Iceblossom

Very good point, Tallchick. I was thinking about this just yesterday. I am amazed at the huge stitches some people use and am not surprised when their seam ends fray and such. I asked one friend about it a couple of years ago and she said it was easier for her to take out if needed. I asked her how much time she spent taking out stitches as opposed to having to deal with the last half inch of all her strips being bad...

I have to admit with my vision issues I can not see well enough anymore to take out stitches if the thread coordinates with the fabric. So I pretty much always use a camel brown or a grey-blue, plus since I make scrap quilts I can't do much in terms of matching thread to fabric.

With the Bernina I was given, the "default" stitch was too long for me. If you can easily pull away 3-4 stitches from the end of a seam, it's too long and/or not tight enough for quilting.

When you do strip piecing you also need a smaller stitch length than in garment construction because you are going to cut through those stitches.

I'm not used to these modern numbers, but I start with a stitch of about 12 to an inch, I'd have to check on what I have the Bernina set to now. If I'm doing something like cutting appliques (I usually use the facing/slit and turn it inside out method) I'll go to something closer like 16. Paper piecing also I typically use a tiny stitch. I never ever go down (up??) to 10 stitches to an inch while piecing.