Binding Nonchalant

 

As I get older I have had to change the way I do things. While I have no problem hand sewing, when I hold something in my lap, I can't quite see what I am doing, so now I use a card table. One benefit is the quilt isn't on my lap and the pins don't get caught on things like my couch or clothes.

The biggest benefit is the quilt is closer so I can see it, and the table keeps it flat. I can put a light directly on the quilt so it's easy to see while I stitch.

And yes, I do all my finish binding sewing on the front of my quilts. I learned how to blindstitch many many years ago. More than once a quilt appraiser has missed this element of my quilts. I find it endlessly amusing. You can read about WHY I do it here. It's kind of a fun story.

While the stitching is invisible, there are other considerations with the way I bind my quilts. I have written a tutorial about it, and it is available at my Etsy shop.

Binding for Yakkety Yak

I have been lucky enough to get four quilts ready to bind all at once. This shows the quilting for Yakkety Yak.

I always knew the binding for this quilt was going to be pink. I had originally bought this "handsy" fabric as an option for the backing, but for some reason I didn't buy enough.

When it was time to choose binding fabric, this was an option. It's a Kaffe fabric that's pink with red and reddish orange fabrics.

I liked this fabric as an option. It was fabric I used in my granddaughter's seminole dress. Of the three, I really liked this the best.

Here's the fabric.

I cut strips for the binding and sewed them together.

I've sewn it to the back of the quilt. This fabric ravels like crazy, so once I sewed it to the quilt, I had to trim each edge. 

Binding Decisions

 Choosing the binding fabric for the Not Paper Pieced quilt was easy. And the PRIZM quilt will have a white binding, but choosing a binding for the Greensleeves quilt was a bit trickier

At first I thought a soft green would do it, but this is just a little bit too laid-back for my taste. I tried a couple of other soft greens and they were equally bland and unexciting.

Then I remembered how with the Jealousy quilt, I added a binding that had some color in it and I liked that. So I pulled these three fabrics. Two of them are in the quilt (the one on top isn't),

Here's the one on the bottom.  Hmm.

Next I tried the one on the top of the three above. It was ok, but a tad too pale.

I like this, It holds it's own, but it very much depends what part of the fabric you get to see.

This is the fabric I will use. Obviously you won't see this much of it, but I think it will be interesting all around the quilt.

DING! That's done!

Defying Gravity gets Bound

 

This is the Defying Gravity Quilt. It's a scrap slab triangle quilt. You can get the tutorial here, at my Etsy shop. 

 

Julie and I spent our time together making slabs and cutting triangles to make versions of this quilt.

 What's fun about this quilt, aside from the fact that you can make it into any number of designs, is that is uses your scraps.

This is the binding fabric. It's all flowers, but I thought it would be fun if I laid it out like piano keys.

Although I worked on this for a few hours the other night, I forgot to take pictures while I was working.

After I sew the binding on the back of the quilt, I fold it over to the front, and pin it all the way around. You can find out how and why I do it this way. I have a tutorial for that too.

Binding x 4

I've cut and prepared the binding strips for four quilts.

 

Here is the binding for The Pink Panther. I'll be picking up this quilt from the long-arm quilter later today.

This is the binding for Allegretto, which I'll also have later today.

Here is the binding for Deep Space.

Here is the binding for P's quilt (quilt needs a name). The fabric is an ombre, and I sewed the dark ends together and the light ends together so the print will go from light to dark to light all the way around the quilt. I'll be bringing this quilt to be quilted today.

Once I had all the bindings made, I added the binding to the Deep Space quilt.

I like to fold the binding over and pin it all the way around before I hand sew the binding down.

So THAT's what I've been doing lately. I have a lot of hand sewing in my future...

Working Along

 

I wasn't quite sure about this fabric for the binding of Aquamarine, but as I pinned it to the front of the quilt my qualms disappeared.

Now it is simply a matter of sewing it down.

In this picture you can see that it really does fit right in!

