My Mother-in-law was a quilter, and when she passed away, my sister-in-law gathered up all her quilting stuff and gave it to me because she knows I am a quilter. She loved applique, and in her projects, she had one where she had cut out 8 - 18" white squares, 8 flowers, and 32 leaves. There was one sample block in another color that I'm sure someone had done that she was using as a sample. Anyway, I couldn't let them go to waste, so I went ahead and appliqued them. Then I bought the pink flowered fabric and the green fabric in the pictures (they are not sewed together, they are just lying side-by-side) to set up the quilt with white. But there are 8 blocks. I have tried to put it together, and it makes a really awkward size for a quilt. I'm a really, really bad piecer, and since I have spent a long time with the applique, and I love to hand quilt and want to do a lot of intricate hand-quilting, so I want the quilt top to be done well. I wonder if any of you have ever had someone else do the piecing for you. I'm thinking about going to a quilt shop and finding someone to piece the top for me. That would be copping out, but I'd rather do that and have a nice piece at the end. What do you guys think?

I don't think its copping out. Not at all. Its a pretty flower thats for sure. I would send something out if I didn't feel that I could do a good job on it. I truly don't feel that's copping out. Its called making sense!!!! I hope you are able to find someone that can do it for you. I would love to see the final pieces when they are done so please keep us all posted.

Whatever works for you. I'm sure you can find someone to piece it for you. Go for it!

If farming out the piecing gets it done--you still have her spirit in the blocks. I would say go for it, and forget about whether you were the one who pieced it--the bottom line is--you finished the project. Much better than leaving it in a box in some closet.

I like your choices of fabrics - and the applique work is lovely.

Have you done some "practice piecing"?

If you can guide your machine that nicely on the applique work, I would think you could learn to guide your machine on seam lines.

However, if you would rather NOT do that, it makes as much sense to have someone else piece it as to have someone else quilt it.

If I understood the narrative in one of Kaffe Fasset's books - he did the designing and someone else did all the piecing.

I have a number of customers that I do the piecing for. They provide the fabric and pattern and I piece, quilt and bind for them. So no it isn't copping out.

"I love to hand quilt and want to do a lot of intricate hand-quilting" Have you thought of adding plain white squares to the 8 applique - this would give you a canvas for your "intricate hand-quilting" and help balance out the size of your quilt. At least a quarter of the people on this Board send their quilts out to be quilted so I don't think you should worry about sending out the piecing!

Considering how many UFO's I currently have in my home, that makes the most sense to me. If you think that you may 'never get around to it', by all means let someone get you to the point that you can finish it. Time in important in everyone's life. Make it count.