This might be my current favourite project! the Mandolin blocks designed by Tales of Cloth are an absolute delight to put together - the paper pieces are easy on the hands, and the method of construction is nice long seams. I never considered how the weight of paper affects English Paper Piecing until recently when I started using pieces from a few different sources. I've always used papers from Paper Pieces in the US before, or from Sew and Quilt in the UK, both of whom use a similar weight card for their pieces. Last summer I started the Round We go sew along using paper pieces from Sue Daley in Australia. These are slightly heavier weight and glossy. I slowly realised that these feel like harder work, even though I never sew through the papers. And then there are the pieces from Tales of Cloth, which are lighter weight than I was use to. When I first recieved them for my Ice Cream Soda quilt last year, I was worried they were too light, but they are perfect - gentle on the hands while retaining their shape when you wrap the fabric. This contrasts with the papers you sometimes get free on magazines, which are just regular printing paper weight - I find these too light and easily go out of shape if you aren't very careful when basting. So in summary - I love the paper pieces from Tales of Cloth!
And then of course is the fabric I've chosen: I'm using Spirit Animal from Tula Pink. It's the first range of hers that I've really fallen for, and I bought the prints from the range that I loved and then added from my stash. This created not-quite-a-rainbow. I think hand piecing is the way forward with Tula's fabric - it allows you to really appreciate the details and enjoy it for longer than if you machine piece (remember this comment for the future - I have plans).
So to conclude, this is a perfect project - I'm already making good progress on the next few blocks, and I *might* have ordered one of the new fun-size kits from Tales of Cloth too. Basically, if you haven't checked them out, do it now! They're based in Australia, but postage is very reasonable. You won't regret it!
And then of course is the fabric I've chosen: I'm using Spirit Animal from Tula Pink. It's the first range of hers that I've really fallen for, and I bought the prints from the range that I loved and then added from my stash. This created not-quite-a-rainbow. I think hand piecing is the way forward with Tula's fabric - it allows you to really appreciate the details and enjoy it for longer than if you machine piece (remember this comment for the future - I have plans).
So to conclude, this is a perfect project - I'm already making good progress on the next few blocks, and I *might* have ordered one of the new fun-size kits from Tales of Cloth too. Basically, if you haven't checked them out, do it now! They're based in Australia, but postage is very reasonable. You won't regret it!
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