Ok, I finally got my head around the paper piecing thing and as an added bonus...I expanded my vocabulary on the same day! :oops:

Here is my current dilema..I'm showing you the quilt pattern, then I paper pieced the flying geese (well, I'm in the process anyway). Ok..now, should I build the rows horizontally and use the FG in small increments..like I have 3 laid out already...OR should I do a long vertical row of FG and build the rows vertically...like I have 1 halfway done? Also, should I take off the paper BEFORE I sew them to the blocks OR AFTER?

I'm getting there...just slowly...what would you do?

I am not sure which would be better but I had to say that I really like how your quilt is turning out :D

that will be one beautiful quilt! love that background fabric! I have never paper pieced, but if any of those edges on the fg units are on the bias i think it might be best to do it in horizontal rows and take paper off after just to keep the edges stable. but like i said never done pp so take it with a grain of salt.

I like the idea of the long, vertical row. it will make the blocks look like panels. That's going to be one sweet quilt. It's gorgeous!! Congrats on getting the hang of the paper piecing. I leave my paper in until I get it sewn to the next piece. I think it makes a great stabilizer while I'm sewing the blocks together and with the line there, you can be sure you're getting a perfect ¼" every time.

I'd do it either way. I know, not much help, but it's going to be pretty once you finish.
Paper piecing to me, is fun, once you get the hang of it.

what is going to be in the square between the pinwheel blocks? it appears to be a heart but what technique are you doing on them?

i very most emphatically vote UP AND DOWN, please.

save those new words you learned. if you make another quilt using a new technique, you might need them again. :lol: :wink: :lol:

leave the paper on until you've trimmed them to size, the remove it like elmer fudd: vewy, vewy, vewy carefuwwy

I went back and looked at them again.
I agree...up and down would work the best.

hey sandpat, great quilt design. don't you just love those perfect points you get with paper piecing?
i say definitely leave the paper on for stability also because the lines on the paper will help you keep it straight as you put it together.
as far as whether to sew the whole row down or sew as sort of a sashing across, i say whichever is the most comfortable for you. i would probably sew rows across because i could keep everything straighter that way. also the geese will stay more even. if i sewed a long row of geese i might end up with half a goose when i put it together. :oops:
again i love this design and can hardly wait to see your finished quilt.
have fun :!: :wink: :!:

ok Patrice & tlr share with me your reasoning for vertical rows. my train of thought was pretty much like nanabirds, but i am always open to different ideas(please dont think i am trying to get into a right or wrong debate) some times i can be pretty dense and miss the most obvious lol!!!

First of all absolutely beautiful!! I'm for the up and down version (2nd pic) too.

I like the long vertical rows. Flying geese always showcase better in a long, continuous line.

I also love your colors. I love that background. It's just gorgeous.

That will be so charming when it's done -- it's charming now.

Oh, I'm still kind of new at quilting, but as long as those paper-pieced flying geese aren't sewn onto anything, I'd keep the paper on. I would take it off right before I sewed it onto another piece.

You know what I paper piece with? Dollar Store gift tissue paper. You don't stretch the stitching all out ripping that paper off.

Oh your quilt is beautiful!. First, i believe your are saying that whichever technique you use, the geese will still be in long strips like in your drawing, (for those that were considering appearance), you are just wondering about technique to do it. If it was me, this is what i'd do. I would do them in horizontal increments, and this is why. If you do one huge long strip at once, it is very easy to get it going wavy, and not precise. In smaller increments, you can square up the strips again, after each in sewn on, to keep things straighter. Also, small horizontal rows are easier to deal with. I leave all my paper on til i have sewn all my seams, just for me, i find this easier. Makes my seams much more accurate, and is very stabilizing. But it is more of a pain to tear the paper off this way after, so each person has their preferance on this. Good luck with it :)

I think it just looks better, the way FG should go.
I took your "written" pattern and turned my screen on the side, and that's when I decided that it looked better in long rows, rather than horizonal.

I just wanted to say love the colors and go by what the other ladies think because they know what they are doing!

Cordelia - I have a flying geese border completely around my king size quilt. I paper pieced in 8 geese sections then joined them together in long rows with the paper on. I then removed the papers very carefully, and pinned the full length, I had worked out exactly how many but you need to pin each end and ease the rest in place as there is alot of stretch due to the bias cut. This is my first quilt, and you can see the quilt on the thread - Do you want to see some progress if you use the search button above you will find it or in my bookmarks.

Hope this helps :D

Sorry I should have said how lovely your quilt is going to be, the colours are beautiful, I love the aubergine and beige together, and you have designed it yourself.....well done!! :D

definitely uppy and downy. The quilt will be wonderful! I love the blocks.

love the pattern and colors. that will be beautiful.

I don't paper piece, yet, but yours is coming along great. Love the colors.

This is going to be a gorgeous quilt! I vote FG up and down as well; they do showcase better either up and down or in a continuous line around the block. I'd leave the paper on until it is all together as well; the smaller the bits of fabric and the more bias, the paper will keep everything from skewing.

Thanks for all the input..I planned all along to use the FG in long vertical rows (for appearance)- thanks to all who agreed with me :lol:

My dilema deals with the "how to"..I'm getting about even feelings both ways from the thread..half of you say to PP the FG in LONG rows, then sew it to a block row that has been pieced vertically...and about half of you say to PP in short vertical rows..sew to a block...sew to a PP FG block...sew to a block..itc., horizontally, then sew all the horizontal rows together. So..I'm still thinking maybe will wait for a few more opinions, but thank you all for your help!

