Binding Blitzen

 

For the Blitzen quilt, I am alternating holiday fabrics in gold and silver.

I’ve sewn it all around the four sides of the quilt, now I just have to fold it over to the front and pin it all round. 

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 the Green Birds Quilt

 

I am finally sewing the binding on the Green Birds quilt.

Otherwise I've just been doing the usual blah blah blah.  Still have to prepare the backings for three quilts: The Yellow Macnas, the Dancing Jewels and the other one.

Working in the Studio

 

I spent the last couple of days cleaning the studio and preparing backings and bindings for the quilts I have been making.

Next up I'll be sewing the binding on the Green birds quilt.

For those of you who haven't made birds yet, you can get my tutorial for them here at my Etsy shop.

Blue Ribbon Quilt Finished

I've been sewing the binding on the Blue Ribbon quilt.

I have been putting quilts on a card table while I sew the binding. It keeps them straight and it's easier to have everything handy while I work.
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I have to take it out for beauty shots, but this gives you an idea of what it looks like.

I always meant for this quilt to be used as a table quilt. I found that blue and white bowl at a local thrift shop.

I've put the Needle in a Haystack quilt on the couch along with the two new blue and white pillows, so two quilts relate to each other.

Binding Green Deco

 I've finished binge watching the entire six seasons of Downton Abbey, and I've rewatched the first two movies. I've seen the last movie, The Grand Finale, so I am officially done. Sewing binding on a quilt is a great thing to do while I "watch" anything. I've got quite a lot of binding in my future and it's good to have a list of stuff I want to catch up on while I do it.

Binding the Green Deco Quilt

 

I added the binding to the Green Deco quilt.

Then I folded it over to the front and pinned it in place. I'll be hand sewing it down in the days ahead.

Carnelian, Binding

 

I added an orange binding to the Carnelian quilt.

Now I am hand sewing it down. 

Yeah I know, boring boring, boring.

Binding and Backing

 

I made the backing for the Needle in a Haystack quilt. I know it's going to be terrific!

I figured as long as I was at it, I should create the bindings for the other quilt tops I have waiting to be quilted. From left, the binding for the second Nightingale quilt; the binding for Needle in a Haystack; binding for the third Nightingale quilt; binding for the Joyful quilt, and binding for Cat's quilt.

I thought, well, in for a penny, in for a pound, so I also made the binding for three other quilts, the Bananas quilt; binding for the Little Boxe and the binding for the Harlequin quilt. And then I got the bright idea of labelling them in case something happened and I lost my mind and forgot which binding was for which quilt.

So here they all are, waiting for their appropriate quilts.  I'll be collecting the Joyful quilt next week, and will be dropping off Harlequin, Kangamangus and the Little Boxes quilts for quilting.

And by the way, you have not lost your mind. I have made tenths  quilt tops since I retired.

What's next? I did some stash replenishment shopping and I have ironing to do over the next few days.

Adding Binding to the Morning Garden Quilt

 

I added the binding to the Morning Garden quilt.

This definitely qualifies as quilt wrangling.

I got it done. Now I have to fold the binding over to the front and pin it down. Then I can hand sew the binding down. Given that it's Christmas week, and that I am hosting (and cooking) the feast, it may be a week or more before I can get it done.

Binding Scribble Scrabble

 

I've selected a dark fabric for the binding of the Scribble Scrabble quilt.

I pinned the binding over to the front of the quilt. I like to get the binding of the quilt pinned all the way around before I start hand sewing it down. It means I don't have to stop sewing to pin it over.

I like to "watch" television while I sew the binding.

Can't ask for anything better than to watch than the Olympics! Now I don't need an excuse to sit on the couch and watch TV!

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 for the Noel Banner

 

I cut the strips for the Noel quilt and joined them together.

I sewed it to the back of the quilt.

I also created the hanging sleeve. I sew the hanging sleeve to the quilt when I attach the binding to it.

Then I folded the binding over to the front and pinned it down.

I've started sewing it down.

And, get this...

I've decided to write a pattern of the Noel Holiday Banner and sell it. To do that I had to map out the quilt I made. Took me a bit...

Stay tuned.

I published the Seminole Patchwork tutorial. If you are interested, you can get it here.

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!

Still At It...

 

I'm still at it. Still binding and watching The Great British Baking Show.

I'm 3/4 the way around. I will finish in the next couple of days.

In The Meantime...

 

I never work on more than one quilt at a time. Now I've got TWO going simultaneously. AND I've got two STUCK. I am waiting for more fabric for each, so I am sewing the binding on the first student bird quilt, "Crowing About It."

Oopsie!

 

I'm in New England, and we got hit hard with a Nor'Easter on Tuesday. I elected to work from home, which was smart as the roads were just terrible. As it happened the powers that be decided to close the plant at noon because travel was so treacherous. So I got a real live Snow Day. I was glad I had sewn the binding on the Crowing About It quilt, because it meant I could sit on the couch and sew while I "watched" the BNP Paribus Open on TV. But then I started to fold the binding over I realized that I had not added a hanging sleeve to the quilt. OOPS!

I rummaged around the bin with the leftover backing fabric, and pulled out this, measured it all up and made the hanging sleeve.

Then I had to unsew the binding from the top edge of the quilt, slip the hanging sleeve between the binding and the quilt and pin it in place.

But before I could pin the binding over to the front of the quilt I heard a big WHOMPH!

A branch from a tree had broken and as it fell it brushed against my house and one end landed at the edge of my roof. It had been slowed down by the bushes nearby but it was still startling.

I pinned the binding over to the front of the quilt. NOW I am ready to sew it down.