Quilt Challenge #1 - Gryffindor Lion Inspired 9 1/2" Quilted Wallhanging

[alwaysinmyroom]

You deserved the awesome response!! It is an awesome idea well executed!!

[whimsicalimpulse]

Your site is so neat!  I've never done paper piecing before.. but you have definitely inspired me to try!  I would have never thought of harry potter quilting..

I can't believe you even offer the patterns for free!  Thanks!

I'll have to try something small and see if I can do it before I try one of those though

[ofenjen]

I'm so excited that you want to try it out!  It really is addictive.  I'm very involved in the Harry Potter craft fandom online, and sharing is part of that.  It makes me happy just knowing there are people out there that might like to try one of my patterns. 

There are lots of free resources online for learning to paper piece, most of which have patterns you can print out for practice.  I've recommended Christine Thresh's Paper Piecing Primer to quite a few people and she even gave me permission to use in a demo I did for a local charity group.  There are tons of others out there, too, but it's a good place to start.  Check your local library too, there are lots of books available.  Anything by Alex Anderson or Carol Doak are great to start with.

I have my first paper pieced square hanging over sewing machine as a reminder that we all have to start somewhere.   

[dancingrabbit]

Aw! Some!  Beautiful!

I'm very impressed.  Great job on the colors.

[thismomsews]

Wow-that is so cool!  I may have to give paper peicing a try now. (adds to ever-growing list of projects...)

[arabella]

that's fantastic and you have a great web site (I love the "burrow" and the dementor is spot on!)  I can't wait to see the finished quilt!

thanks for sharing all your patterns with us.

[absenceofcolour]

How great! That lion looks amazing! I've just started quilting and I saw a TV show recently that featured paper piecing but it went so fast it confused me. That site you recommended was great, it cleared a bunch of things up for me!

I like traditional quilts, but what really got me wanting to start quilting were quilts sorta like yours, one big quilted picture. I figure learning the basics can't hurt first, but what do you use when you're designing your quilt blocks? Any steps you take. I have a few sketches I'm trying to turn into wall quilts and I just can't get the proportions right when I begin to sew. Any suggestions are welcomed!

[SidekickFancy]

Oh that's totally awesome. Wonderful job!

[ofenjen]

I like traditional quilts, but what really got me wanting to start quilting were quilts sorta like yours, one big quilted picture. I figure learning the basics can't hurt first, but what do you use when you're designing your quilt blocks? Any steps you take. I have a few sketches I'm trying to turn into wall quilts and I just can't get the proportions right when I begin to sew. Any suggestions are welcomed!

Using Photoshop, I draw what I want my picture to look like in the proportions I want.  I always use 5" because it's easy to do the math for making it bigger. Then make it as geometric as possible without losing the design.  I start breaking it apart like a puzzle using  lines.  It can take a painful, long time depending on what I'm designing. 

The best part is that once the pattern is finished, I can use it over & over and share it, too.  I made a lot of blocks from other people's patterns before I started designing.  That actually happened because I needed a gift with the symbol of a charity I volunteer for on it, which happened to be a patchwork heart.  Then I thought it would be great if I had a pattern I could share with the other volunteers and then it all just kind of went crazy from there!

My first "original" pattern here.

I'd suggest practicing lots and getting a feel for how patterns work.  Once you understand the principals, I really think you can create your own designs.  Some shapes are easier than others, but where there is a will, there is definitely a way!

[Dorkariffic]

That's a fantastic quilt! I knew as soon as I saw it that it was Gryffindor.

Amazing!  And I love the idea of doing the other houses and making a quilt out of them

Oh, that's such a fantastic idea.

Drat - now I'm going to have to add "quilting" to my list of crafts I need to learn.