block instead of the curved Sylvia one. After all it's my Sylvia quilt and there's no quilt police living at my house :D

Anael...yes this process works with either hand or machine stitching. When you say you don't like appliqué is it how it looks or the process of doing it? Yup, this is your Sylvia quilt to make to please you.
Dubib...I guess the double layer of butcher paper just makes the template heavier and it doesn't get folded into the fabric by mistake.

Both GG. I don't like the process and I don't like the look of it because I'm no good at it! I have to do applique with my Dear Jane blocks too and I don't like that either. Besides the pieces are really small (4.5" finished blocks). But I stick to the blocks because I want my Dear Jane to be like the original. With Sylvia I don't care if one block doesn't belong in the quilt. So I will try this template thing with Dear Jane. Will let you know how it works for me.