doesn’t everyone get up and sew?
wouldn’t you decide on 1″ strips? of course you would!
so i’m not the most accurate piecer. and i’ve been working on my 1/4″ seam FOREVER! here’s what i am currently doing. i like the edge of my foot (34C) so i’ve moved my needle position way to the right. you wanna be sure your needle plate allows you to move over…or there will be cussing. now, if i’m just doing regular piecing (as opposed to insane piecing using 1″ strips) i don’t move it quite so far over. but in this case i need a real scant 1/4″ seam. really kay? you thought this was a good idea?
and now that you’ve sewn those scant seams…..you need to press. ugh.
so first off, i’m chain piecing so all my little strips are hooked together. and since i’m working so small, i should probably press them open which usually results in some scorched fingers and cussing. since it’s 4am, i think it’s a bit early for cussing so here is what i did to avoid the scorched fingers.
set the seams of a long string of your sets. i used a dry iron.
then finger press your seam open. open up your seam and then scratch your fingernail down the length of your seam. if find that finger pressing prior to iron pressing keeps that seam open (and avoids blisters)
and finally give your fingerpressed seam an iron press. once i’ve done all this on the back side of the fabric, i flip it over and give it a nice hard press on the right side of the fabric.
btb…isn’t my new large ironing board fab? that was one of the christmas gifts i requested from scott. i have one at the house and one at the clubhouse. yea me! obviously, i didn’t need all that room when i’m pressing 1″ strips. i can’t wait until i have some great big yardage to press. like a backing! guess i need to finish something first.
see isn’t it beautimous! i had some MODA upholstery like fabric in my stash and used that for the top, underneath are layers of quilters dream batting. scott built the “frame”.
That has to be the most beautiful ironing board I have ever seen!!!! I love our wall paneling too!!!!!!
I’m glad to know I am not the only who gets up and quilts if I can’t sleep. Good therapy 
Oooo, tiny strips at 4AM. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen at my house. Did the pieces turn out OK?
I bought a new, cheap-o ironing board at Target. I’m trying to talk Mark into making me a big top for it. I haven’t yet been able to convince him it’s worth his effort. I’m not sure what I’m not saying. Maybe I haven’t offered a big enough bribe yet.
LOVE,LOVE,LOVE your new big board! I want one! Yours is so purdy too! I just started finger pressing before pressing and I like the nice crisp seam it makes. I also get up and sew or surf the web if I can’t sleep.