Tell me the truth on hand-piecing

There's the beginning of a wonderful tumbling blocks quilt here. Still in
the just playing stage, I'm auditioning many interesting combinations
including batiks, checks, 30's and bugs. There's already a caterpillar
inching up the side of a block. The batiks work great because they are
lovely and can be flipped and turned to make the contrast just right. This
will be a scrappy tumble. The one over at quilters cache called me.
Now, for you hand-piecers. These blocks don't seem to need the hefty
smash I customarily give SM piecing and there are bias edges all over the
place. Do you just give them a gentle glide with a little iron? What steps
do you take to be as sure as you can that hand-piecing is as sturdy as you
can make it? I would simply croak if this beauty fell to pieces if anybody
dared to sit on my quilt. Polly

On Apr 14, 9:50 pm, "Polly Esther" wrote:
There's the beginning of a wonderful tumbling blocks quilt here. Still in
the just playing stage, I'm auditioning many interesting combinations
including batiks, checks, 30's and bugs. There's already a caterpillar
inching up the side of a block. The batiks work great because they are
lovely and can be flipped and turned to make the contrast just right. This
will be a scrappy tumble. The one over at quilters cache called me.
Now, for you hand-piecers. These blocks don't seem to need the hefty
smash I customarily give SM piecing and there are bias edges all over the
place. Do you just give them a gentle glide with a little iron? What steps
do you take to be as sure as you can that hand-piecing is as sturdy as you
can make it? I would simply croak if this beauty fell to pieces if anybody
dared to sit on my quilt. Polly

Oh Miss Polly, just do it! I rotary cut my pieces, and have been
handing sewing them together. As long as you don't yank on the fabric
it'll be fine! I haven't even ironed mine yet, and I have the main
portion of the top finished and hanging on the wall. When I do "iron"
pieces like these, I don't glide at all! I simply press down and lift
up!

I start with a small knot, take a quick backstitch, and sew. At seams
I do a backstitch before heading through the seam and another one on
the other side. I am attacking the seams like I learned from reading
Jinny Beyers' book on handpiecing and quilting.

The one I am making, a tumbling block in black, red and white, is for
my future DN (nephew or niece - we just don't know yet!). If I can do
it - so can you! And it has gone together much quicker than I
imagined it would!

Can't wait to hear all about it!

Dannielle

Now, for you hand-piecers. These blocks don't seem to need the hefty
smash I customarily give SM piecing and there are bias edges all over the
place. Do you just give them a gentle glide with a little iron? What
steps do you take to be as sure as you can that hand-piecing is as sturdy
as you can make it? I would simply croak if this beauty fell to pieces if
anybody dared to sit on my quilt. Polly

I've only done one hand pieced quilt, I didn't iron/press it, ever! It's
survived a year of use as a cot blanket, so it's definitely durable, I did
small running stitches with a back stitch every 4th stitch. I can't remember
how I secured the thread ends though, presume several back stitches rather
then knots.

Anne

Polly-

Even tho I have never made an actual "quilt" by hand, I do have my
opinions on the subject, of course. ;-) I taught my students to take
a back stitch- or two if their stitches were reasonably small- every
four or five stitches which helps make the seams stronger. I think
some of the "strength" of hand piecing is gained in the quilting.
That helps hold everything in place and stabilize the seams.
Pressing the seams to one side helps keep those seams as strong as
possible, too, with less stress on them. But you already know all
that. With your experience with fine hand work, I have no doubt that
your hand piecing will stand up to hard use. Think of those pioneer
women who hand-made quilts with used clothing (with threads and
fabrics that weren't as sturdy and tightly woven as ours, I would
guess), washed them by pounding them with rocks and scrubbing with
sand (or scrub boards and strong lye soap??? LOL), and hung them in
the sun to dry--- and sun rot. Somehow even a few of those quilts
have survived for many, many years. You *can* do it. And, Polly
dear, you really MUST get a digital camera so we can see your work!
It makes me a bit crazy(ier???) to hear of your lovely projects and
have to imagine them instead of getting to see them. If I can swallow
a straight pin, then you can learn to post pics for us. Now, that
didn't make a lick of sense, but are you feeling a bit guilty any
way??? VBG

Leslie- appreciating your double pun in your other post even if it's
at my expense LOL & The Furbabies in MO.

