Piecing step by step

I mentioned that I was awaiting the arrival of Piecing the Piece O'Cake Way: 17 Skill-Building Projects a while back -- well, it's here and I really like the look of it.  In fact, I've chosen my fabric for the first of those 17 skill building projects -- the Chinese Coins quilt. 

This book starts off with a lot of useful information about choosing fabrics, sewing machine usage, seam allowances, bindings, etc., and I was able to sit down and read through it easily.  There are plenty of photos to help explain things and I did learn a thing or two -- like that you should never pull the thread back through your machine -- always cut it off at the spool and pull it down through the mechanism.  I did not know this!

After the info, they present the quilts which are all made up in a manageable size (although they do provide instructions for sizing up) and are presented in several colorways.  As you would expect, skill level advances as you continue through the book with things such as curved piecing and complex stars toward the end.

I'm looking forward to working on the Chinese Coins quilt because it should be well within my comfort level and allow me to really focus on the details.  Progress pictures as soon as I get started.  I'm still recovering from the lovely stomach flu that hit me on Monday, so I need to take it easy this week.

Comments

[Kate]

One thing I took away from working in a shirt factory - to change thread, cut at the spool, tie the new one to the old, then pull it through the machine (not the needle, of course). Seems so obvious, but it had never occurred to me before so I thought I'd share.

[Juliann]

I love the work of those Piece of Cake ladies. Your fabrics are lovely. Hope you enjoy this work.