Some Tracing..

I've been spending some time this past week working an tracing patterns for a quilt that caught my eye recently. This is Sue Nickels' Folk Garden Applique Sampler. I love the playfulness of the patterns, so I'm expanding her half patterns into full-size layouts.

Lightboxes are especially helpful for this process. I first trace the pattern from the book onto a sheet of tracing paper. Then, using the lightbox, I trace it again - and expand it if necessary - onto a sheet of newsprint paper. I buy this in large sheets (18" X 24") and cut them down to the size I need - in this case, 10". I've been using newsprint paper since I first started quilting over 12 years ago.

The large patterns are stored vertically in a cardboard "book" I made a while ago. I just took a large box, cut out 2 of the sides, cut holes along one edge on each piece and tied them together like a book. It holds things flat very nicely :)