I just started to hand piece a quilt using the Celtic Illusions pattern by Karen Combs. I needed a project to take with me when we went RVing on vacation and I certianly didn't want to bring my machine! It is going beautifully - I find it much easier to match some of the seams with odd angles using hand piecing rather than a machine. It also isn't taking a lot of time - the quilt is 100 blocks and each block has 2-5 different colors but I am about 3/4 of the way done and I started it the second week in August (including the cutting)! I work full time, and I find it very relaxing at night during the week when I only have a couple of hours of downtime. I am planning to machine quilt the piece on the weekends when I have a few hours to devote to sewing. BTW - I am only 50 so you don't need to be an older sewer to hand piece!

I am in the process of hand quilting Grandmother's flower garden with 1930's reproduction fabrics. I am really enjoying it. I can take it with me anywhere! It is slow but very satisfying and good therapy, at least for me.

I love to hand piece. It is easy to take with you.

Thanks everyone. The posts have been enjoyable to read. So far, I think that I can make three conclusions:
1) Handpiecing is rarer than I thought, but maybe not as bad as 1-200.
2) Handpiecing it seems, (and quilting, I have been told) is much more common outside of the US.
3) Handpiecers very often describe their work as "Relaxing." I totally agree; I feel the same way.
Thanks again. I'm learning a lot. :)

When I first learned to quilt I learned hand quilting, first class was to quilt a whole cloth pillow. Then I took a class making a patch work pillow also hand pieced. When I took a sampler class most blocks were hand quilted, except our log cabin was done with machine stitching and rotory cutting, as well as the boarders. I like that we had both methods as I feel very comfortable with either. When I made a pillow for a friend (she wanted one with four patchwork panels-finished size of about 4" each) I hand pieced it. I did learn some good techniques taking classes. I had never taken sewing class in h.s. but in one of my first quilting classes I learned about thread having direction, and some other things that have helped me.

I hand piece by preferance,but machine piece too for the speed,I say speed altho some patterns I can do faster with hand piecing then machine. I hand quilt almost completely,some I will send out to a LAQ. Most of the quilts that I make by commission are hand done.

I do a lot of hand work and machine work. I love to hand quilt and all my very special quilts are hand quilted. I machine piece as it's the only way I know how. I can sew on a button by hand, and quilt, but that's the extent of it.

I don't know anyone who hand pieces. I would love to learn and love to learn to embroider too. I like that embroidery machines make such pretty designs, but I would love to learn how to do it by hand.

I quilt in front of the tv, very relaxing. I machine piece by day so I always have 2 quilts in progress, one at the beginning and one at the end.

I will piece on a machine if I am in a hurry to make a quilt, like for a baby that is coming in a month or two, or for a wedding and I want to be sure that I have it done in time.

But for quilts that I am just making for fun and my own enjoyment I hand piece! I love the control and precision of hand piecing. I also love the freedom that comes with hand piecing. I can hand sew anywhere and not be holed up in my sewing room downstairs all by myself, tied to the sewing machine. I can sit in the living room in the evening with DH and watch TV while hand piecing. We travel a lot in our camper and I can hand piece traveling in the truck, sitting in the camper in the evening or outside as we sit by the campfire and watch the world go by.

If you haven't ever tried hand piecing, or haven't done it in quite a while, I recommend trying it! It really goes along much faster than you would think it would!

Hand piece when camping and traveling. I always have a project to take with me. It's humbling! and relaxing!

I understand that Jinny Beyer handpieces everything!