I will definetly leave the Paper on until I'm finished..that comes through Loud & clear...seems some of you must have learned a few new words by removing it prematurely :shock:

Oh ,ok. I think I get what you're looking for. If it were me, I'd sew a stip of geese to each side of the block, sew the blocks together in horizontal rows, then sew the rows together. Just like I'd do with any other sashing. The FG are, in effect, just a fancy sashing between the vertical rows, right? I think it would be easier to work with smaller sections of FG between blocks being joined horizontally, than to sew one long one between vertical rows.

Did I understand you right? :)

Yeah I took it the same way as barbm. The reason i was asking for your reasoning tlr is because i read a tip in a quilt mag a week ago and i am still doing the v-8 thump to the head because it was so obviously simple and could have saved me many hrs of grief. thats why i say i can be pretty dense at times

No worries there! I can be pretty dense at times too!
I can look at something simple like 1+1 and can't figure out the answer at times. Hate when that happens!

I'm going to do a trapunto on a feathered heart. I hope it will look good, I think it will be balanced enough spaced that evenly throughout the quilt. When I laid out the blocks, it looked awful until I got them all laid out on the floor, then magically....it looked like it will turn out good. DH thinks so anyway and its his quilt, sooooo.....thats how it will be :D

Okay so everyone that has spoken already knows more than I do. BUT when I was talking to my mom about the layout of my quilt (scrappy hearts) she reminded me about "what side do you want to be the top" if you clearly define a top by having all the hearts the same way you get wear at the top of the quilt and at the bottom. If the quilt is made so there is "no top" then everytime the quilt goes on the bed it will wear differently spreading out the wear and tear of use.

Maybe it's just my family, but when we have a quilt we really love (which this one looks like it will be) does over time begin to show wear. So even though my knee jerk reaction is to want all my hearts the same direction, I have begun to try to think of other layouts.

Also one of my favorite parts of putting a quilt together is when all the blocks are done laying them out on the floor or placed on a wall to see them together in all different ways. It's hard to wait but you might think of a new way that you didn't think of before that simply looks great. Who knows maybe pinwheeling hearts with flying geese all around! :-)


YIPPIE I'm glad you go it all figured out! :D

OH goodie!!!! I love the look of trapunto! I have never done it(Im chicken I know) Your quilt is going to be so beautiful. as to the construction, I am still on board with your original plan but to sew it together horizontal row by horizontal row(with the geese all flying in a vertical row)

Your quilt is going to be beautiful. The more I have paper pieced, the more I know to leave the paper removal to the very last. (I know the words too.) One method I have used to help me decide about the design is to lay it out on the floor, stand on a chair and shoot down with a digital camera. Shoot all your choices. Then load the pics in your computer and the answer usually is pretty clear.

The other tip fpr PP is that I use blank newsprint like they use in primary school. I bought a big pad of it at Staples for a fraction of what it costs in a quilt store, and I can't tell the difference. I just put it on my cutting board and use an old "paper cutting" blade in my rotary and cut it to 81/2 x 11 to fit in my printer.

Your quilt is beautiful!!!!! The flying geese look great paper pieced.
I think either way will look good, but I personally prefer the vertical continuous strip of the geese. And, if you lay it out you can prevent a goose from getting whacked in the middle by piecing a small strip at the top and bottom of the row of 'em.

That is just going to be gorgeous. Love it. For what its worth think up and down.

Thanks for the input...I think I'll try "building" a row horizontally to see how I like that before I take apart the longer vertical FG block that I've made. Since the FG are in 1" vertical increments, it will be easy to match them to the exact block size.

Thanks for all the other tips. I plan to rethink the layout (direction) of all the heart blocks and may alternate 1 right side up and the next upside down...the quilt wear issue is a good thought.

I appreciate the PP tips too. It seems that the rest of my family doesn't appreciate my new words :roll: ...but they sure seem to help in certain situations :oops:

Have you tried Eleanor Burns method for flying geese? So easy and they turn out perfect every time. No paper to tear off.

No and don't know what it is..so now you have me curious and I'll have to google it to find out. I obviously have lots & lots of geese to do. I'm having fun with the PP. I guess since I haven't gotten to the tearing off stage yet I just don't know what I've gotten myself into?? Oh well...probably just add yet a few more new words..LOL! :lol:

But, every goose will be perfect! No clipped wings.
:D

I know you are not ready for quilting just yet.......but if by chance you intend to stitch in the ditch...... go down one side first from the point down diagonally to the bottom left corner then right to the next point, this gives you a continual line, then do the same down the other side in a zigzag! :D :D

Thanks Izy, thats a good tip. I hadn't thought quite that far ahead about the FG. Actually, I'm still thinking about how I want to quilt all that nice open space between the pinwheels and heart blocks. Can't wait for that part, its my favorite!

Definitely going to be a dramatic beautiful quilt!

I love the background fabric! Is it a batik?

I like both FG samples, so I'm not much help.

hugs, sue

Thanks Sue, the background is more of a marbalized fabric, but batik would be beautiful :D and very expensive :shock: