I finally found a layout I liked for the colorful cobblestones.
Normally when I sew a quilt together, I do it the old fashioned way. I take two pieces off the design wall, sew them together, press the seam, and then move to the next pair. Then I'll sew pairs together, and then quartets until I get a row complete. When I have two rows complete I'll sew them together. When the entire quilt is in paired rows, I'll sew two together, and continue along in this way until the top is complete.
This profoundly old-fashioned method allows me to get the blocks lined up perfectly, and keeps the threads on the back from fraying all over hell.
In other words, I handle the blocks as little as possible.
When you web a quilt together, all the blocks are moving around, rubbing against each other, and what I find annoying is that when you sew the rows together, you very often get threads stuck in the seams, and when you (read: I) iron the seam, you (meaning I) have to pull those out. I find this tremendously annoying and slow going.
Although, to be honest, I think if you are using 2-1/2" squares, these threads are much less of an issue.
YMMV. (Your mileage may vary.)
So... how do I like being retired?
Silly question.
I am quite enjoying it!
6 comments:
I cannot web a top together. It fries my brain (and I usually end up getting things twisted (blocks/rows). So I only do things the "old-fashioned" way. I so love following you
Oh-- about that webbing method, me, too! I really struggle juggling the blocks around--I also do "off the wall--two at a time" myself!
I like your new arrangement of the Colorful Cobblestone a lot!! Nice work on this ;))
Isn't retirement just fab-u-lous;))) hugs, Julierose
The version you posted a few days ago, I thought was good, yet...not quite "it". I like this one much better. Why? I have no idea, other than "not so chaotic" is what pops into my head. I'm going to have to put the photos side-by-side and think a bit about what you wrote about rearranging the blocks. And that's not a bad thing.
I've done webbing method on a few quilt tops. It has it's place. If I ever do another little color wash, I'll do the webbing method. What I found that didn't work for me was wrangling the larger quilts repeatedly as they grew - it gave me shoulder pains. Doing rows in pairs, then pairing the pairs, etc (the "old fashion way") doesn't upset my shoulder as much. Maybe it makes a difference in how large of an area to support the quilt top is around the sewing machine? Maybe I need to do more regular weight training than picking up the toddler GD when she's here once a week?
Well, I love webbing. I always know where I am, don't turn blocks around by accident and can press the columns well before sewing rows. I find it accurate for me. However, I know everyone works differently.
I know everyone raves about webbing a quilt, but I don't care for it at all. It just becomes a big unwieldy mess. If I have a design that could get sewn together wrong, I label the blocks with painter's tape, so I can esily check that I'm sewing the right blocks together.
I’ve never tried the webbing method as it looks like a bit of a mess to wrangle. I do the same as you, two by two, and I like it because it also forces me to get up and down from sewing machine to design wall. It’s too easy to sit in one spot (for me) and neglect moving around throughout the day. This is also the reason why I have my ironing station set up away from the sewing machine!
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