feline fanatic

And the additional quilting in the ditch would solve her "tenting" at the seam line. I also hand quilt but I never go closer then a 1/4" from my seam line to avoid the bulk of the seam allowance. One side will be find but the other side you are going through 4 layers of fabric and the batting, I would not be able to get small even stitches going through all that bulk unless I stab stitched. I am not a big fan of stab stitch because the quilting line on the back is usually not as nice as you get with the traditional running quilt stitch.
That said, I do understand what you mean. When you quilt 1/4 away on either side of your seam line it does tend to emphasize or give the appearance of the 1/2" in between to kind of raise up. If you don't like it, by all means quilt 1/8" away. God bless you for going through all those layers by hand!

cwpainter

My seams are not 1/8", they are 1/4" for piecing the block pattern together. I have 1/2" seams for sewing the individual blocks together. The 1/8" is the measure from where the blocks are sewn together. It is just quilted 1/8" from that seam so it will lay flat. I agree a 1/8" seam allowance would not hold up to even everyday use, let alone washings.

dsj

now I get what you are saying, I was starting to get a little confused. My technique is the same as Youme it is beautiful when completed just takes lots of hours. I honestly have never tried 1/8". I will try it out.

Leota

The 1/4 inch tape I think Ninnie is refering to is called "Tiger Tape" you can get it from Clothilde. It is 1/4 inch wide and comes with lines marked 12 lines/inch, 9 lines/inch and 4 lines/inch. I like it because I don't have to "think" about my stitch length and it gives me an edge to follow so my stitching is nice and straight :D

Boston1954

It is much easier to get the needle through the fabrics if there are less of them. Unfortunately for me, I pick hand quilting patterns that go all over the place. Oh well, the Arthritis has not really set in yet....

cwpainter

I thank everyone for all their help. I had to go to our local quilt shop with a block I was working on. I needed to get more fabric. By mistake, my 91 year old Dad, was helping me clean, saw the scraps of fabric and threw them away. This was on Monday. The trash man came on Tuesday. I didn't know about it until Wednesday. I raced to the quilt shop. I found 2 of my 3 fabrics still in stock. But bless the angels who work there, they came up with enough scraps of their own that I was able to have enough fabric to replace what I lost. The point I explained to my Dad--to a quilter scraps are never trash.

Anned

The point I explained to my Dad--to a quilter scraps are never trash.[/quote]

My son would throw everything out as junk. But have you seen his garage?? need I say more??
My latest hand project is crocheting left over long fabric strips in a circle or oblong potholders to make new cost nothing but my evening TV time. one to one and a half inch strips work well. Hard on the hands but then I don't have an extensive strip collection. Well, I like them, nuff said.

Anne in hiding? no, in LA, CA

dsj

yikes, am so sorry to hear about the scraps that got tossed, that would be like losing a piece of jewelry or money.My heart is breaking for you.

grandma Janice

Hi, I am a hand quilter and the main reason for the 1/4 inch between the seam and the quilting line is because of the extra material you would have to sew through. Believe me just that extra two layers makes a lot of difference when you are quilting. most of the time I can see or feel the 1/4 inch of seam material and that is an excellent way to judge your 1/4 inch quilting line altho that won't work on the other side of the seam, you have to use something to measure that. good luck, glad there are other hand quilters out there.