:( :?: :?: :?: How do you go about piecing, I just do anyway I want and it's THE THING I WANT SO IT"S MINE!!!!

I love answering questions like these...YOU BET..you can do them your own way...any way you want. It is your own design, your own style, your own sweat, blood and tears in it...it is all yours. Do it your way!

Didn't I read here that there are no Quilt Police? No one will get in trouble for making a quilt the way they want to make it. No Rules! Just do your own thing. That is the fun part about quilting. Change the pattern if you like. It will surely be an original!

June

There better not be any quilt police here...lol

I am not sure I understand your question. Are you asking HOW to piece something specific?

I'll take a shot at this one too...

My other avocation is photography. Black and White. I went to school back in the 80's learning all I could about B&W photography.

How is this relevant?

Met some great artists in photo school. People who put my vision to shame.

Their work sucked. Why? Because they didn't learn the basics. They didn't understand the physics of how photographic materials work, how to use them to their greatest advantage. Now I am not the greatest photographer in the world. But my prints are... tight, well made, well composed. I am proud of the work I do.

Now in quilting... there is physics going on also. These women from the last 200 years... they knew something. They understood their material. They came up with 'rules'.

Now these rules can be violated. I know I sure have inadvertently violated lots of rules. Nobody is going to call me on them. BUT... deliberately violate the rules only after you understand why they were there in the first place.

I had a great screen printing teacher who taught me... take your artwork to the edge of the known world. Then take it over the edge. Then bring it back. Extend the limits of your art in a way that you, the artist, control and understand. You have to know the rules first.


tim in san jose

on the other hand ... my bowling average dropped by more than 30 points after i took a class to learn how to do it "the right way"!

i could paper piece like a pro until i read instructions. now i'm lucky to get a square right the first time. go figure.

if the results of your methods are the right size and pleasing to look at, you did it correctly. if you follow every rule in the book but produce ... yak barf ... you did it wrong.

trust your instincts. you like your work. you like the results. you are doing it right. :wink:

The only time that it maight really matter is if sewing piece a to b was critical because piece c was sewn to both of them as in 2 quater square triangles being sewn to a hlf square triangle in a design, or in applique, sewing the stem first so that the raw edges were concealed by a flower. Other than things like that, if its pleasing to you, go for it. Some things go in a certain order and thats why there are "rules" in order for your block to come out just so. Other times it won't really matter.
Hope this is clearer than mud!

Hey, Artquilter, got any pics?? I would love to see what this new way of quilting looks like! :D

I think I call it "FREE-STYLE"....
My favorite way is my own way.

As quite the producer of Yak Barf, I resemble that remark.

tim in san jose

well ... now ... there ya go! even yak barf - if produced deliberately - can be considered correct.

we don't need no ejukashun
we don't need no thought control
no dark sarcasm in the classroom
teacher, leave them kids alone.

Pop Quiz!!!

:wink:

Uh... The Wall?? :shock:

Carla, Carla, Carla.

If you don't know that, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollah, and turn in your Baby Boomer Card.

Of course it's "The Wall" Pink Floyd.

ahhhhhh, dem memories.............

:x Ok, I say Yes do em your way like ol Granny's Ol Blue Eyes{ Frank Sinatra} What do you think the quilters in the ol west did they did it there way, no one told em how there usually wasn't another woman around and when there was they didn't bother with telling, well you did it wrong!!!

I have the image of a "new age" crazy quilt kinda thing...and I like the image. Can't wait to see some of your "my way" quilts. And by the way...Pink Floyd ROCKS!!! and the wall is the song we all had blaring from our car stereos on our last day of Senior High while the other poor, poor underclassmen were finishing up finals. Man was our principal pe-od!!! (evil laugh...mmmuuuuwaaahahahahahhahaha)

:( :?: I do love my artsy quilts but been trying my hand at this piecing to No Avail!!!!!

Artquilter...
Don't give up!!! Maybe you just need to start with a different block...and read read read this board!! I've learned sooo much, I read a lot of quilting books, and understood the "concept" but really didn't feel comfortable enough to start one until I found all these wonderful folks!! The most important thing I learned was not to worry so much about being technically correct...just have fun learning something new!! Keep trying, but walk away and take a break if you start stressing. Go back to what youre comfortable with for awhile then come back and meet the new challenge again.

:? I'm learning to piece and it is frustrating at times to me Longarm Machine Quilting is the most FUN!!!!! Or sometimes I sit and just Machine Quilt at the machine in the Large Cabinet my DH made and let the stitching just take my troubles away!!!!

Is'nt that where creativity, orginal design, happy accidents and the joy of quilting started. It's all about your way, play, play, and play some more, YEAH.

Artquilter, I think it's perfectly ok to stick to the quilt style that's in your comfort zone. No one says we all have to learn every way there is to put a quilt together. (Well, with the exception of Steve of course. That man will no doubt try every technique known to quilters before he's done! LOL)

I agree with Rebecca wholeheartedly. This should be about individual creativity and fun and relaxation. If you truly WANT to learn how to piece in a different way than what comes naturally to you, then we're all here to help you in any way we can. It will just take patience and practice. But if you're not really into the piecing, I'd go back to what I love if I were you. :)