Do you like to bind your quilts?
I like to bind quilts! I love to see the finish! All the work, all the beauty, the creativity–framed with a finished edge!
So… now I am offering to bind quilts for other quilters. They too will be able to see the finish line faster.
Check out my quilt binding page for more photos.
Recently, I noticed the already worn edges had begun to tear! Off to the sewing room!
I trimmed the edges and found fabric for a new binding. I think Grandma would approve!
Here’s a quilt I made for a great niece recently. A friend gave me the jungle animal panel which I paired with fabrics in my stash. I love how purple it is! Yet purple is not my color.
Another use for my skinny fabric scraps–a rooster!
This handsome fella started out as a quick sketch…
Which I cut out and traced onto felt.
Then I added those skinny strips to make his feathers and added a mile of thread! (Actually, I didn’t measure the thread.)
Here’s the palette I used…
His face is all threads so it’s smoother.
The chicken wire is quilted with my favorite silver thread, Fil-tec.
After I helped my friend Neani submit her quilt entry to Sacred Threads 2019, she challenged me to make and submit a quilt as well. The deadline was less than two months away! I took on the challenge!
I had been thinking about making a portrait quilt of my Dad. I already had the perfect photo. But I had never made a portrait quilt. I enlarged the photo, made a pattern, then another pattern, until I was satisfied. I auditioned fabrics from my stash and found this wonderful gradated fabric with enough tones to work.
The project took on a life of its own as I selected, cut and fused the fabrics. My dad as a young man emerged. Then I started adding thread. Working a bit each day, I watched as he was transformed into the older man he was. His own shirts added the final touches.
The quilt was accepted at Sacred Threads and was on display there during the month of July. The following paragraph is adapted from the text used in the exhibition book.
My dad has been an inspiration to many. Over the past few years of his 95 he developed dementia. Even so he still taught his family and caregivers so many lessons. This quilt is based on a photograph taken just after a haircut last year. His smile is lively and bright! I wanted to capture his spirit in fabric. After I started the portrait, Dad developed pneumonia and passed on surrounded by his children. We are sad to let him go but happy he is at peace and reunited with our mom. Serendipitously, purple is the color for dementia.
I received a wonderful comment from someone who saw Dad’s portrait at Sacred Threads. I have no idea who wrote this. It really means a lot to me. I am grateful for the person who gave me this gift.
“I love his eyes, I feel they tell me some of who he was. Kindness and understanding and love, that is what I see. I lost both of my parents, first my Mom, to Alzheimers. When Dad passed I was surprised to also grieve again for my Mom. It was as if with him still alive, a part of her was still here. Thank You!”
There are several babies on the way in our family, so I’ve started making some baby quilts. I tried several new techniques on this one. I pieced the triangles on the serger instead of the sewing machine. It went together quickly and should add to the durability of the quilt. Then I quilted using special rulers and a ruler foot, with two different sewing machines. There’s quite a learning curve to using the rulers!
When it came time to bind the quilt, I could not find the binding I had originally cut. So I found coordinating solid fabrics and tried the faux piping method of binding. I think it looks much better than what I had planned!
My newest sewing machine has an embroidery function that can be used for quilting. I’ve done some experimenting with that feature. Today I practiced on a quilt for Hospice Caring, to give to one of the campers at bereavement camp later this year. The top was made and layered with batting and backing and was ready to quilt. I made some calculations, found a design that was close to the right size, and adjusted it to fit. Getting the quilt hooped correctly took some time, and I had to do it 20 times! Not sure I got any better at it! The stitching was pretty easy–just watch and listen for problems, like running out of thread. It was fun and it’s done. The pattern shows up best on the back.
Today I started preparing for a demo I’ll be presenting at our quilt show in August. I’ll be using skinny strips of fabric, the size that usually go into the trash, and recycle them into cute little bags, like these.
Skinny strip bags
Crazy fat quarter
Strippy fat quarter.
What I thought would be easy enough–making one block a day in the Splendid Sampler sew-along–lasted one day. Until today! This pattern called for an embroidered motif in the center. I had a piece of tatted lace that my sister-in-love Marie had made some time ago. Unfortunately it had gotten stained and set aside, waiting to be useful. It was the perfect size and shape for this block! I used sharpie markers and alcohol to dye it. I like the result!
We presented the finished quilt to Birthright at our March quilt guild meeting. It will be auctioned for a fundraiser!
Joan's Patches 