In case your wondering what that all means, it means I have started to make "Quilted Diamonds" books 1 and 2, "Dear Jane" and "Nearly Insane" which I think might be very close to the truth.
I am doing all of these as hand piecing projects so they are not going to be quick finished projects by any means.
I find that when working with such small pieces it it a lot easier to do these by hand but of course the preparation all takes time. I trace the block onto freezer paper, then I number all the shapes on the freezer paper as well as the original pattern so that they correspond, then I cut all the tiny little shapes out so that I then have my templates. On the original pattern I will use coloring pencils to just lightly shade in the colored fabrics I am going to use and where. This is important I feel as it helps to keep track of where to place those pieces of your block.
OK after cutting out all the shapes, pile shapes of same size and shape together and then remembering a 1/4" seam allowance needs to be added on measure the width of the shape add a 1/2" onto that (this will be the seam allowance) then cut a strip of fabric out that will be long enough to place same sized shapes onto. Lay a shape onto fabric then place a 1/2" ruler beside it then lay another shape. Iron the shapes onto the fabric with a very hot iron but NO STEAM. It helps to pre-wash fabric, the freezer paper will stick better.
Using 100% cotton, do a running stitch to hold all those small pieces together. Hand stitching makes it easier to fit odd shaped pieces in place. Use top quality fabric's and threads because if your going to put all this work into a quilt you want it to last a long time, hopefully longer than you will. It's always nice to leave a little bit of yourself behind.
Happy Hand Sewing, enjoy the process.
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