This one is a simple one, but it was one that got me thinking of a all the different ways it can be applied.
I had originally drawn a sketch of the tree of life quilt that I wanted to do so that it would be 80″ x 80″, but after talking with my client, we decided to make the motif 48″ x 48″, which really didn’t want to scale easily using math and my graph paper. I had already drawn out my grid on freezer paper using 6″ squares, when my husband (a woodworker) said “why don’t you just use a divider? I have one downstairs.”
The beginning template for raw-edge applique
And then I remembered, that, DUH. Kimmy Brunner has this amazing way to divide up a space using adding machine tape where she measures out a length of the paper (she mentioned it in her craftsy class here), then folds it to create the intervals she needs without doing the math. So. I took my paper and folded it lengthwise in 8 strips (in half, then the outer edges folded in to the middle, and then subdivided) and crosswise in 8 strips, and had a perfect grid. No math. Sorry for the lack of better pictures–it was late-ish and I didn’t plan this as a post, but thought it could be a useful trick for you.
Also, just sat down with Rose Hughes’ book and she does the fold technique in the beginning, too! Should have done my homework before reinventing the wheel. Ha!
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