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!

Hand piecing is like hand embroidery, keeps the hands busy and the mind too. There is a time for everything, and joining my husband evenings to watch tv or talk, I can do two things at once. Sitting in front of a sewing machine is fine if you want to be alone, but making quilts and being with loved ones is better still. And so calming to the nerves too, you have to calm down to do hand work of any kind. Better than pills.


Carol . J.

Hi I have been hand piecing and have made all sizes and I enjoy it much more than sewing on machine

Yes, that's true!!

I love to hand sew, thus I hand quilt, but I'm in awe of those who hand piece. I'm too impatient. I've been working on the same quilt (full size) for 5 months now and have 3 more projects lined up that I can't wait to get to. I think about machine quilting just to speed things up, but I really like the look of hand quilting. That and I've never machine quilted...lol.

I know a few of both hand and machine quilters. Time it seems is the big element. As stated in another post, teach daughters and granddaughters. In the early days quilts were made out of necessity because there were not many places to buy things. We now have lots of ready made goods available and the "need" for quilts is gone. However, thank goodness the "want" is still there.

In my quild there are about 3 ladies that hand piece, but with the price of fabric rising we had another quilter that
is an expert on hand piecing come and teach us. This way it takes longer to hand piece a quilt and then if you hand quilt you are not as likely to start a dozen new projects and save money.

I would love to hand piece and hand quilt, but between a full-time job (if you count getting ready time and commute time it's way over 50 hours a week), plus a home to maintain and manage, and other things that happen that takes away even more time....I'd never get a quilt finished!

We do enjoy camping tho..I think I'll keep a project in the camper to hand piece..it might take a few years, but it'll be my 'only one of it's kind' quilt.

I too had started doing hand piecing with Grandma's flower garden block several years ago. It is addictive!!!! A wonderful brain dead thing to do while watching TV in the evening. Great for packing in a zip lock bag or small plastic tote to take along in the car.
Takes a long time to finish a project but I've done a small wall hanging and several table runners for myself and gifts. I love quilting and can't hardly sit and not be sewing something.
I also have a Gammill longarm and love knowing I've made something from start to finish.
I don't know of anyone in our small quilting group at church that does any hand work other than the hexagons (English Paper Piecing).
We are having a quilt show here in Springfield this week end, looking forward to going tomorrow.

I hand piece and hand quilt. Most of my quilts never touch a machine. My sister says that is the sign of a true Heirloom. I have made 2 full size quilts for her daughters and they love them.
I believe that the quality if better if hand pieced. Someone told me not too long ago that hand piecing is less thickness. Only one strand of thread as opposed to the top and bottom on a machine so therefore easier to hand quilt as well.

I worked on one all winter...loved it..we have a few in our guild

I love to hand piece - especially odd bias pieces. I see more of it with paper piecing.

I belong to a guild with 35 members and there is only two of us that piece by machine, some of the members don't even know how to use a machine! I quilt by hand, it is a personal choice.

Speaking of thread...I use hand quilting thread to piece with instead of regular thread. I just think it is sturdier.

I was happy to hear sometime ago that Jinny Beyer hand pieces. I felt very out of place until I heard that she did. Her work is gorgeous!

Jinny Beyer has a little piece of information on her website about hand piecing, you may want to check it out.

My first quilt lessen was hand piecing but I don't do any hand work now because it causes pain in my neck and arm. I wish I could because I did enjoy it.

I had a hard time pulling hand quilting thread through the fabric, but maybe I'll try it next time. However, my hand pieced blocks seem sturdy enough.

Same thing happened to me...they made me fill like i was doing something wrong.. but i got over it and keep on hand piecing and handquilting...to each his (her) own they are beautiful both ways !!

My sister and I both hand piece and hand quilt. Find it much more relaxing than the machine.

I am just learning and am hand piecing which I like. I am working on the Farmer's Wife Sampler and can't imagine getting all of those little angles to match up on a machine...I flip open the piece I'm working on a lot and adjust as I go to match up the points so I think I would be using the seam ripper a lot more if I did it by machine.

I think I may have 10 or 20 more years if I'm lucky and It won't be extinct while I'm still alive. having said that, there are many times when I do better work when I'm handpiecing, and some patterns are easier to do by hand. I also only hand quilt. It's a relaxing thing for me. I don't have to worry about getting something done right now.

I enjoy hand piecing. Quilt. If I want to "move" a quilt along I machine piece - but only hand quilting from this gal!

I hand pieced a double wedding ring quilt, a grandmother's fan quilt and hand quilted both of them. I had to have surgery on my right thumb & wrist so I have have to resort to doing my sewing and quilting by machine. I have since started to hand quilt another double wedding ring in a quilt frame that my son made for my mother. I also hand quilted a dresden plate for my son, but was only able to finish the other 3 children's on the sewing machine because of the surgery that took 3 years to heal and needed to get them done. Very hard to do anything for 3 years being right handed and a useless thumb.

I have started handing piecing after taking classes from Cindy Blackburg at the Houston show and the Knoxville, and going to two of her handpiecing in the Smokies. I will be having knee surgery soon and I plan to hand piece and hand quilt. The machines will be put up for a while

Hi, you might find you really like the hand work rather than the machine. It's really very relaxing! Enjoy the hand work during your recovery!

I learned to piece by hand when I was a kid. When I quit my job a few years ago and decided to quilt again, I started a hand project. Now, it's not done but I work on it every time we drive 11 hours to SC or WI. I found that smaller blocks work best.

Hooray for the handpiecers. I did a lot of blocks doing handpiecing and started primarily as something to do on our RV trips. It is peaceful to sit outside and do my stars but the problem is that I cut out so many, that I have too many for a quilt! Now I suppose I will make runners with the extras. I have to sew them into rows now but after I finish my present hand quilting project on my rack. It is truly relaxing and enjoyable.

I used to hand piece and hand quilt, but for the last year I have been doing it by machine. If you compare my old to new, I'm about ready to go back.

Hand piecing is 'handy' if you need to travel lightly, and is also convenient for the doctor's waiting room etc, but for me, the majority of the work is done on machine now, as it is the over - all design that I want to achieve and I want to get there quickly. I often have commissions to fill and would not get so many if the clients had to wait for a long time to get the piece or pay the extra price for hand piecing. I still appreciate the beautiful work of someone such as Jinny Beyer, who does it all by hand.

I think more people hand quilt than you think. I have done the " Grandmothers Flower Garden" myself. I do prefer machine quilting now, as it is faster.

I am currently hand piecing my 8th bed sized Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. I have also hand quilted all of them. I batse fabric to paper hexagons then go from there. I find this very relaxing and it something handy to take on trips in our RV. I call then my "Law and Order" quilts and it seems I hand sew a lot while my husband sleeps through yet another re-run.