Friday, July 13, 2012

Handstiched Class - Paper Piecing Progress

PHEW So this is an intensive part of the Stitched In Color Handstitched class. I am still working on the embroidery from the last class, and working hard on the paper piecing from the current one.  I didn't expect my fingers to be as full of holes! I'm starting to think this is more dangerous than working in a kitchen ever was ;) This quilt is going to be hundreds of hours of work by the time I'm done, but the good thing is that people can choose to leave out some of the details and things that make it so time consuming if they chose.


All basted and ready to join the party
I was nervous about trying paper piecing, it took a bit to get the hang of it, and I kinda failed to watch the video tutorials all the way through, which might explain that.  Turns out it's kind of fun, and even soothing, however it's pretty tiring on my fingers

I stayed up until 3 am Wednesday night basting all the pieces I hadn't done yet.  Now I'm doing shorter stretches, and I want to take a short break to work on another project, rest my brain and my teeny little finger muscles.




Clipped so I can whipstich them together
After seeing hair clips being used to hold binding onto things, I thought I should try them out for this paper piecing, as holding the pieces together can be a bit difficult and slippery.  My triceps are sore from all the sewing and holding too!  Once I started using the clips I've been finding it easier and quicker to sew.

As you can see at the top, I finished one of my Storm At Sea Blocks - I needed some incentive to get rolling on the rest of it.  If I'd been using a clip then, maybe my hexagon wouldn't be askew!




My husband is out of town until Monday, so I am hoping to catch up on all my class work.  I'm also keeping busy in the kitchen, ordinarily I'd be hoping to make more use of fish and veggies, but instead I managed to put together homemade potstickers. He'll be really envious he's not here, but I'll freeze some for him, cause I'm sweet like that! 

10 comments:

  1. Looks fantastic Ali!! Such intense colors!!

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    1. Thanks! Hopefully it wont end up being too colorful, but im looking forward to finally having the center all together :)

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  2. These potstickers sound intriguing and I'd like to hear more about them. I mean, consider if they aren't tasty. Then this sweetness to your husband that you highlight is a complete farce.

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  3. Love the colours you chose for the patchwork and your first Storm at Sea block looks great too!

    btw, i usually use small paperclips to hold my paper pieces and I baste them through the fabric and not paper, it's easier on the fingers and it also saves time as I don't need to remove the basting stitches to get the paper pieces out.

    This is the tutorial I've used for basting my paper pieces, hope you'll take a look at it and maybe try this method of basting?

    http://beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com/2010/04/hexie-paper-piecing-tutorial.html

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    1. Thank you for that tutorial! Paperclips are obviously a much better idea for the whipstitching part too, they stay out of the way so you can sew much closer to them. I will definitely try the fabric basting for the Star Blossom project.

      I hope it's not too much easier though or I might be tempted to do a hexy quilt :o!

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  4. Your work looks great! I'm taking Handstitched too, but haven't even started making anything! The paper piecing is one of the things that I was most looking forward to, so I guess I had better make some time for it!

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    1. And I didn't sign up for your class because I was already signed up for hers didn't think I could do both classes at once - now I feel like a slacker! The paper piecing is fun, maybe you can just tackle a bit at a time while relaxing in the sun (if it's sunny there at least :), I think that's what I'll do with the other paper piecing projects.

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  5. I'm glad I happened upon this post today, Ali. I love to hear the behind the scenes like this =) Here's to arms literally exhausted by sewing!!!

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    1. Oh thanks! Seriously this class is the most rewarding thing I've ever done sewing wise, so thank you for giving it!

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