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.
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.
Most mornings we drive to the local park to walk before I go to work. A few days ago we enjoyed the spiderwebs gleaming in the sun. We’ve seen the webs before, but not every morning. The angle of the sun, the moisture in the air, and I don’t know what other factors affect what we see on the fences. Hard to photograph too. I’ve included a few.
Hanging on a wall in our house is a spider web quilt I made in 1996 in a class taught by Rose Hahn. Very different from the real ones in nature, but what a fun class with a creative teacher!
My quilting project this week had me reminiscing about my grandmother who did a lot of clothing and quilt making. I remember visiting when I was small and every time the button tin fell on the floor and I had to pick all the buttons up! Later she showed me how to hook rugs with wool strips she had dyed and cut from old clothing. She also braided rugs and made baskets and trays from the long pine needles she gathered in Florida.
I used a quilt top from her stash of unfinished projects and reworked it to fit my aunt’s bed. There were enough blocks left to make a pillow sham.
The bow tie blocks were all hand pieced and machine stitched together, probably on her little featherweight. That’s the only machine I remember she had. It’s now living at my house!
Lots of memories in those fabrics too–I recognize many of them from clothing we used to wear.
The quilt top, sham and backing are all ready now to be quilted. I could do it myself but there are so many other projects I want to work on so I will have one of my friends quilt it on her longarm machine.
Joan's Patches 