Hand Pieced QAL Update

I'm cutting it close for the link up party but I did finish my Hand Sewn QAL top. It's a very bright and sunny day here in Florida so it might not be the best picture. I used a textured white fabric and the rest is all batiks. I love batik fabric. 

I really enjoyed working on this project. I've wanted to try hand piecing a quilt for several years and it's nice to be able to cross that off my to try list. I will be hand quilting this quilt also. I find hand quilting very relaxing so it will be fun. I like working on this project early in the morning before I start my day.

A little bonus picture of one of my mini flower beds. When they tore up our road to put in city water and sewer I found a bunch of sea shells. These are a handful of them. Both bunches of orange flowers are marigolds that I planted from seed. They're supposed to be dwarf marigolds. The flowers that are only green leaves right now are dwarf sunflowers that I started from seed. I bought both seeds from The Dollar Tree. I wonder if they have a thing for dwarf flowers??

Hand Pieced QAL Block 5

Block 5 in the Hand Pieced QAL is an Ohio star block with HSTs in the corners and it has been named Dorothy. Kristen explains why they named this star block Dorothy over in this blog post.

Each week's block builds off skill we have learned in previous blocks. While the individual blocks become more complex/detailed each week I've noticed that stitching them has become easier for me. While this block still took me three days to stitch they weren't full days. I think I had about an hour or so each day to sit and work on this block. That includes cutting and marking the lines.  It takes a bit to figure out just how to hold your hands, move your fingers, and obtain muscle memory. I also needed to find the right needle for me and the project.

These are the needles that Kristen uses. You can see what's in her hand sewing bag over here.   While watching some of her tutorial videos she mentions how very sharp these needles are and I noticed that she could load a bunch of stitches on her needle. I've been on a quest to find the right needles for me and for each type of project that I like to work on. These needles are great for hand sewing. The only thing that could be problematic is that the eye is so small.  Some needles have an elongated eye no matter the needle size and some have basically a small round eye. These have little round eyes. It is worth occasionally using a needle threader 

I'm also getting my seams under control. This block lays flat (without numerous blasts of steam lol) and it looks relatively tidy on the back.  After stitching each little unit I stopped and pressed the seams. While doing the actual stitching I like to hand press the seams but once all the little units were stitched I hit them with a nice hot iron and gave them a blast of steam to set everything in place. I spun the seams where I could and I only had to flip one or two seams in the final block. That was where the HST corners met up with the hourglass blocks. 

The last four blocks are all star blocks and we can only guess which one will be next. We won't have to wait very long because the new block comes out bright and early Monday morning. 

Hand Pieced QAL Block 4

Week 4 of the Hand Pieced QAL is an hourglass block. As I'm sure you can tell I have not trimmed this block yet. I've decided to wait until I've made all the blocks before trimming them up. We will be adding sashing between the blocks so I'm not too worried if they are a bit off in size from each other. I'll just adjust the sashing width to accommodate any discrepancies.

I think I've created muscle memory for hand stitching at this point. Last week's block went fairly well but this week's block were much faster to stitch. Of course the process of hand stitching blocks is still slower than by machine but that's part of the point really. You spend more time with each fabric and block not to mention the portability and relaxation that comes with slowing down and hand stitching.

This is the back of the block. This is the part that I'm still working to improve. I need to remember to stop and press and trim each smaller block before I stitch them all together into the final block. 

The block lays nice and flat now. I was able to spin the seams on the little blocks and I sort of spun the center of the big block lol.

Hand Pieced QAL Block 3

I spent today stitching block 3 of the hand pieced qal.   This block took me awhile to get it all stitched together. My stitches are getting better but I'm struggling with the multiple seams. Stitching through the seams is no problem it's just how to press them to get the block to lay flat.  No big surprise there since I struggle with that when machine sewing blocks too.

I did go back and press all three blocks and they lay nice and flat now.  I like that we can link up our blocks each week. It gives me a deadline and a little pressure to get each week's block done. I know I can go at my own pace but I also know if I don't link up each week then I won't finish the project. It's only 9 blocks over 9 weeks which isn't that big of a commitment so I should be fine. 

Hand Pieced QAL Block 2

Block 2 for the Hand Pieced QAL came out on Monday. This week's block was all about the half square triangle (HST). 

I've always enjoyed machine sewing HSTs so I was looking forward to learning how to hand stitch them also. Yes, they are a bit fiddly with all the seams but the seams are easily manipulated.

I haven't pressed these seams either. lol  Well, I did finger press them but it didn't "stick". You're supposed to be able to spin these seams and get everything to lay nice and flat. I'll probably order the little hand roller for the seams next week. That should make pressing the seams much easier.

Due to appointments and stuff I didn't get to sit and sew this block start to finish but I don't think it took me too long to stitch. I stitched in three sessions and I'm sure it took less than 3 hours for the actual stitching. Of course it takes a bit more time to prep these blocks but once they are prepped it becomes a portable project.

I've enjoyed hand stitching both blocks and I'm looking forward to next week's block. My guess is that it will either be the flying geese block or the hour glass block. We'll get to all of them eventually ;) 

Hand Pieced QAL Block 1

When I heard that there was going to be a Hand Pieced QAL this year I knew that I wanted to participate. There are only 9 blocks so I'm hoping I can keep up (fingers crossed).

When I first found out about this QAL I couldn't wait to get started and I decided to make a little test block to see if my eyes and fingers could coordinate and actually do a little hand sewing. My little 4 patch turned out pretty good.

Then we waited....and waited... but while we waited our wonderful hostesses gave us some helpful tips that would help us in our journey. If you're interested in joining us you can find all the information at either Simple Handmade Everyday or Elm Street Quilts.

I'm going to make my little wall hanging using white as my background and these Bali 6" charms as my main color. 

I made my first block. I gave my desk lamp to my husband for his room and I think these old eyes need some more light to work on projects like this. I ordered myself a new desk lamp and it should be here in plenty of time for next week's block. A couple of my seams are slightly off but I'm okay with that. This is a learning process and I'm interested in seeing the difference between my first block and my last. 

I haven't pressed my seams yet. I need to pick up one of those rollers for hand pressing seams. For now, I will finger press them the best I can and worry about the seams later. 

Are you hand piecing with all of us? I've always wanted to hand sew a quilt from start to finish so I was very happy to see this QAL.

Hand Pieced -A Quilt Along

Earlier this year I decided that in 2019 I would hand stitch a small quilt from start to finish. I was just going to watch a bunch of YouTube videos and figure it out as I went but thanks to Kristin and Patty I won't have to figure it out on my own.

They are hosting a hand pieced quilt along starting in January.  I will add a link over on the sidebar so you can go check it out and see if you would like to stitch along with me. 

I couldn't wait until January so I grabbed a few 2.5" squares, drew my lines, and stitched them together.

I already do a lot of embroidery so stitching on a line wasn't very hard at all. It will take a little practice to get my hands in a position that works for me.  First time all my seams matched so well.

After Christmas I will be ordering the little wooden seam roller. I think that will help get everything to lay nice and flat. A little more practice on the long seams and I will be all set. I've also decided that while I will show my progress over on my WiP It Wednesday videos, I'll only be discussing my progress here on my blog. 

Is anyone else joining?