Anyone who knows my quilting knows I love Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP.) I often wish I was one of those wonderfully talented improvisational quilters but my love of precision always brings me back to FPP. I first learned about it years ago when I designed my first quilt. Being a musician by training I wanted the design to be music themed. The Art Decco treble clef in the center created some tiny pieces that would have been nearly impossible to piece traditionally. (Apologies for the poor quality of the image.) I had read about FPP and decided this might be the way to achieve the look I was after. This was before quilt design software was available so the pattern was drawn the old fashioned way with pencil and paper. My first attempt was backward as I didn’t understand the concept of mirroring. Once I finally got it after several backward attempts, I was in love. It was a tiny, bright pink piece in the design that snagged me.

Fast forward many years and quilt design software (Electric Quilt) later to my design, Hypnotica. I would only have attempted this quilt with FPP as there are so many pieces. It was fabulous for me to see this design come together as I questioned whether or not it could be successfully pieced. I was actually surprised at how precisely it all fit together. As I was getting ready to remove paper from the back, what I saw when I turned it over took my breath away. The back was just as stunning as the front in it’s own way! A perfectionist’s dream.

My newest available design as of 1/27/21, Color Tangles, is no exception and also uses FPP. When I design with FPP in mind I don’t have to concern myself with patch sizes and whether or not they can be easily cut. It frees me to make interesting angles and blocks.

My current design under construction, Fandemonium is also a great candidate for FPP. Because of the odd angles and number of pieces in each block, FPP gives the ability to use great precision to ensure points meet and each block will be the same size. One of the blocks in the making for Fandemonium is pictured below. I hope to have a pattern available for this quilt this summer.

I have resigned myself to this need for perfectionism as I have struggled with it for as long as I can remember. It is probably what drew me to music and then to quilting. I will continue to follow my unique artistic path as I enjoy the fruits of other quilt artists.