The Re-entry

 I had to go to the office yesterday for supplies. I chatted with a few of my coworkers and then had a conversation with the CEO and our HR person. The topic "re-entry" came up. I've had both my shots. I knew this was coming. I don't know when it will take place but I got the distinct sense it was in the planning stages. I have mixed feelings about it, so, like everything else, we will see.

I'm sewing the binding on the All Together Now quilt.

 

Update: I've been working from home for over a year now. It's going to be VERY interesting going back.

Black is Best!

 

I just love black-and-white. (Did you know every cat I have ever owned has been black and white?)

I wrote the other day that a white binding would have worked, but I was wrong. A white binding would have let the design flow right out. Those black triangles would have just been floating away. The black binding contains the design and because it is the same black-and-colors as the black triangles, that idea is repeated and carries all around the quilt.

Love, love, love this!

The Waltzing Matilda quilt has been delivered to Megan and she promises a full report shortly - she's had a couple of those workdays-from-hell-on-steroids and she needs to get all that stuff settled first. We all know what those are like. She did tell me that the quilt was "a delightful pick me up" and that it had been "cuddled and admired," which is good enough to hold me until she's ready.

Black is Back!

 

It's always fun to pick up quilts from Janet-Lee Santeusanio. I picked up the black and white Scrap Slaps quilt, All Together Now.

You can see the quilting design best when you look at the back. 

I was picking up the quilt after lunch, so I had to prepare the binding. But I had to go back to look at a picture of the quilt, to remember what the edges looked like. Once I knew the edges were white, I knew the binding had to be black. But black with colors, just like the blocks in the quilt. So I rummaged through my stash and found eight fabrics. For the binding I needed eight WOF strips. I cut strips of each, then cut the strips more or less in half, and then sewed the strips together for the binding. I feel the binding tells the quilt what color it is, and while a white binding would have worked, this quilt is black with colors and white, and a black (with colors) binding would emphasize that fact.

As you all know, I sew my binding to the BACK of my quilts, so my finish stitching is on the front. (Because you know, I like to show off my invisible stitches.)

Yeah, this is going to rock big time.

You know what's THE BEST thing about this quilt? Every single bit of fabric, from the top, backing and binding, came from my stash. 

(Of course that could also be a little bit scary too! How many quilts are hiding in my stash?)

Round and Round with Matilda

 

Regular readers know that when I am not sure where I am going with an idea, I shift my attention to something else. I learned long ago not to force anything. 

So I decided to take advantage of the sunny day on Sunday to spend time in the studio doing something that didn't require a thought of conscious effort. 

I added the binding to the Waltzing Matilda quilt, which, at some point, will take a very long trip to its new home.

If you want to know how and why I do my binding this way, you can get my binding tutorial, here at my Etsy shop.
 

I've got one long side done. Naturally, Millie has been "snoopervising."

TB 12 Gets # 7

 

I watched the Super Bowl wearing my Tom Brady jersey. I now have about five linear feet to go before I finish the binding. Then I will sew down the hanging sleeve.

In other news, I have found inspiration for the next quilt. I know where I want it to go, I'm just figuring out how to get it there. 

Stay tuned...

Sew Sew Sew

 

I've worked my way around the quilt, and now I am on the third side. I've watched both seasons of "Blown Away" about glassblowers to get this far. 

It's funny. Millie doesn't get near this quilt, but I have had to keep a lint roller nearby to remove the cat hairs along the edge so I don't sew them into the binding.

I have written what I think is a comprehensive tutorial on binding s quilt with straight sides. You can get it here.

And Now to Choose the Binding...

The first question to ask when binding a quilt (I believe) is to decide whether a quilt needs room to breathe or whether it needs to be contained. With Larkspur, (the Pink Barn) it's hard to tell which it needs. What I do know is a light binding wouldn't work at all. 

 

This is the first option, a kind of a greyish green, is kind of blah.

This patterned pink stripe is another option, (but kind of overly fussy.)
 

This big print won't do either, although that is the print that is on the back of the quilt.

I really like this blue. It isn't the same fabric as the blue trim on the barn, but it's close enough.

Blue it is. Or rather, it will be.

 

Holy crap, it's February?