Hi everyone! Thanks for dropping by! It has been two months since my last blog post. That's right. I almost feel like going to confession by saying that. : ) I am not Catholic though. I've been busy. I have been finalizing my latest mix and match foundation paper pieced pattern. This one is called Enchanted Paper Dolls - A Collection of Angels, Fairies and Princesses. I am truly excited about it too, because it has been in the works for close to one year. Where should I start? Hmm. I think I have to start at the beginning with the Paper Dolls - the Mini Collection. The original collection contains three (girl) dolls with interchangeable hairstyles, dresses, bodices, arms and legs. It is very simple and easy foundation paper pieced sewing even for beginners. If you are new to FPP, this is a great start for you. Then I designed a little witch, because I love the different holidays, especially Halloween. I added the cute witch's hat and extended the block outside of the 6" x 9" format. Since this is a "seasonal" item, I offered the pattern as a PDF - instant digital download. There is no hardcopy pattern for this block. And I just kept going and designed the North Pole Edition with elves and a Santa. It was the first time I added boys into the group! Then I started thinking about other types of figures and started to play around with angels. I found that they looked best with their hands down to their sides, with a warm and welcoming gesture. One of the challenges was the dress. As you can see below, the angel on the right is constructed in a block format. The other two blocks on the left are constructed with a y-seam. Which one looks better to you? In my opinion, FPP should not distract from the design. The dress on the right being sliced through the middle disturbs me. A lot of people are also afraid of y-seams. Yes, they can be intimidating, but as long as you know how to sew them together, you won't have problems. They are much easier to sew on FPP templates than a regular pieced block, because all of the points are already marked for you where you should start and stop. Of course, I could have designed angels and fairies just as stand alone blocks, but I took it is a step further. You can mix and match the figures to create new ones! The first figure in the series is Agatha. As you might notice, she has a lot of of similarities to the center angel above. With the addition of the crown and the feet and the extension of the wings, I could extend this block to a 12" x 12" standard size. (Most quilts are designed with 12" blocks.) After creating the four figures, I designed a quilt setting to show them off. I never made a scalloped border and thought this could be "cute enough" to frame the fairies and angels. The scalloped binding was actually much easier than I thought too. Most importantly, the quilt was sent to Birgit Schüller of Creative Bits Long Arm Quilting. She did the most beautiful job at accentuating the fairies. Here's another look at that scalloped border. I used fabrics from Art Gallery Fabrics the Signature Collection and mixed in another collection from AGF. For the skin and hair of the figures, I used fat quarters from Sediments from Robert Kaufman - Kona Cotton solids. The binding fabric is a solid from Gütermann. I could have stopped there. Yes, I really could have, but I just kept going! I designed eight more figures! You can mix and match their crowns, hairstyles, arms, hands, feet, dresses and bodices to create hundreds of different figures or just that right one for you. I added princesses to the pattern as well - for all of those women who need more nobility in their lives. Here is what's inside the full color, 64-page pattern: Instructions (construction/pressing directions) and full-size templates for 12 stand-alone, 12" blocks Instructions and fabric requirements for 1 quilt ~ 40" x 40" Instructions for the Sunkissed Cross © block using strip piecing Mix and match options to design your own figures Color-coded templates The Y-seam made easy Coloring blocks for your own color schemes Overview with all figures The 64-page pattern booklet will be available on Sept. 6, 2019 in my Etsy shop as well as other fabric stores. If your store doesn't carry it, ask them to contact me about wholesale orders. If you live in and around Munich and are going to the Patchworkmesse-Erding, you will find the quilt and patterns sold by Verena from einfach bunt Quilts. Hope to see you there! I am happy to announce, there will be an Enchanted Paper Dolls sew along starting September 15. Each week, a new block will be highlighted. Mark your calenders, ladies and please join us in the mix and match fun! Thanks for stopping by! -Karen