For my first Inklingo adventure, I chose to machine piece one block and hand piece another one from the same pattern.
On the left is the machine pieced block, on the right is the hand pieced block. Here are my thoughts:
The machine pieced block went faster, of course, but it has so much thread to clip on the back that it's a mess. The center looks reasonably well put together and it is nice and flat. Some of the corner squares seem a little off to me and that block is not quite square. It looks like the seam allowances are generous so that I won't eat any of the star points when sashing it or sewing it to another block.
The hand pieced block was harder for me because I am way out of practice at hand piecing. It was made even harder by the lines on the red fabric being too faint, except at the corners. I feel a bit of eyestrain after my stitching session. However, as I experimented with my printer yesterday, I realized I can do better on medium/dark fabrics by using photo quality. I bet that is in Linda's notes somewhere, but I hadn't internalized that knowledge yet. (So much to learn!) The center isn't really that much better than the other block, which surprised me. Maybe because I didn't even finger press the two halves before stitching them. The back of this block is much neater, and there are no thread tails left to worry about. It is more square than the machine block.
Bottom line is this: I think I can improve at both methods of piecing with inklingo, getting better at all the y-seams. With better marking on the dark fabrics, I am sure the hand piecing will be much faster.
At any rate, I now have two little blocks to make into some small holiday items.
Next on to hexie piecing.
The machine pieced block went faster, of course, but it has so much thread to clip on the back that it's a mess. The center looks reasonably well put together and it is nice and flat. Some of the corner squares seem a little off to me and that block is not quite square. It looks like the seam allowances are generous so that I won't eat any of the star points when sashing it or sewing it to another block.
The hand pieced block was harder for me because I am way out of practice at hand piecing. It was made even harder by the lines on the red fabric being too faint, except at the corners. I feel a bit of eyestrain after my stitching session. However, as I experimented with my printer yesterday, I realized I can do better on medium/dark fabrics by using photo quality. I bet that is in Linda's notes somewhere, but I hadn't internalized that knowledge yet. (So much to learn!) The center isn't really that much better than the other block, which surprised me. Maybe because I didn't even finger press the two halves before stitching them. The back of this block is much neater, and there are no thread tails left to worry about. It is more square than the machine block.
Bottom line is this: I think I can improve at both methods of piecing with inklingo, getting better at all the y-seams. With better marking on the dark fabrics, I am sure the hand piecing will be much faster.
At any rate, I now have two little blocks to make into some small holiday items.
Next on to hexie piecing.
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Thanks for your comment! I only respond from my computer, and since I retired, I don't spend as much time at my desk, but I will get back to you!