Hand Piecing

I have been quilting for years, always by hand.  My piecing has always been by machine, until now.

Recently I have met several quilters who also piece by hand, so I began looking at tutorials and books about hand piecing.  I had also decided to make a Tumbling Blocks quilt, and much of what I read indicated that I might find the pattern easier by hand, than by machine.

I have  been practicing with scraps, so that I won't mess up the beautiful batiks I have for the Tumbling Blocks.

Here are some of my samples.

This is my first attempt at hand piecing.  Not too awful from the front.

The back doesn't look near as nice.  I wasn't sure what to do with the seams, so I pressed them open.

After some more study, and practice, here is my most recent sample.

My center points are nearly perfect.  And the back is much better.

I believe I am now ready to work with my beautiful fabrics.  It will be a long process, but I will post updates periodically.

I will add, that I am hand piecing for pretty much the same reasons that I hand quilt.  I love the portability, the quiet time is affords me, and my great control over both the fabric and my stitches.