On Apr 14, 8:50 pm, "Polly Esther" wrote:
There's the beginning of a wonderful tumbling blocks quilt here. Still in
the just playing stage, I'm auditioning many interesting combinations
including batiks, checks, 30's and bugs. There's already a caterpillar
inching up the side of a block. The batiks work great because they are
lovely and can be flipped and turned to make the contrast just right. This
will be a scrappy tumble. The one over at quilters cache called me.
Now, for you hand-piecers. These blocks don't seem to need the hefty
smash I customarily give SM piecing and there are bias edges all over the
place. Do you just give them a gentle glide with a little iron? What steps
do you take to be as sure as you can that hand-piecing is as sturdy as you
can make it? I would simply croak if this beauty fell to pieces if anybody
dared to sit on my quilt. Polly

Ohhhh, Leslie. We have such a long way to go on digital cameras. My
understanding of digit = finger. A clock either has hands (don't know what
their particular techie name is) or it does numbers, hence 'digital'. Other
than that, I'll have to read the book "Digital for Dummies" because I just
don't know anything. If this tumbling quilt gets bigger than a potholder, I
solemnly promise to send you and Dannielle a real Kodak Brownie photo.
Polly (and glad you appreciated the puns I didn't do.)

"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." wrote in message
oups.com...
Polly-

Even tho I have never made an actual "quilt" by hand, I do have my
opinions on the subject, of course. ;-) I taught my students to take
a back stitch- or two if their stitches were reasonably small- every
four or five stitches which helps make the seams stronger. I think
some of the "strength" of hand piecing is gained in the quilting.
That helps hold everything in place and stabilize the seams.
Pressing the seams to one side helps keep those seams as strong as
possible, too, with less stress on them. But you already know all
that. With your experience with fine hand work, I have no doubt that
your hand piecing will stand up to hard use. Think of those pioneer
women who hand-made quilts with used clothing (with threads and
fabrics that weren't as sturdy and tightly woven as ours, I would
guess), washed them by pounding them with rocks and scrubbing with
sand (or scrub boards and strong lye soap??? LOL), and hung them in
the sun to dry--- and sun rot. Somehow even a few of those quilts
have survived for many, many years. You *can* do it. And, Polly
dear, you really MUST get a digital camera so we can see your work!
It makes me a bit crazy(ier???) to hear of your lovely projects and
have to imagine them instead of getting to see them. If I can swallow
a straight pin, then you can learn to post pics for us. Now, that
didn't make a lick of sense, but are you feeling a bit guilty any
way??? VBG

Leslie- appreciating your double pun in your other post even if it's
at my expense LOL & The Furbabies in MO.

On Apr 14, 8:50 pm, "Polly Esther" wrote:
There's the beginning of a wonderful tumbling blocks quilt here. Still
in
the just playing stage, I'm auditioning many interesting combinations
including batiks, checks, 30's and bugs. There's already a caterpillar
inching up the side of a block. The batiks work great because they are
lovely and can be flipped and turned to make the contrast just right.
This
will be a scrappy tumble. The one over at quilters cache called me.
Now, for you hand-piecers. These blocks don't seem to need the hefty
smash I customarily give SM piecing and there are bias edges all over the
place. Do you just give them a gentle glide with a little iron? What
steps
do you take to be as sure as you can that hand-piecing is as sturdy as
you
can make it? I would simply croak if this beauty fell to pieces if
anybody
dared to sit on my quilt. Polly

Well, Miss Polly, I piece all my quilt tops (and backs) by hand. I just
don't like using a running stitch because, like you, I want my quilt to
stand up to heavy use. So . . . I use a back stitch for every stitch. The
top of the seam looks like machine stitching, the other side looks like an
embroidery outline stitch.

I press often throughout the whole procedure because the blocks are easier
for me to put together and easier to measure if they're lying flat. I press
the back first then turn it over and press the front. I've found that if I
just press up and down, some seams have this little bit of fold, so on the
right side I slide the side of my iron up against it and keep sliding until
it gets that fold out of the seam and so it will be flat.

I'm so glad the quilt police don't know where I live.

Polly, you know the nightmare quilt I did for DH? 'Tis all hand sewed and
it has survived 2 cats, several washes, and well I slept under the thing a
good many nights now too. No things unravelling.

