Tag Archives: binding

A Quilting "Hole in One"

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I told you in February that I would have a Christmas quilt to snuggle under this Christmas.  Finished up, with little time to spare, my Peppermint Twist quilt:

 Quilted with an all over meander stitch….

It has a fun pieced “snowflake” back:

Fussy cut cornerstones…

A favorite Christmas ornament print as a top and bottom border, and green dot binding to finish it up. 

So what is the Quilter’s “Hole in One”?  Well, for the first (and possibly last) time, I made binding, sewed it on, and when I got around to the last side of the quilt I thought I was going to be just a hair short on binding.  Instead, I continued to sew, and when I stopped to join the two ends of binding, I could scarcely believe my eyes.  I had the exact length of binding I needed for this quilt, I didn’t trim so much as an 1/8th of an inch!  That has never happened before.  And somehow, I don’t see it even happening again….

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Making a List, Checking it Twice

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I’ve crossed a few biggies off of my Spring to Finish to-do list:

1) Quilt & Bind B&W quilt
2) Quilt and bind dress-form mini quilt
3) Finish Valentine runner
4) Finish six Nearly Insane blocks that are cut
5) Bind Girlish Charm quilt
6) Finish Chrysanthemum quilt
7) Finish Birthday quilt top
8) Bind the Shining Star quilt
9) Finish Flying Geese runner
10) Finish Lisa’s medallion border
11) Finish Studio canvases
12) Finish vintage sewing machine table
13) C’s baby quilt
14) Finish new shower curtain
15) Make 10.5″ 30s Block for Karen
16) Clean out closets 1, 2, and 3 (Decided to do my LEAST favorite, first!)
17) Store Sample-batik jacket

I decided that #16 was the most dreaded of the tasks, the rest are all enjoyable on some level, but #16, only possible to enjoy that task when it is complete. So I dove in, and have my Spring closet cleaning and organizing done, a full two weeks before my sister’s garage sale (where all the “toss” items are going).

Over the weekend, I finished up my last Valentine table runner while watching Anne of Green Gables.

And the biggest accomplishment was finally binding my Girlish Charm Quilt, a generous King-sized mammoth… made with all Amy Butler prints…
The “chains” are all Amy Butler Charm fabrics (hence the name of the quilt), and the fabric between them is from the Amy Butler Midwest Modern 2 line.The binding is bias binding cut from this Pink Lotus Pond by Amy Butler:The back used up the remaining Charm scraps I had, and a lovely soft pink Kona Cotton. It took forever to stitch the binding down just because of it’s size…but I have a great feeling of accomplishment, now that it is done!

Tonight: The Chrysanthemum Quilt!

In a Shoebox

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Another finished quilt! 2009 has been a very good year for me when it comes to actually finishing things. Maybe it’s this blog writing thing… it makes me accountable to the world for the things I start and then I feel obligated to eventually show a finished product of what I talk about here!

This one is another shop sample (probably the second reason why I’m finishing more stuff!), it is Shoeboxes, from the Atkinson Designs book, Time Out Quilts. You can purchase this kit from here. I think it is $52.99 plus the cost of the book if you don’t already own a copy. Everytime I go to shoot a new quilt, the handsome Kato insists on modeling it for me…I wish I could remember the name of this line of fabric, the colors are gorgeous and the designs a lot of fun! I quilted it in simple, straight lines to accent the pattern, and backed it with one of my faves, from the Katie Jump Rope collection by Denyse Schmidt. It matches this line of fabric very well…
I did a quick binding, sewing it on by machine, which actually makes it good and secure for a quilt that is going to a young person and it may be facing several washings. I love the deep coral color of this binding print:I hope 2009 has proven fruitful for you as well! Any grand sewing plans for 2010?

A few of my favorite things…

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I spent some pleasant days sewing and creating this past weekend, but I can’t show you what I am making because there are some gifts involved for people that might see their surprise exposed here on the blog. So…I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite things about my relaxing, peaceful, lovely two-day break from everyday life…

Having two full days to do whatever I wanted to do…and choosing to spend it in my studio, surrounded by my artwork and things that make me smile…

The scent of one of my favorite flowers, peonies, wafting in from the next room…

The site of my grandmother’s pin money jar (click on the photo to enlarge) holding the cut peonies…

lots of bindings waiting to be sewn onto the quilts as soon as they are finished…

And a kitty cat peacefully sleeping on a pile of fabric…

Here’s wishing you two days of freedom to do whatever you’d like to do…

UFQ #6: COMPLETE!

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Yes! One of my twenty (20) unfinished projects is DONE. FINIS. COMPLETE. UFQ #6, the Batik Star is now done:

I used Cassie’s fabulous tutorial for No-Snit Binding (my first attempt!) and it went very well. I need a little improvement to get the back to look as good as Cassie’s do, but overall, a great technique.

Here is a shot trying to show my quilting and the butterfly batik I put on the back:

This past weekend was lovely here in Iowa. I spent Saturday with my sister and her adorable nine-month old son. Sunday, I went to a family reunion in Northeast Iowa and had the pleasure of driving by some of the barn quilts of Grundy County:


I’m partial to the crossed canoes block, as you know…

Happy August to you! I’m getting ready for another retreat this weekend…more UFO’s to knock off the list!