DeneK

Has anyone else watched this video? I watched about 45 minutes yesterday and will probably finish watching it in a few days (I have to be careful how much bandwidth I use -- my internet provider will shut me down to a crawl if I over-extend). I am totally convinced that doing everything she suggests would result in perfect piecing, but I cannot imagine doing it for a whole quilt. Maybe a block or two to test a pattern, but jeez -- too tedious for me.

Does anyone here take that much care with their work? I want to be as pefect as possible within my tolerance for boredom and try for improvement with each new project. I don't expect to reach show-quality any time soon. I paralyzed myself with the need for perfection when I first started quilting. Now there is a level of accomplishment that I am satisfied with and done is better than perfect. But I am curious if anyone adheres closely to a system such as shown on the video.

I do have to admit that there were some excellent suggestions that I will use from time to time.

momto5

I piece to perfection, as well...only it's the perfection you can see from a galloping horse at a distance of fifty feet! Life is too short to take that long to do things...

jfowles

That's great, you warmed my imperfect heart!

PaperPrincess

I have the Sally Collins book: "The Art of Machine Piecing" You can get a used one on amazon for under $10 including shipping. Excellent book.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Machine-Pi...+collins+quilt

My piecing is far from perfect, but I don't want to fight with it either. It's lots more fun for me if the pieces actually fit together.

Silver Needle

Are you a subscriber to the Quilt Show? Do you think it is worth the cost? I wonder if you can watch it on an iPad. I watch some of the YouTube quilt stuff on it at night when I can't sleep, which is most nights.

StitchinAlongPam

Hi DeneK,
would you be able to give us a brief rundown of what tips they said? I am having a heck of a time getting my points to match, and inspite of an accurate 1/4", my units aren't the correct size. I'm using starch, think I'm cutting accurately, I've tested my 1/4" with 4 pieces sewed together making the correct size, pinning my points .... and I'm still ripping out. I know I'm a perfectionist, but how close is 'close enough?' Thanks!
I'm also curious whether you think Quilt Show is worth the $$.
Pam

DeneK

I thought the tutorial with Ricky Tims showing how he makes his Rhapsody Quilts was worth my annual subscription cost... Even though I only get an abbreviated version most of the time (as I mentioned above, my internet provider does not allow sufficient bandwidth to watch things like this all the time) I still plan to renew my membership. Whether or not it's worth it depends on what you need/want to get out of it.

Several things I remember from the Sally Collins video was verifying accuracy at each step and re-doing the block until it is totally correct. Using a finer thread and #9 needle to help achieve that elusive scant 1/4" seam. Something that should be immediately evident, but which I realized I did not always do, is to be sure that your two fabric pieces are perfectly aligned before stitching. She suggests placing your initial pin across the seam line, but the rest of the pins on the seam line and not horizontally across it -- less distortion of the fabric.

I don't remember the specifics because I knew that I wasn't ready to make use of all her suggestions. I want to be as careful and accurate as I can be within my tolerance for error. I would never get anything done if it all had to be perfect. I strive for improvement with each quilt and watch videos like this to see what I might take away from them for myself. A suggestion that I am unwilling to adopt today may prove to be applicable next year (or maybe even my next quilt). And I do like being able to go back and watch again and again if I choose.

BellaBoo

I don't understand the limited bandwidth problem. Is it a choice to have that plan?

JudyTheSewer

Just today I was thinking about what a perfectionist I am but how imperfect my cutting and sewing is. I'm making a day/night quilt and I did lots of ripping to try to get all of those points to meet - they should look okay from that galloping horse! Then today I was cutting wide strips for the backing - a five strip backing at widths of 10", 13", and 17". That seemed easy enough but even with the double ruler method and being very careful when cutting they are not perfect like I wanted them. Years ago I saw Sally Collins on Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson. Sally is an amazing piecer - I won't ever reach her level. I wish I could though. :-)

DeneK

I have satellite internet... It does seem they are trying to make it better (but I bet that will be at increased cost and it ain't cheap already). I am allotted 450 MB in a 24 hour period. I can dl 2 audio books, but not 3. I cannot watch streaming video. I cannot watch a full Quilt Show episode if I have done anything else much that day. I had the highest small business account when I signed up for this service since I was working from home and needed the best speed/bandwidth I could get. My company had internet telephone service but I could not get it to work at all. Latency is the problem. I was the only one in the company using land line phone service. Our Russian office, China office, Caribbean office, and S.American office had no problem. Just me. Until I retired I upgraded my dish and modem EVERY time one was available.

Sadly since I live in a very rural area this is my only option for internet service better than dial up. I keep hoping that someone will bring 4G service to us.