With the enthusiasm that I baste and piece hexies, I can hardly imagine that there once was a time I didn't like the shape, or the idea of making a quilt with them. I guess we all learn and grow with age, huh?
This past week I had a wonderful lecture and trunk show with the guild in Huntington, NY. I taught the pillow workshop to a small group of their members last month and several of my students brought in progress to share. One even completed the entire pillow! The group was lively and welcoming, and I had a great time. We have scheduled a few more workshops as well, and I am steadily working towards my goal of getting all of Long Island English paper piecing.. (well, almost).
(I always feel a little guilty when the volunteers have to hold up my quilts.. these suckers are HEAVY.)
I am making slow and steady progress on TQ#5, with the fifth diamond nearly complete.
Yesterday I was piecing after the kids went to bed and decided to time myself with the stopwatch on my phone. Turns out I can stitch a 1" seam in just about a minute. That's pretty cool. Takes me a minute and a half to baste though. Have you ever timed yourself? I'm not trying to speed up this "slow sewing", but I was curious and it's kind of fun to see the block materialize from your fingers in just a few minutes..
(the 1:10 was the end of the thread where I took extra stitches to bury it in my seam allowance..)
Who wants to link up this week?
Happy to hear you spread the EPP fever in Huntington. Looking forward to your Mineola gig...
ReplyDeleteI think I sew more like a snail than a cheetah. You are a cheetah. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the bird hexies! It's so funny you posted your times, because I was just thinking this weekend about how much time it takes to baste vs. stitching the hexagons together. I think I will have to try it just to see. I agree with Adrienne though....I think you are a cheetah! Great job spreading the EPP fever!
ReplyDeleteI love the colors you are using! And, I finally made it in time to link up!
ReplyDeleteI am also interested in timing the processes involved in EPP. Not for speed, any more than you are interested in it for speed, but for self knowledge. It is good to know how much time one is investing in one's work. A few months ago I timed the basting of hexagons because I often prepare then ahead of time and they end up being consumed in a number of projects. I knew that this would make estimating the time spent on a particular project difficult unless I knew how long it took to baste one hexagon. I want to thank you for encouraging us to link back to your posts. I think I have accomplished more as a result, and I am very happy to see what others are doing. I'm in New Jersey, so I am an East Coaster as well.
ReplyDeleteI've timed myself, too. I usually do 10 or so in a row and then divide the time, because all the in-between stuff like needle threading and having a sip of tea gets counted, too. Just to be honest with myself. :)
ReplyDeletehave you tried the Sewline fabric glue pen for basting ... it speeds things up A LOT and then washes out, though you can hardly tell its there as it dries clear.
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