Hand Piecing Excitement

                                       Hand Piecing Class @ Rosalie's Fabric Crafts

Last weekend I was so excited to be learning a new stamped method of hand piecing.  You all know how I love to hand quilt and now I can add hand piecing to my skills!

 This class was just sew much fun and we were in awe as our flower blocks from "Aunt Hattie's Hexagons" came to life with perfect point intersections :)   We all were squealing with delight as we went along hand piecing to our heart's content.  Who knew my fingers could become such a great little sewing machine?  The method we were taught was using Cindy Blackberg's stamps instead of having to trace around templates.  This sure made things easy and a lot quicker.  Just think of the money I could have saved on sewing machines had I taken this class years ago!  Probably not though, as I have to admit that I love the fact of being able to get quilts done quickly with machine piecing and machine quilting as well. (Don't worry Tin Lizzie, you are to remain in my quilting studio for a long time to come!)

                 The smalll table topper sample seen here will be my first completed hand piecing project.

Rosalie's Fabric Crafts is a great little quilt shop located inside Rosalie's home outside of Ludlow Falls, OH.  Just have to make sure you don't miss the little sign on top her mailbox and the narrow winding trail back to her house!

I haven't been able to put down my hand piecing since taking this class and am really enjoying the pleasure and relaxation it provides.  Seeing how quickly I can make progress is just awesome.  Just checkout all I've completed in the picture below!

                                                Thirteen blocks completed already!

                                                   The reverse side of my hand piecing

Soon I hope to be able to post a picture of my completed table topper on the center of my kitchen table in all it's glory!!  I must say that I now have a new found love of hand piecing to go along with my love of hand quilting!!  My next project planned in hand piecing is a queen size feathered star quilt.....stay tuned!

Still New To This

Had a great time yesterday with the 4 Ever Friends Quilter's meeting here for our usual Thursday of quilting and fun.  We sure are missing you Sue and can't wait for you to get back from your winter in AZ!  Had a full room yesterday as a couple of other friends have been joining us playing catch up on their BOW's from when we get together Monday afternoons at the local Senior Center.  I can tell you that five women working in my quilting studio at one time is the max that it can hold!  We do tend to get a little "hip action" thrown in from time to time as there can be some close encounters getting to and from the cutting and pressing stations.  Keep in mind that my Tin Lizzie longarm is also located in this room along with four other stations set up for sewing machines, two pressing stations, and my long cutting area.  (I won't tell who sews in the closet LOL)  I promise to post pictures of my quilting studio when I am up and used to this blogging bit.

Just a funny story of yesterday's happenings to share with you.....Everyone loves the lighting in my quilting studio and the large amount of it.  Anyway, first off the extra lamp at one of the ladies sewing stations blew the light bulb when I turned it on.  Knowing that I didn't have anymore 40 watt bulbs I joked that she'd have to ask our resident "stud" (that story at another time) if he would make a trip to the store to purchase some.  She was a little shy about that so when he popped his head in later I asked and he went out to his store (actually his Amish built workshop) and brought in a bulb for us.  Well, after returning from our lunch break I turned the over head lights back on only to have another bulb burn out.  Thankfully this one required a 60 watt bulb of which I keep a supply already in my quilting studio so I get my ladder out and replace that bulb and on we go.  I had been working on a quilt on my longarm when the light attached to my Tin Lizzie blinked and at first I thought the power was going out (oh no) but the light just went out and so figured it was another bulb burnt out.  Since I had other lighting in the room and didn't need it right then I decided to continue without replacing that bulb at the moment.  Shortly after while humming along at a rapid pace on the longarm what drops out of nowhere but a lightbulb on the top of my quilt!  The bulb hadn't burned out afterall, but had vibrated loose and just fell out!  We all had a good laugh at that one.  How many of you have experienced a light bulb falling onto your quilt while deep in concentration machine quilting it?  Screwed it back in and continued on and finished the quilt on the longarm and was able to remove it for it's unveiling to the rest of the group before they left for the afternoon.  I'll post a picture of it here too as soon as I get the binding sewn on it.

Tomorrow I am off to Rosalie's Fabrics in Ludlow Falls for a hand piecing class that I will be taking all day long.  I'll try to remember to bring my camera so that I can share pictures of her shop and the experience with you.

Until then, enjoy whatever it is that makes you smile!

Welcome to Kept In Stitches

Today is the beginning of my experience in blogging and I hope that you will enjoy what I have to share with you from my life of Quilting.  This blog will be a journal of my threads in quilting and thus the name "Kept In Stitches."  Along the way I will post my current (and sometime not so current) projects and hopefully some helpful tips and techniques on the ways that I keep my quilting studio organized as well as my quilting projects, UFO's, WIP's, PIG's, etc.  If you are new to any of those terms or haven't heard of them before you will become acquainted with them here on my blog.  So, come back in a few days and check out what quilting tidbits I may be chatting about.

Thank you for joining me, 
     jbquilter