First of all I had many interruptions but that's OK, that's life. I probably sewed a total of about 4 hours on this off and on. FL-1 is the longest unit and it has 40 sections. The first 5 or 6 sections on this one are TINY and they took a long time. It was a little cumbersome working with such small sections on the tip of a very long piece of foundation paper. That took much more time than I expected but once I got past those sections it started going a little more smoothly.
Generally I will piece several units at the same time but since I had so much trouble at the start of FL-1 I decided to piece this one by itself. Once I got to about section 12 I added FL-2 to the piecing routine.
Starting FL-2 was much easier. This unit has 31 sections and the first two are small but much more manageable than the first 5 sections of FL-1. When I started FL-2, instead of gluing the paper to the fabric and using the Add-a-Quarter ruler to trim, I simply put the two fabrics right sides together aligning the sew sides. Then I placed them on my sewing machine and put the foundation paper on top, aligning the fabric edge with the seam allowance line on the paper. Sorry I didn't take a picture of that but I was so excited how easy it was I couldn't stop!
Yesterday I completed sections 1-29 for FL-1 and sections 1-6 for FL-2. This picture shows what I will start with today.
Tips: My tips for piecing the Spikey Leaf units are:
- Start with FL-1 because it is the most time consuming and a bit frustrating. Prepare yourself that it will probably take longer then you expected and try to have about 30 minutes without interruption.
- Piecing FL-1 can be monotonous once you get past section 6. I suggest you complete 10 sections then take a walk, call a friend, sweep the patio, pay some bills, whatever. Come back and complete the next 10 and repeat two more times.
- For unit FL-2 don't bother to glue the fabric to the paper for section 1. Take the fabric for sections 1 and 2 to your machine along with the 4 foundation papers and complete sections 1 and 2 as I described above.
Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen