Hand Piecing with Jinny Beyer

I learned more today in one 6 hour class than I have learned in years. What have I learned? I learned to Hand Piece. Yep...the Berninas got a break today and I had the privilege of learning from a true quilting master. Jinny Beyer came to town and had a workshop where she taught us to hand piece. I leaned to hand piece years and years ago at my first quilting class in Heidelberg, Germany. I didn't know what a lost art it was at the time...I wanted to quickest and easiest way to piece and then quilt. Today I had a refresher. And it was fantastic.


Ironically my first quilting instructor had studied under Jinny Beyer....and then Jinny herself comes all the way out here to the middle of Australia? It was destiny, I had to go to her class! She said she has been so inspired by the colors out here in the Bush that she is going to design a new line of fabric around them. I completely understand...the colors here are otherworldly, especially at gloaming.

This is Jinny Beyer's 9-11 quilt. The center is a little Statue of Liberty. She wanted a piece of fabric for each life lost on that terrible day...this quilt has over 4,000 pieces. Each of those tiny pieces were hand pieced and then when the quilt top was finished it was hand quilted. She said it takes her about a year to make a quilt. 3 months to piece a top and then about another 9 months to hand quilt it. Wow...and I thought I spent a ton of time on a sewing project! She is so brilliant, the math and computations that she uses to create a quilt top are mind boggling (well, my mind felt boggled!). I have been doing the Liberated piecing technique for so long now that it was odd to actually try to match up points and measure.

Here are Jinny and I. I loved her necklace. It is a fantastic Chatelaine (like the Lady of the Manor would wear long time ago with a needle case, scissors, and her thimble) Here is a link to a website where you can get yours if you like (Thimbles by TJ Lane) that website does not do the wee little tools justice. I purchased myself a fancy thimble. And I love it. They are super expensive...I wonder if I can make it a tax expenditure? It is a tool....

Here are Wendy and I making our templates. I look pretty drunk in this picture, but I swear I am totally sober. I hate it when I make goofy looking faces when I am getting my picture taken. Oh well...I had a blast.

This is Jinny with another of her extraordinary quilts. All that is hand pieced!

Here I am with my block and what I got done in 6 hours. The fabrics were not my choice, it was a "lucky dip" and you got whatever set you pulled from the bag. I think it will look better when it is finished and I take a picture out in the sunlight. See my fancy little thimble? I love it.

What a great day...just me and a bunch of great ladies learning something wonderful. I wish you all could have been there!

XO,

Tia