Virtues of hand sewing?

Me again. Right Pat -- not a day for sewing. but that's what's going
to happen. You see, two days ago I had a big, big shot of steroids.
Today it's hitting with a vengeance. Good for the inflammation levels,
bad for everything else.

Anyway, I have, because of -- unconventional construction methods --
found that I have to attach a border by hand. All the way around. Now,
I'm doing it and I'm 1/4 of the way around. But I'm starting to be
hammered by that voice that lives in my head that says the only work
worth doing is the quickly done. I know that's not true, but as I said
-- the little devil lives in my head.

So somebody please extol the virtues of hand work, of taking the slow
way, of not giving in to the need to soup up everything and start
putting Hemi engines on our sewing machines.

Thanks in advance -- I am badly in need of a few good sermons.

Sunny

I adore hand-sewing! It's portable for travel, and requires so little
stuff that you can literally roll a small item, thread, needles,
thimble, and scissors into a small sack and hide it in your purse. At
home, it's something I can do during those small bits of time and in
front of TV. I can sit in any chair in any room I want, and can take
it out to the porch or the patio and listen to the birds and watch the
dog and enjoy the garden, while stitching and sipping iced tea. I can
chat with friends, and show the neighbors how old-fashioned quilting
is done, and teach them. It's relaxing. As for the end product, I
always treasure hand-work more than machine work.

Hi Sunny

There are several reasons why I love handwork. It gets me to sit down in my
recliner, put on some music, and slowly and relaxingly sew. It calms me
down and I can talk to Bert while I sew. It gets me more in tune with my
sewing and I really "see" what I am creating. I can contemplate what I am
creating and come with with other ideas and embellish if I want to. With
hand sewing it seems like I "fondle" the fabric more and connect more with
the fabric and what I am sewing. I know that this is all so intrinsic, but
it is why I hand sew so much.

Steven
Alaska


"Sunny" wrote in message
...
Me again. Right Pat -- not a day for sewing. but that's what's going
to happen. You see, two days ago I had a big, big shot of steroids.
Today it's hitting with a vengeance. Good for the inflammation levels,
bad for everything else.

Anyway, I have, because of -- unconventional construction methods --
found that I have to attach a border by hand. All the way around. Now,
I'm doing it and I'm 1/4 of the way around. But I'm starting to be
hammered by that voice that lives in my head that says the only work
worth doing is the quickly done. I know that's not true, but as I said
-- the little devil lives in my head.

So somebody please extol the virtues of hand work, of taking the slow
way, of not giving in to the need to soup up everything and start
putting Hemi engines on our sewing machines.

Thanks in advance -- I am badly in need of a few good sermons.

Sunny

In article
,
Sunny wrote:

Me again. Right Pat -- not a day for sewing. but that's what's going
to happen. You see, two days ago I had a big, big shot of steroids.
Today it's hitting with a vengeance. Good for the inflammation levels,
bad for everything else.

Anyway, I have, because of -- unconventional construction methods --
found that I have to attach a border by hand. All the way around. Now,
I'm doing it and I'm 1/4 of the way around. But I'm starting to be
hammered by that voice that lives in my head that says the only work
worth doing is the quickly done. I know that's not true, but as I said
-- the little devil lives in my head.

So somebody please extol the virtues of hand work, of taking the slow
way, of not giving in to the need to soup up everything and start
putting Hemi engines on our sewing machines.

Thanks in advance -- I am badly in need of a few good sermons.

Sunny


Sunny, one of the reasons I began quilting in the first place was that
there are no deadlines -- for the most part. Just tell yourself that you
are going to enjoy the *doing*, rather than simply rushing for the
result. I generally machine piece, but I've been slowly doing some hand
pieced quilted diamonds and find them relaxing and enjoyable, just as I
find hand quilting relaxing and enjoyable. Unless you have a death
sentence hanging over your head , you probably have enough time to be
able to enjoy the hand piecing. G

--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
sw.foster1 (at) gmail (dot) com (remove/change the obvious)
http://www.sandymike.net

Sunny, I am a machine lover extroidonaire (can't spell it though)
However, I discovered hand piecing and really enjoy that too. My Dear
Jane quilt took me over 2 years to piece, virtually all by hand. I love
doing Inklingo stuff, and Quilted Diamonds too. G
It is a very different mindset, but slowing down and relaxing with
needle, thread and thimble can be very enjoyable. VBG
And, I like to think that it helps keep my hands "nimble" and not stiff.
G
Have fun,
Pati, in Phx

Sunny wrote:
Me again. Right Pat -- not a day for sewing. but that's what's going
to happen. You see, two days ago I had a big, big shot of steroids.
Today it's hitting with a vengeance. Good for the inflammation levels,
bad for everything else.

Anyway, I have, because of -- unconventional construction methods --
found that I have to attach a border by hand. All the way around. Now,
I'm doing it and I'm 1/4 of the way around. But I'm starting to be
hammered by that voice that lives in my head that says the only work
worth doing is the quickly done. I know that's not true, but as I said
-- the little devil lives in my head.

So somebody please extol the virtues of hand work, of taking the slow
way, of not giving in to the need to soup up everything and start
putting Hemi engines on our sewing machines.

Thanks in advance -- I am badly in need of a few good sermons.

