A little fussy cutting and the back view

Why do you suppose we always want to look at the back of quilts?  Is it to see what kind of fabric was used, or how the quilting looks? Or is it to see how it was made?   In this case to see how it is made. 

When you do hand piecing, you do not stitch into the seam allowance, and when it comes time to press there is no real obvious way to do it.  I look at how the fabric and pieces want to go, and kind of follow the natural lay.  You will see there are some over and unders on the back here. 

 You need to cut off all the little tails of the pieces, and manipulate the points a bit so that they lay flat.

In a section, like this centre, you can pretty much press them so that they spiral around, all going in one direction.  You will find there is far less bulk with hand piecing than machine piecing.

 I have chosen the fabrics for my next block and starting in the centre with this repeat print fabric.  this is perfect to "fussy cut".  This just means that you pick out parts of the print, that will give you a pretty effect when sewn together.  With these perspex templates you can place them over the print, on the right side, and see the print through them.  Then draw around the template with a pen or pencil.  Does not have to be wash out quality, as you will be cutting off the line.

 These are my favourite tools for hand piecing - 2B pencil, and Artline green pen.  The green you can see on almost all fabrics.  Don;t use it on anything too light, that is what the pencil is for.  I use these instead of the ceramic pencils as they tend to rub off as your handle them.  Great for hand quilting, as you want these lines to go away as you work, but not for hand piecing as you want to see the lines.

The Karen Kay Buckley medium size 6" scissors are the perfect size for cutting out these small pieces of fabric.  They have a micro-serrated edge, which helps to minimise the fraying

I mark the sewing lines 1/4" in from the edge, and draw lines with the green pen.  All ready to stitch.

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I have already chosen the setting for this quilt.  I drew this up on EQ7.  The hexagons represent the blocks, and I will need 20 of them.  18 full sized blocks, and 4 half blocks for the sides.  Then some kind of border.  I expect that by the time I get to that part, I will just take one of my border stash fabrics and use that.

If you want to do some hand piecing, and you live in the Adelaide area, or visiting, come to Hettie's Patch on the 1st Saturday of the month (not January).  Sit around the table and do some sewing.  I will show you the tricks to make it easy and fast.  Ring the shop to book your seat.(08) 8346 0548.