Back to Basics - pinning, pressing, and templates

Well I have succumbed to pinning! When I first started quilting I wasn't thrilled with the idea of pressing fabric and pinning pieces together. I also didn't like the idea of using templates because it all seemed more like work than fun. I loved rotary cutting because it seemed to make short work of the cutting process, one of my least favorite parts. My favorite parts of quilting are selecting and buying fabrics, hand quilting, and fingering large, completed portions of a project.

On my Storm at Sea quilt I learned the importance of paying attention to bias edges with triangles and pressing through out the project. I later applied those lessons to a quilt I made for my Mom this Mother's day. (I still haven't gotten pictures of that one yet.) I found that using starch when pressing helped ensure nice results as well.

I would pin when I needed to match seams put other then that I matched edges as I sewed on the machine. With VA Reel I'm finding I need to pin even on edges that don't have seams that need matching. I would sew halfway across a side and find that my bias edged triangle would be shifting on me. Pinning helps reduce the shifting and I am having to do less tugging at the machine.

I mentioned that I would try paper piecing the remainder of the blocks but I forgot that my EQ block was different from the block I'm actually making, which sort of rules out that idea. (See I did it but I might be going nuts )

I've been reading through Jenny Beyer's book on hand piecing, . She's been discussing whether to include seam allowances in templates or not. She votes for including the allowance. Her discussion and Sarah's preference for using scissors (see HipToPieceSquares entry Let the Sewing Begin) is beginning to make me rethink rotary cutting and the use of templates. I might have to try that on another quilt and see if I get better results.

I probably have about 2/3 of VA Reel blocks done. Once I get the inner portion done I'll probably set it aside while I try to make my mind up on what to do with the borders. While I waffle on that I'll work on the Wanna Buy A Bunny Quilt. (I'll try to put pictures up soon so that you can help me decide on a border and see how the bunny quilt is coming along.)

Well I gotta run because Mom wants to go shopping. Oh, but before I go I have to tell you about the card my husband gave me for our anniversary. We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this weekend. Mom was sweet enough to sit M- while we spent a night at a hotel on the beach. Hal was very pleased with the card he had found, it had thread stitched onto the front to form wine glasses. (I'll have to post a picture of it too.) He was so sweet to find a card that incorporated something I liked into it ... Mainly sewing and thread. :>

Well off to the store with me, talk with you again soon ;>

Comments

[sarah]

I think more of the reason why I always use scissors and a template is because I'm a freak about my habits. It's how I learned to cut my pieces (because no one told me how to do it the right way when I started quilting), and I can't break my habits. It's also got to do with the fact that I hate sitting down at the table with my long ruler, cutting board and rotary cutter (I have such nice tools, why don't I learn to use them?) for hours and hours while I cut my pieces. I'd much rather sit in my living room in a comfortable chair so I can watch TV and spend time with my husband. I could probably be more precise by using a ruler and rotary cutter, and I'm sure that my bad habits will cause me headaches in the future. That's when I'll change my ways.

[Quilt Mommy]

I don't always like being tied to a table when rotary cutting either. I tend to set it up on a table where I can watch Hal watch tv too ;> My tables are all too low. So, I get a back ache after a few hours of steady cutting.You might be surprised to know that everything I've been reading says that templates are more accurate than rotary cutting. With rotary cutting you usually cut to a rounded measurement. With templates you are using the actual size for the quilt. I've heard this on the info-eq list and in the Jinny Beyer book I'm reading. So it sounds to me like you have established good habits. ;>Jinny explained that rotary cutting is best when cutting a lot of the same pieces from the same fabric. When cutting from a lot of different fabrics templates tend to do better because you can stack up to 4 pieces of fabric, pin them together and then cut around the template. Rotary cutting tends to call for cutting all the pieces ahead of time while templates allow you to cut a little, sew a little, cut a little, sew a little...etc :> Allowing you to test your color choices and template accuracy before cutting up all your fabric.