Becky Goldsmith - Hand Sewing: A Journey to Unplug, Slow Down & Learn Something Old; Hand Piecing, Quilting, Appliqué & English Paper Piecing in One Gorgeous Quilt

Publisher: Amy Barrett-Daffin

Creative Director: Gailen Runge

Acquisitions Editor: Roxane Cerda

Managing/Developmental Editor: Liz Aneloski

Technical Editor: Debbie Rodgers

Cover/Book Designer: April Mostek

Production Coordinator: Tim Manibusan

Production Editor: Jennifer Warren

Illustrator: Becky Goldsmith

Photo Assistant: Lauren Herberg

Photography by Becky Goldsmith, unless otherwise noted

Published by Stash Books, an imprint of C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549

Dedication

This book began as a yearlong online block of the month. My students and I made our quilts almost at the same time. None of us knew what the finished quilt would look like when we started, which was a new, exciting, and little bit scary experience for us all.

I dedicate this book to those fine quilters who kept me motivated with their excitement and creativity, and who trusted me enough to go on a hand-sewing adventure with me!

Acknowledgments

This book would not have happened without my good friend and publisher, Amy Barrett-Daffin. It was her suggestion to expand the block of the month into a book. Thank you, Amy, for your support and encouragement. As always, you are the best!

My editor, Liz Aneloski, shepherded the development of this book from manuscript to finished product. I want to officially thank her for suggesting that I add the wool appliqu chapter (an excellent idea!), as well as for her careful attention to detail. Thank you, Liz!

WELCOME TO THE HAND-SEWING ADVENTURE

Most of us, me included, began our quilting lives as machine piecers. And if you are like me, you still enjoy sewing on a sewing machine. But you know what? Making a quilt by hand is a very different, joyous experience. As you grow comfortable with the techniques, hand sewing becomes a calm and meditative part of your day.

Yes, making a quilt by hand takes longer, but time spent sewing slowly is not wasted time. In fact, because you can sew anywhere, hand sewing is a productive use of time that would otherwise be wasted. Hand sewing is for people who always need to be doing something. My best sewing time is in the evening, with Steve in his chair nearby, both of us watching or listening to something interesting on the TV.

Some think that making a quilt by hand requires patience; I can tell you that it does not. It requires determination, but thats different from patience.

When you make a quilt by hand, you touch every piece of fabrica lot! You will find yourself forming a very personal relationship with the cloth, noticing textures, colors, and patterns in a different way. Your quilt becomes a very dear friend.

Lastly, hand-sewn quilts have a feel and look that only comes from being sewn by hand. They are soft and cuddlythey feel like old friends, even when they are newly made.

Enjoy your hand-sewing adventure!

Embracing Adventure by Becky Goldsmith

FINISHED QUILT: 52 52

Finished center medallion: 16 16 Finished EPP blocks: 8 8

Finished Basket blocks: 4 4 Finished borders: 6 wide

How to Use This Book

Inside this book you will find detailed instructions for:

English paper piecing (EPP)

Hand appliqu

Wool appliqu

Hand piecing

Hand quilting

You can follow through this book from start to finish to make your version of Embracing Adventure or use the instructions however you wish.

When I made my own quilt, I started with the English paper piecing (EPP) because it interested me the most. After making two EPP blocks, I knew I needed to see the unsewn center medallion in fabric on my design wall because that would help with the color choices overall. Once I had the center medallion designed, I finished each EPP block that surrounds the center and then worked out from there.

If I were making this quilt again, I would audition all of the blocks and borders (without sewing anything together) so I could see the whole quilt on my design wall. Coloring the quilt all at once requires some effort but, once done, makes sewing the blocks together a joyous experience.

Please do read through all the instructions before you beginit will help you decide in what order you want to make blocks. This is your adventure, and you can travel along it in any way that feels good to you.

FABRIC

Choose Your Fabric

Choose a variety of fabrics from your stash, go shopping, or both! Choose colors that make you smile. You will be handling them a lot, so the more you love them, the happier you will be. You might not use every fabric you begin with, and you can always add more to the mix.

Prints and directional fabrics offer lots of opportunities for fussy cutting (fun!). Solids can be more graphic, with a quieter visual texture. Feel free to use prints and/or solids.

I began with several light-to-white fabrics for my background. Blues came next, in different shades and values. After that, I filled in my rainbow with green, yellow, orange, red, pink, and purple fabrics.

Tip

Sort your fabric by color and value. Putting your fabric in order makes it easier to find fabrics to color your blocks.

Fabric Requirements

Pay special attention to the instructions for auditioning your fabric. See Choose Your Fabric; it may help you with your fabric choices.

This is a scrappy quilt, and many of the shapes are fussy cut by hand. Fussy cutting uses more fabric, so the amount of fabric needed will vary between quilters. The amounts below are approximate.

Light background fabric for EPP Blocks 18: yard

Light background fabric for Block 9 (center medallion): yard

Light background fabric for Blocks 10 (baskets): yard

Light background fabric for Blocks 13 (outer border diamonds): 1 yards

Colorful fabric for EPP blocks: Large scraps-yard pieces

Colorful fabric for EPP block corners: yard