Sunny

I do enjoy the Zen of hand sewing, sometimes. It's a fine form of meditation
for first-thing-in-the-morning, waiting for the coffee to kick in. Even
better when the weather warms up enough to take my coffee and hand work
outdoors, rest my eyes watching the dragonflies, listen to the frogs in the
pond. Half an hour of that is enough to get a good piece done and make me
feel good about the whole day.
Roberta in D

"Sunny" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
Me again. Right Pat -- not a day for sewing. but that's what's going
to happen. You see, two days ago I had a big, big shot of steroids.
Today it's hitting with a vengeance. Good for the inflammation levels,
bad for everything else.

Anyway, I have, because of -- unconventional construction methods --
found that I have to attach a border by hand. All the way around. Now,
I'm doing it and I'm 1/4 of the way around. But I'm starting to be
hammered by that voice that lives in my head that says the only work
worth doing is the quickly done. I know that's not true, but as I said
-- the little devil lives in my head.

So somebody please extol the virtues of hand work, of taking the slow
way, of not giving in to the need to soup up everything and start
putting Hemi engines on our sewing machines.

Thanks in advance -- I am badly in need of a few good sermons.

Sunny

You could utilize a tool that I teach my piano students. That voice
that lives in your head is common to all of us - and ALWAYS is
negative. It's like the ticker that scrolls across the bottom of the
tvscreen when you're watching the news. Most the time you're just
casually monitoring it, missing a lot. But when some breaking news
comes across in bold letters, or some report about something that
you're specially interested in, then you actually focus on it. It's
the voice that prevents people from publicly doing anything without
lots of stress and nerves, like playing the piano in front of people.
here's the tool-----speak the positive out loud, and it prevents you
from hearing the negative inside your head - you may be accused of
going crazy, because you're talking to yourself, but it works and is
worth it.

Musicmaker

I LOVE hand sewing!! I'll sit in my cushy, overstuffed, pillow and quilt
laden loveseat and just zone out to some music/tv/audiobook and go with the
flow of whatever I'm working on. It's relaxing, quiet, and best of all, no
stopping to make more bobbins!!

I just thread several needles and have them sitting there, ready for their
turn, and away I go!! I get more done that way .... with my SM (as much as I
love it), there's always bobbins to fill, needles to stop and swap out, and
"oops! what was that noise? Just ran over a &*%$ pin!" to worry about (I
know, take out the pins FIRST, right? Too lazy, too forgetful) ... none of
that with hand-piecing.

'Sides that, you've got much more control over what you're doing with your
hands than a machine ... especially with embroidery ... my seams ALWAYS
match when I hand-piece -- not always when I machine-piece.

So, for me, hand-sewing means a lot less "blue air" in the house, and a lot
more humming contentedly!!
--
Connie :-)
FREE patterns n' FREE eZine at my blog:
http://sewverycreative.blogspot.com


"Sunny" wrote in message
...
Me again. Right Pat -- not a day for sewing. but that's what's going
to happen. You see, two days ago I had a big, big shot of steroids.
Today it's hitting with a vengeance. Good for the inflammation levels,
bad for everything else.

Anyway, I have, because of -- unconventional construction methods --
found that I have to attach a border by hand. All the way around. Now,
I'm doing it and I'm 1/4 of the way around. But I'm starting to be
hammered by that voice that lives in my head that says the only work
worth doing is the quickly done. I know that's not true, but as I said
-- the little devil lives in my head.

So somebody please extol the virtues of hand work, of taking the slow
way, of not giving in to the need to soup up everything and start
putting Hemi engines on our sewing machines.

Thanks in advance -- I am badly in need of a few good sermons.

Sunny

Hi Sunny,

I've pieced three quilts by hand and am working on a 4th. Why? Accuracy.
I can be a lot more accurate with hand piecing. Also, I find it nice to
relax in front of the TV and piece.

While it's rewarding to finish something quickly, my best work has been
hand-pieced.
--
Michelle in NV
http://community.webshots.com/user/desert_quilter

"Sunny" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
Me again. Right Pat -- not a day for sewing. but that's what's going
to happen. You see, two days ago I had a big, big shot of steroids.
Today it's hitting with a vengeance. Good for the inflammation levels,
bad for everything else.

Anyway, I have, because of -- unconventional construction methods --
found that I have to attach a border by hand. All the way around. Now,
I'm doing it and I'm 1/4 of the way around. But I'm starting to be
hammered by that voice that lives in my head that says the only work
worth doing is the quickly done. I know that's not true, but as I said
-- the little devil lives in my head.

So somebody please extol the virtues of hand work, of taking the slow
way, of not giving in to the need to soup up everything and start
putting Hemi engines on our sewing machines.

Thanks in advance -- I am badly in need of a few good sermons.

Sunny

My sewng machine is in the basement, my husband is not. Best reason I can
think of for hand-sewing, but the accuracy is another; I just am not as
accurate with a machine as I am with my hands. Of course, no pins to bend,
needles to break, and no back ache are great. I can sit where I please, put
it down and do a crossword puzzle and pick it right back up again. Could
never do quarter square triangles accurately until I did it by hand.
Hand-sewing is very freeing.

Not a whole lot in life worth hurrying over. As you get older it comes to
us what is truly important in life . . . and hurryin' ain't one of 'em!

"Sunny" wrote in message
...

So somebody please extol the virtues of hand work, of taking the slow
way, of not giving in to the need to soup up everything and start
putting Hemi engines on our sewing machines.

Thanks in advance -- I am badly in need of a few good sermons.

Sunny