Relearning, Again.

My friend, Margaret, is a master of foundation piecing and in talking to her I find there a lots of things I have not been doing right.

(Some of these patterns were used in a quilt used in the movie "How to make an American Quilt".)

I used her patterns when I was teaching in High Schools and the kids loved them.  It was pulling out the papers that caused all the problems.  Then I found she used a very thin interfacing with no adhesive on it and leaves it in there!  So we had a morning of me re-learning foundation piecing.  But, it wasn't only relearning the technique.  I also learnt that I have to firstly change my mindset.  (Although she was too kind to actually say this.)

Margaret is a calm person, I am not.  I am always on the go, not only physically but mentally as well.  There is limited time in the classroom so everything was go, go. To do this technique well I need to slow down and be careful with every step of the process.  Starting with tracing the patterns.  I need to use a soft lead, sharp pencil to trace the patterns,

that I first photocopied and then taped to my work surface.

I have to trace them one at a time, not in a rush, but slowly and carefully in fact just one a day.  Marking the sewing order and thinking it through in my mind. (I see a mistake there, redo.)  Next I will stitch them out using a length 2 setting for the stitch and also using my walking foot.  (I am trying this out using some free patterns I found on line.)

So I am revisiting and refining an old skill.

(I found a secondhand copy of her book on-line and it is on its way. )

Comments

[Carolyn Foley]

There are so many fine details that I missed.

[Carolyn Foley]

I am finding that slowing down and labelling every piece is actually giving better results.