chain piecing CHOO CHOO!

I'm busy working on the blue quilt and I wanted to share a tip that I learned at my last "quilt spa" in Geneva. For years I have Chain pieced sections of the quilt by running the sewing machine at a steady purr and feeding the face to face fabric pieces under the pressure foot. The pieces are then connected to one another with a twisted thread. You end up with the joined squares or triangles forming a type of connected-flag like the ones seen outside newly opened car dealerships etc.

You then cut the thread to separate each joined section, open the seams and press with an iron. The beauty of this method is that you can sew continuously without having to stop and reposition each section under the pressure foot.

There has always been the irritating problem of hanging thread from each block. I guess you

would expect that I had cut those threads

off...but I never did...and it is true that when the quilt is sandwiched and quilted, the threads are enveloped by the other fabric or batting layers.

But it is messy and the threads sometimes work themselves out.

Lisa showed me that if you start and end your seams by feeding a scrap piece of fabric (I call them thread eaters) under the pressure foot,..........then when you cut those scraps off the chained piece AND the unwanted thread tail is now embedded into the thread-eater.

I have to admit that I tried this method because of WHO suggested that it was the way to

go..............seemed like an added step without any apparent benefit...UNTIL I pressed the pieces and saw that the seams were free of the fuzzy tangle on the back. I really think that I saved thread and also prevented the loose thread from ending up on the floor and the innards of my machine.

The blocks you saw in the last post were arranged on my queen-sized bed into what I hope will prove to be a random arrangement pleasing to the eye. I concentrated on differing the block formation, colors and light and dark balance. I sometimes find that if I squint my eyes I can see the dark and light pattern better and then go about swapping one block for another until there is a balance of color and light and dark in the arrangement.

There were 9 rows of 7 blocks across. I sewed the 7 blocks to each other and pinned a paper square to the strip with the number in the order 1-9 so.......... I would be able to assemble the stripped rows together in the order that I had laid them out. WHEW!!

I will be sewing those 9 strips together this evening and should be able to show you the finished top tomorrow. I hope you are enjoying the process...........I know that it may seem complicated but it really isn't. I would love to hear what you think about this quilt and/or entertain questions about the process. Please leave a message-love to hear from you!