I’ve been making improvisational blocks on the HQ Stitch 510 by Handi Quilter in preparation for teaching a class on string piecing next week. It’s very simple piecing and it takes full advantage of the 510’s speed, one of this model’s most important features.
The blocks are a variation of Log Cabin. I start with just a solid black or navy blue square, cut by hand with scissors or a rotary cutter but not measured. I make it roughly 3″ square.
Start with a hand-cut square roughly 3″ across.
The process is to add strips to just two sides of the square, building out as you go.
First strip added and trimmed, second strip ready to go.
I use a stitch length of 2.0 mm or slightly longer for piecing. The 510 is not computerized so the stitch length setting won’t change when you turn the machine off. For me, that’s a big advantage.
More strips added to just two sides of the original square.
I use the 510’s thread cutter on every piece which speeds things up even more. And when I use this feature, I never get a thread nest on the bottom when I start another seam!
The circular button with scissors is the thread cutter on the HQ Stitch 510 by Handi Quilter.
When you’re making scrappy blocks like this, each new strip should contrast in some way with its neighbor. Each one should add some interest.
Each new strip should add interest or contrast to the block.
You can choose something darker, brighter, duller, bigger in scale, smaller in scale, more swirly, more stripey…you get the idea. Add something different every time.
When things start to look too wonky, square up.
You can sew at an angle or cut your strips at an angle. When things start to look a little too wild or wonky, square them up as you go along. Freedom is great but in the end, you do have to make it fit into the quilt. I try not to go off the deep end.
The 510 really struts its stuff when you get to the longest strips.
You can see that I’m now adding the longest strips to the blocks, and this is where the HQ Stitch 510 really starts to shine. It’s so fast, and because this is easy piecing with no points or intersections to think about, you can put the pedal to the metal. This machine can make 1600 stitches per minute, making it considerably faster than many high-end models.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVKHxK3EmGY[/embedyt]
Is that amazing or what? The seam I sewed on the video was about 16″ long. I’m blown away by how quickly my piecing moves along. I love this so much! And the satisfying little clunk of the thread cutter? It makes me swoon.
My original plan was to arrange the blocks like this, similar to something I saw on Wanda Hanson’s Exuberant Color blog. But since that wasn’t my idea, I wanted to play around with it.
I turned the dark corners toward the center in groups of four and decided immediately that I loved this.
Improvisational sawtooth unit
I improvised some sawtooth units to fill in the blank areas, and here’s where I am so far.
I hope to finish it up today so that I can take it with me to Shenandoah, Iowa tomorrow. I’m spending Tuesday with the Corner Quilters there. We’ll be string piecing up a storm!
Read more about the HQ Stitch 510: Lightning-fast straight-stitch machine
Compare the features of HQ Stitch’s three machines
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