Like others before me have said, take a backstitch ever now and again and
throw in the odd knot here and there too - not just on the end of a seam.
Helps to keep the confusion locked in the quilt.

--
Sharon from Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/craft.html (takes awhile to load)
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shazrules/my_photos (same as website but
quicker)
"Polly Esther" wrote in message
...
There's the beginning of a wonderful tumbling blocks quilt here. Still in
the just playing stage, I'm auditioning many interesting combinations
including batiks, checks, 30's and bugs. There's already a caterpillar
inching up the side of a block. The batiks work great because they are
lovely and can be flipped and turned to make the contrast just right. This
will be a scrappy tumble. The one over at quilters cache called me.
Now, for you hand-piecers. These blocks don't seem to need the hefty
smash I customarily give SM piecing and there are bias edges all over the
place. Do you just give them a gentle glide with a little iron? What
steps do you take to be as sure as you can that hand-piecing is as sturdy
as you can make it? I would simply croak if this beauty fell to pieces if
anybody dared to sit on my quilt. Polly

Polly Esther wrote:
Now, for you hand-piecers. These blocks don't seem to need the hefty
smash I customarily give SM piecing and there are bias edges all over the
place. Do you just give them a gentle glide with a little iron? What steps
do you take to be as sure as you can that hand-piecing is as sturdy as you
can make it? I would simply croak if this beauty fell to pieces if anybody
dared to sit on my quilt. Polly

I hand piece all my tops and backs.

I backstitch every inch or so.

I press when the top is finished.

I machine quilt and the result seems
to be very sturdy.

-- Anita --

Which way are you doing the Tumbling Blocks, Polly - it does make a
difference!
Are you doing them over papers, or marking the sewing line and following
that?
If the former, then close 'whip' stitching, done from the back, will be
sturdy.

If the latter, then I'll just tell you a recent experience that changed
my mind on what to do! I usually do what most suggested - running
stitch with a few back stitches thrown in. But on a recent complex
little piece, I did that, and the top side did not look at all good.
The pieces were small, admittedly, but I ended up doing what Phyllis
explained that she does; and, for those seams, you really would not know
the difference between hand and machine. Also, of course, it would be
immensely strong. Mine isn't going to have to stand up to any hard
treatment, but it looks good g

I, too, do the 'down and up' kind of pressing on things with bias edges.
..
In message , Polly Esther
writes
There's the beginning of a wonderful tumbling blocks quilt here. Still in
the just playing stage, I'm auditioning many interesting combinations
including batiks, checks, 30's and bugs. There's already a caterpillar
inching up the side of a block. The batiks work great because they are
lovely and can be flipped and turned to make the contrast just right. This
will be a scrappy tumble. The one over at quilters cache called me.
Now, for you hand-piecers. These blocks don't seem to need the hefty
smash I customarily give SM piecing and there are bias edges all over the
place. Do you just give them a gentle glide with a little iron? What steps
do you take to be as sure as you can that hand-piecing is as sturdy as you
can make it? I would simply croak if this beauty fell to pieces if anybody
dared to sit on my quilt. Polly




--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Polly Esther wrote:
There's the beginning of a wonderful tumbling blocks quilt here. Still in
the just playing stage, I'm auditioning many interesting combinations
including batiks, checks, 30's and bugs. There's already a caterpillar
inching up the side of a block. The batiks work great because they are
lovely and can be flipped and turned to make the contrast just right. This
will be a scrappy tumble. The one over at quilters cache called me.
Now, for you hand-piecers. These blocks don't seem to need the hefty
smash I customarily give SM piecing and there are bias edges all over the
place. Do you just give them a gentle glide with a little iron? What steps
do you take to be as sure as you can that hand-piecing is as sturdy as you
can make it? I would simply croak if this beauty fell to pieces if anybody
dared to sit on my quilt. Polly



Mine

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...62931372VDMIcK

were done using papers (English Paper Piecing).

http://tinyurl.com/2ldzly

I used Freezer paper for the papers, so could iron them on the fabric
which made cutting out economical.

I found it foolproof (this was only my second effort at quilting - my
first was just a wallhanging about 20" square), and it just went
together like a dream with no worries about stretching or wobbling.

This was a common way of piecing 'way back when' and there are plenty in
museums to show they don't fall apart!

--
Sally at the Seaside ~~~~~~~~~~ (uk)
http://community.webshots.com/user/sallyswin