learning more and more each day
this latest quilting class I was resistant to doing it and it was a push from my husband to "make" me sign up and go. I thought it would be too hard and wasn't sure if I could do it. yeah I know really, after looking at the last quilting post, you wouldn't believe it. I don't anymore. but I was really apprehensive to doing the class and didn't think I had the skills or ability to do it.
if you didn't know I like to live by, trying it and practicing until I get it right. because really, who gets it right the first time. everything takes practice and you have to work at it to get the hang of it. think about it, who do you know gets everything new they try perfect the first time? name three.
anyway, I have learned a few things in the latest class and I've stretched my skills set beyond what I thought I could.
1. sewing takes time, you can't just sew like the wind, and still be accurate. well at least I can't. I'm not a good sewer, just not very good at it.
2. pressing vs ironing. I didn't know there was a difference, did you? well maybe I'm just the last one to figure it out. however, I realized even more the importance of doing it right when I got into the last few diamonds I sewed. there are areas where you want the fabric to lay a certain way and when you iron, you remove the "ditch" that you want to sew into. it's not as noticeable when you machine quilt, because there is a little more power on a machine than my hands and fingers. when the fabric lays right, it's easy to gain momentum hand sewing.
I can expand further if you'd like?
3. easing. yes easing is really a skill. it's not about making it fit, it's about gently coaxing it into place. you have to carefully pin and distribute the pieces into place when they don't want to work together. not even sure why I ended up having to do this, but the more pieces that you add and have to cut and sew the more little changes in the squares occur and you risk not having it all fit together nicely. I had a few that didn't want to play together.
4. hand quilting versus machine quilting. my first few were all machine quilted and there were some struggles with that. I also assumed there would be problems hand quilting too. I tended to get little wrinkles in the machine quilting and the piece in the end would turn out nicely with a few little puckers here and there. it was also fast and you had it done in about a day and a half.
hand quilting not so much, it took much longer to do and I had to pay attention and get the fabric held just right to work. however, there was corrections to the drawbacks of machine quilting. hand quilting allows you to smooth out the backing as you go and you reduce the random puckers in lieu of smaller even puckers that add character to the quilt. and I'm all in favor of character in handmade items. those little "mistakes" in the final product are what makes these crafts so charming in my mind. when it's too perfect, it eliminates the hand made quality that I love about handmade things.
my next challenge - a green tonal drunkards path, it starts in July if you're interested in joining me. not bad cost either. let me know I can give you the info!
if you didn't know I like to live by, trying it and practicing until I get it right. because really, who gets it right the first time. everything takes practice and you have to work at it to get the hang of it. think about it, who do you know gets everything new they try perfect the first time? name three.
anyway, I have learned a few things in the latest class and I've stretched my skills set beyond what I thought I could.
1. sewing takes time, you can't just sew like the wind, and still be accurate. well at least I can't. I'm not a good sewer, just not very good at it.
I can expand further if you'd like?
3. easing. yes easing is really a skill. it's not about making it fit, it's about gently coaxing it into place. you have to carefully pin and distribute the pieces into place when they don't want to work together. not even sure why I ended up having to do this, but the more pieces that you add and have to cut and sew the more little changes in the squares occur and you risk not having it all fit together nicely. I had a few that didn't want to play together.
4. hand quilting versus machine quilting. my first few were all machine quilted and there were some struggles with that. I also assumed there would be problems hand quilting too. I tended to get little wrinkles in the machine quilting and the piece in the end would turn out nicely with a few little puckers here and there. it was also fast and you had it done in about a day and a half.
hand quilting not so much, it took much longer to do and I had to pay attention and get the fabric held just right to work. however, there was corrections to the drawbacks of machine quilting. hand quilting allows you to smooth out the backing as you go and you reduce the random puckers in lieu of smaller even puckers that add character to the quilt. and I'm all in favor of character in handmade items. those little "mistakes" in the final product are what makes these crafts so charming in my mind. when it's too perfect, it eliminates the hand made quality that I love about handmade things.
my next challenge - a green tonal drunkards path, it starts in July if you're interested in joining me. not bad cost either. let me know I can give you the info!
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