PatTheQuilter wrote:
Pat, I took an Invisible Applique class with Ami last year. I have the book but I haven't practiced since I got home. You're making me think about trying her way to piece my Dear Jane. Hmm....

Hi,
I took a full day's class with Jinny at her last seminar on her hand piecing technique. I have her hand piecing book, and her CD as well. I find that the book has excellent instructions. She is amazing. I love her technique, but I modify it slightly, by pushing the needle with my fourth finger instead of my third. It gets better with practice. I'm actually finding that hand piecing for me is more relaxing and much more accurate than machine piecing, although I still do both.
Keep trying, and do what is best for your hands.
Happy quilting,
Kathy R

I love Jinny Beyer and her book on hand piecing, but if you want to try another method check our Ami Simms website (amisimms.com) for the book "Invisible Applique". This method can also be used to piece.

Pat--"Keep Calm and Carry On"

Hand piecing was on my NEVER list until two years ago. Because of multiple hand issues hand quilting was no longer an option and created a real void in my quilting life. I tried the piecing on my own, trial and error method, trying to remember how my grandmother had done it. When reading Jinny's book this past fall I found I was using her method but with drawn lines.

Judy, your idea for the book for toting blocks is spot on. I rarely take my work outside the house but will keep that in mind. I use "mini" design boards at home, stored in a bin. So far, my majority of projects are hexagon designs though I just finished piecing a small Mariner's Compass block.

Judy, aren't you clever! What a great idea for toting blocks.

Annie Smith mentioned the Twilight book on her podcast, but I haven't read it. Judy & Lynn, I take my DJ blocks to my guild mtgs. I've got all my block pieces on "pages" of cotton batting that have been sewn down the middle like a book. That way I always have several blocks ready to be sewn. It makes it very portable.

QLynn, you could also work on Project Linus blankets, knitted or crocheted, if you are into that on your down time at the conference. I am also taking that to CA and a long book. Too bad the Harry Potter books are over. But there is always the newest saga, Twilight by Jacqueline Meyer. Has anyone read that yet? Judy in AZ

Hmmm.. I'm going to a Women and Heart Disease Seminar in Rochester, MN this next week and need some handwork to take with me. I could drag out my DJ stuff and get a few done, couldn't I? That is an idea if I have time to find all the working parts of that project. Sometimes back-burners have a way of making fat quarters etc. disappear! LOL
Lynn

Judy Mc, I am trying to do reverse applique on whichever DJ will allow it. I am doing them all in black and white with a touch of red now and then. I take them to my weekly sewing so I don't have to lug around a machine although I do have the featherweight. It just is easier. I am going to CA in a couple of weeks so am trying to get a bunch together plus my BOM to take with me. Judy in AZ

Judy, I'm hand piecing my DJ's, too. Patti, the DJ's are not for everyone--don't give it a second thought! That's what's so much fun about quilting these days--there's so much to pick from!

Oh No LadyRags. I'm holding up a cross made out of 2 rotary cutters up so the Dear Jane bug stays away. I love hand sewing but tried just one of those itsy bitsy blocks and thot I was going to die!

Patti Sure,

Never say NEVER. One day you will find your self wanting to do the little DJ blocks ... THEY WILL CALL YOUR NAME.

They are great stress relievers after surgery, during recovery after an accident, or just because you have to have something to do with your hands because you have to wait for something. Hand sewing is sew (so) relaxing and portable.

THOSE little blocks willllll calllll your name.

Oh Judith that is a labor of patience and love! I will never ever attempt a Dear Jane.

Judy, I am handpiecing my Dear Jane and I draw the lines as well. Judy in AZ