Begin your sewing 1/4 inch in from the edge with the knot on top of your work.
Take a back stitch there to have a firm beginning.
For added strength, use Jude Hill's rhythm. She begins each running gesture with a back stitch.
The rhythm is: back, running, running. back running running.
Then sew three lines of three patches together (nine patches).
This is the nine patch.
FLOAT the seams. Don't sew them down like you do with a sewing machine.
Instead, feel the sewn edge with your fingers, line it up, and make a back stitch really close to that seam's ridge on the side you've just finished stitching together.
Make another back stitch on the new side.
End with a double back stitch when you get to the seam.
The nine patch is a traditional quilt block.
Three rows of three nine-patches = a double nine patch.
It's possible to create a very large fabric using the nine patch as a building block.
When completed, it will measure 90" x 90".
I keep the patches to sew it in a zip lock in my purse.
I've been working on it for over two years.
I am not in a rush.
Stop thinking so much and feel it.
17 comments:
This was my first sewing lesson at age 5, and i made all my doll's clothes on their bodies, with the seams outside :)That first back stitch was always the one that made it hard to change their duds!
I continue to learn from your slow and steady commitment to your quilts, Judy. Divine the rhythm, and truly, simply beautiful. I confess that I get started slowly and then cannot wait to finish, compromising my hand stitch by adding machine work...sure it gets done and is usually fine. THIS blue and white quilt is a beautiful and very meaningful project that will resonate over many lifetimes.
Bethany
yes, for me it is kind of basket, the nine, and a toast to taking ones time. Floating the seam is new to me, thank you.
' The hand stitched seams become a design element on their own.' Beautifully expressed. I'm wondering if/how you will press the seams when complete....
love how you talk about the feel of the line, the freeing up of floating the seams... the haptic sense of it all
You will have us all stitching little squares together! Great descriptIon, Judy. I have noticed this piece in previous photos and what appeals to me is the freedom of letting the back seems float and dance to their own tune. Hugs.
~ beautiful pictures. beautiful words ~
Thank you, Judy. I, too, always learn so much from your posts. I think of your floating the seams as a metaphor for something much larger and always appreciate your awareness of materials. I wish more people would float past their seams.
XO
Amy
Just like mom never made! It's a meditative, repetitive motion, this piecing. I love the back as much as the front. That ragged edge I always seem to be on.
This is what I first learned to sew - a nine patch. Thank you for reminding me of the beauty in the simplicity of the nine patch. And thank you for bringing back such a wonderful memory for me in my first sewing project.
I love this piece, blue and white, my favourite.
"Stop thinking so much and feel it" I needed to hear that, thank you. Your blog continues to inspire me.
This is amazing creative work. I appreciated your crafting ideas for DIY. I really love your blog. You always come up with new ideas.
Thanks for sharing!
cheap embroidery patches for clothes
cheap back patches for clothes
xxoo me too
It is the combination of soft and strong that thrills me. The simplicity and subtle quality of continuity and time and touch and love that make my tummy turn with delight and joy......
The return to beloved patchwork too. xxoo
Judy, when I learned as a child to piece patches, I was shown to hand stitch with an over sttitch, with the seams folded back and the front sides of the fabric facing, then to open and sew the next seam in the same way..... and that is my habitual way to piece squares. I love the thought of floating seams and as I am floating more than ever now, without Mohe next to me, coming to face grieving and change, floating seams feel symbolic of a softer line through life that I need and want creatively, spiritually, emotionally, so very much now. the space in back stitch and running stitch rhythm feels airy, textural and cloud-like to me. I am being given a piece of linen, worn and stained now, that was in my grandmother's trousseau and wonder about dyeing with natural dyes, woad and tea maybe and making a nine patch quilt. How do yo quilt though after the piecing? how do the floating seams cope with the quilting process and I see you use a substantial circular wooden frame, and wish there was a way I could watch you work with it in a video? Sending you my huge love and appreciation as always my dear..... with love from Aud xxxxxxxx
I am considering making a video that shows this kind of hand piecing. It would be easier to explain I think. X
Post a Comment