Viewing post #600942 by barefootT

quilter5 wrote:I'm not hand piecing Susan. Just learning one of the methods (rocker stitch) of hand quilting (putting the layers together). It was a really interesting class. My biggest problem is that I've never used a thimble and to do this, you need to use one. With a lip on it so it can be used to guide the needle. Also, I have had the fabric too taunt in the hoop. It needs to be loose enough to rock the needle. I learned a couple tips I thought were really useful. When doing echo quilting, she said to try using the 1/4" tape as a quide and stitch along side of it and to use to stitch 1/4" away from a seam line.... Another hint to quilt shapes was to use white contact paper as a template to stitch around. It sticks to the fabric enough but doesn't leave any residue and can be used several times over. She is not fond of marking a quilt unless it is truly necessary and then she prefers to use a Hepa to make a crease to stitch along rather than a marking pencil of any kind. If you do need to mark she advised using a water soluable one and to make sure that you wet it enough (Without soaking) to erase any marking that may have bled down into the batting. She said sometimes that doesn't get wet enough and shows through later on the top of the quilt.
All in all it was a fun class. The most important thing she said was the "It's not important how small your stitches are but how even they are"!!!! That made me happy!!!!