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.

Quilts for Babies and Giants

I finished Rob's Giants lap quilt. Sometimes I have to wonder if a quilt was meant to be made. For instance, this quilt fought me every step of the way.  Cutting the squares were a breeze and sewing them into 9 patch blocks went smoothly as well. Everything after that was a struggle.

After I cut the 9 patches I was supposed to turn, flip, and otherwise switch up the 4 smaller blocks and stitch them together. I chose to stitch them back together as a 9 patch. THE ORIGINAL 9 PATCH DESIGN!!!   UGH!!  So out comes the seam ripper and I get it all figured out and sewn together the way I wanted.

Then I chose a basic red thread to do a little free motion quilting. I've heard time and time again that instead of always dropping the feed dogs that you can just shorten your stitch length to zero. Cool. I do just that. Well let me tell you my Juki did not like that at all. I stitched an area probably 18" long and about 12" deep. Pulled the quilt out of the machine to check the back and....... eyelashes!! Yes Ma'am/Sir that little trick did not work for me. I picked out all the stitches, dropped the feed dogs, and tried again. Wonderful! It really is a dream to quilt on my Juki HZL-F600.

Did I have problems with the binding? Sure, but just the normal kind. I did a serpentine stitch down the "center" of the binding and a few times here and there I ran off the binding on the back. A little white thread on the backing fabric won't be noticed after it's been washed a few times.

No matter how nice the thread, red thread also seems to be extra lint-y.

There, that's better. Now, She's ready to start another quilt. I wonder what quilt will pop out next??