I had a comment from Ann yesterday asking why we used a foundation for the HeartStrings projects rather than just sewing the strings together the Gwen Marston way. Since it's a question I get fairly frequently I posted an answer on the HeartStrings Blog along with some of my favorite books on string quilts.
From a personal standpoint, when I do use a foundation I use muslin because I HATE to pull the paper off once I've finished piecing the block. Because I tend to work with strings and strips of different lengths and like to use even my little bits and pieces it usually is easier for me to use a foundation rather than trying to find strings of similar length to piece a strip set. For patterns like Chinese Coins and piano key string borders that are easily pieced without foundations - I don't use them.
I didn't get a lot accomplished today but did make and sew the binding on for one of the Chinese Coins quilts - I've got it about halfway stitched down and for a change actually thought to grab the label and sew it in the corner when I was stitching the binding on. Now I'll just have to sew two sides of it when I'm done the binding. Why don't I remember to do it this way more often?
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2 comments:
I like to use a foundation so I don't have to worry about whether I am getting close to the right size. I don't have to stop and measure, I can just look at the foundation!
Thanks for your comments about my sprint-tri. It really does help me to be honest with my workouts when I know I have something like that coming up. I am so glad that I conquered my lake fear, because I really didn't want to give them up!
Muslin is cheap too - if you use a 50% off coupon at Joanne's for the 89 cent muslin (it is narrower than a standard cut of fabric, but for less than 50 cents a yard - what a bargain!
The R/W/B colorway on this one is very striking! I like controlled scrappy quilts... ie all fall colors, spring colors, etc.
Your quilting is beautiful! Glad to hear that you are enjoying your new wheels!
Cheers!
Evelyn
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