Hello friends. I hope you all are having a good week. I've been busy with homeschooling, so not much sewing action is going on. I did get into the sewing room for a couple of hours, though. Pre-cuts have been on my mind from our discussion earlier this week. I am itching to get into a honey bun or jelly roll project and am waiting for my Squirrelly Girl honey bun to arrive. I also may have ordered two jelly rolls of the new Primitive Gathering's Redwork Gathering Collection. Ahem.
When I was puttering around, I remembered that I had a Cupcake Mix pad sitting around in a little bin of charm packs.
These little foundation papers are so nice! I had not tried them before but will be getting more of them. The paper is super thin and soft and removes like a dream. They fit perfectly on a charm square for stitching. There are 44 papers in the pad. There are four different recipe pads to choose from. I am using the Cupcake Mix Recipe pad #1, which makes the Birds in the Air block (or variations of it).
If you are not familiar with this type of sewing technique, the idea is that you position the papers over two charm squares (right sides together), stitch on the dotted line and cut on the solid line. You pull the papers off and are left with four small half-square triangles and one large one. To make one Birds in the Air quilt block, you will need a total of four charm squares: two prints and two background. So my charm pack will make 21 quilt blocks, more than I will need for a table runner. The finished block is 6 1/2" unfinished.
My only criticism is that the printing on the papers is a bit light, but that may have just been the particular batch I had.
If you are interested in learning more about these foundation papers, there are two good YouTube videos I will link to:
Fatquarter Shop Cake Mix video.
Fabric Garden Cake Mix/Cupcake Mix video.
I pulled out an ancient Sandy Gervais charm pack called Late Bloomer. I have always loved Sandy's whimsical collections. She used to design for Moda, but I believe she has moved to Riley Blake. She does fall colors so well, and I adore how she often adds in a beautiful teal to the autumnal palette.
I only had time to make three blocks, but you see the colors I will be using. Sure wish I had a bigger piece of that tannish/gold to use as a border on the table runner I am making! That is the downside of hanging on to fabric for years-if you finally use it and need more, it's too bad.
Wishing you all a grand weekend!
It's going to be lovely! I found when using the cupcake mix papers that the pieces came together so well. There were no wonky pieces.
Posted by: Donna | September 18, 2020 at 06:37 AM
Never tried the papers. They look great. Have a nice weekend.
Mary
Posted by: Mary Kastner | September 18, 2020 at 07:01 AM
Your three blocks look very nice! I'll head over to the YouTube videos today. Have a good weekend...hope sewing is in your plan! Stay well!
Posted by: Jan | September 18, 2020 at 07:12 AM
Thanks for the explanation of those papers. Lissa Alexander blogged about a new Moda Book, something about cupcakes, cakewalk. Sorry, I don't recall right off, but I ordered it right away since there were several quilts I really liked. (Famous last words.) I might have to slow down on quiltmaking to learn something new. All your fault Nicole. Glad you are teaching with your grand daughter. Must be fun things to do in your sewing room for recess.
Posted by: Stephani in N. TX | September 18, 2020 at 08:31 AM
dang! why am I always the last to know about this new stuff?!
Have a lovely weekend....hope your air is better. Ours is but I saw Yosemite is not. :( Hope Sara can stay indoors.
Posted by: Ina | September 18, 2020 at 09:27 AM
forgot to add that I had pre-ordered that adorable applique squirrel quilt pattern and can't wait to make it! I've promised myself that I won't start it until I finish the Minnick and Simpson quilt. ;p
Posted by: Ina | September 18, 2020 at 09:32 AM
That is super ambitious of you!
Posted by: Nicole | September 18, 2020 at 10:19 AM
I appreciate how you seem to be honest about how tools work for you. I have book that is designed to use some of the layer cake papers. I was thinking about just making the blocks, but I believe I'll get a tablet of those papers and give it a go.
Posted by: Robby H. | September 18, 2020 at 07:51 PM
PS: Cakewalk is the name of the book I was referring to above. As I said, there were some beauties in it, and thanks to Amazon, my copy will arrive shortly.
Posted by: Stephani in N. TX | September 19, 2020 at 06:30 AM