Hand sewing - not my favorite or might I change my mind?

Today I took a workshop on Hawaiian appliqué.  Janet Elia of Taunton, MA, was the instructor. She told us a lot about the history. The pattern we did was the breadfruit. Cutting the fabric was easy and Janet shared a neat trick to unfolding the appliqué fabric after cutting it.

Then the part I was dreading started. Suffice it to say that I am not a fan of hand sewing. I machine stitch bindings on my quilts. So we started by doing some needle-turn appliqué. My first attempt at this technique wasn't stellar but then again, it wasn't horrid either. I was surprised at how you are able to just use the needle to turn the edge under as you stitch. I have made a pledge to myself to finish the appliqué. I have already done almost a fourth of it so it shouldn't take me long to complete.

So I overcame that hurdle but there were 2 more for the day. The next in the workshop was hand quilting. I never thought I would try it but for traditional Hawaiian appliqué, hand quilting seems to be the right way to go. Again, I won't win any prizes for my hand quilting but my stitches were consistent in size although a little bigger than ideal. 

Finally, at our guild meeting, Janet told us some history of Sashiko. More hand sewing! Although not at all the same, the stitches are similar to the hand quilting from earlier in the day. When you hand quilt, you are stitching through three layers - the quilt top, batting and the backing. For Sashiko, you are only stitching on the quilt top. It is a form of embroidery. The trick is that the stitches are a larger and the spaces between the stitches are about half the size of a stitch. This wasn't too bad, either.

So I am going to have to rethink my aversion to hand sewing. I enjoy all three of the hand sewing activities from the day. With just a small amount of practice, I was able to produce acceptable results. I also know that with more practice, my skill in each of three areas will improve. I'm not turning in my sewing machine, by any stretch of the imagination, but I am certainly going to stop avoiding all kinds of hand work.

I am very glad that I took the workshop and learned that not all hand sewing is tedious and unattractive.