Binding

I have an ongoing battle with myself over quilt binding. Namely, whether or not I should switch over from handsewing my bindings to completely machine sewing them.

My earliest quilts had completely machine sewn binding, if you could call it that!  Basically, I cut the backing wider than the front, folded it over a couple of times, and then machine sewed it down.  It looked pretty horrible -- partially because I also didn't measure my borders carefully back then, so there were some pretty wavy edges to begin with.  Eventually, I moved on to cutting the binding separately and machine sewing it to the quilt.  I didn't have a way with dealing with corners, and I also didn't know how to sew the binding strips together diagonally, so I ended up with these really bulky corners and seams.

When I finally started reading the multitude of information available on how to cut and sew a double-folded binding, I couldn't believe that I had avoided it for so long, thinking it was too "hard".  There are so many great tutorials online -- here's one if you're not familiar with the process.  Although for the longest time, I had to have the instructions handy to remember the steps everytime I had a binding to do, I think I could do them in my sleep now!

My next battle, however, was blindstitching it to the back of the quilt.  I've never been a great hand sewer -- all of my attempts at hand quilting have failed miserably, and my applique stitches are definitely nothing to brag about.  I hand sewed a lot of bindings, but I wasn't too happy with the stitch, until one day when I changed one little thing by accident, and it was like I had a binding breakthrough!  (don't ask me what it was, because I have no idea!)  Anyway, after that moment, I was happy with my binding stitches!

I truly enjoy the process of hand sewing a binding.  I like to have something to do on long car trips (highway driving -- not windy roads!).  I bring quilts to soccer games, meetings, and doctor's appointments, and I love having something to bind when I watch TV.  I think I even enjoy spending all that time with the quilt, especially since so many of them go off to new homes shortly thereafter.

However, the process of hand sewing does take time -- in fact, it is usually the longest single time element in the piecing, quilting and finishing processes.  From a business standpoint, I've wondered if machine sewing the binding would be a better option.  There are some great tutorials -- I particularly love the way Rita's machine sewn bindings come out -- she has a really unique and professional looking technique.  I suspect, however, that the reason hers are so nice are that she invests a lot of time in them.  So, my battle always ends with picking up the hand-sewing needle, and enjoying the process!

I have binding on the brain, because that's what I've been doing the past five nights!  In anticipation of possible power outage due to Hurricane Sandy (we were thankfully out of the path of the storm, as it turns out), I quilted a bunch of tops, and prepared the bindings so they were ready for hand stitching.  It has been so cold the last few days that my project of choice every evening has been to sit in the toasty warm living room wrapped in a quilt that needs binding! 

Tonight's finish was a second "Ahoy Matey" quilt.  This is a brand-new fabric collection by Michael Miller Fabrics, and it is just so fun and cheerful.  I love the combo of navy, aqua, and orangey-red.  The center panel is actually sold as 24" wide, but I chose to purchase three panels, and cut them down the middle.  The ship is centered differently on the second quilt I made, which I think adds to the fun, modern look.  The larger width definitely helped the overall proportions -- I'm not a fan of skinny, long quilts.

Last night's finish was this Parisville (by Tula Pink) quilt made from my new pattern "Beads and Baubles". 

And the night before that, I finished this Peak Hour quilt in my Hip to Be Square pattern.  I have one more quilt from the pile to bind, and then I need to restock for Thanksgiving week car rides, etc! 

On an exciting note, I had an unexpected visitor to my blog the other day!  In my last post, I started with some pictures of the quilt I just completed using Kate Spain's "Flurry" fabric collection.  I was honored, and a bit star-struck, to discover that Kate had stopped by the blog and taken the time to leave me a lovely comment on the quilt!  It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Kate's fabric (as well as her blog)  so it was absolutely thrilling to find out that she stopped by!  Of course, it was a little like when someone stops by your house unexpectedly, and you wish you'd taken the time to fold the laundry or do the dishes earlier in the day!  I haven't taken advantage of the "labels" aspect of blog posts, and now I wish I had labeled all of my posts so that Kate could have seen some of the other quilts I made with her fabrics.  I plan to do some labeling this weekend in anticipation of the next unexpected visitor, but in the meantime, here is a little collage I made using PicMonkey:

Thank you for stopping by, Kate Spain!  It was an honor having you here!

Momentum

I thought I'd better keep the momentum going before three weeks go by between posts!  Here are a couple of finishes to share:

Kate Spain always has the most beautiful Christmas fabric collections.  This is last year's "Flurry" collection, and the free Moda pattern that went with it.  It was a relatively easy quilt to make -- the only tricky part was all the narrow white strips that connect the various rows. 

This is a pretty generously-sized lap quilt -- about 49 x 58.  It is now available in the shop.

I have kept scraps of both Flurry and The Twelve Days of Christmas with the intention of turning them into these adorable stockings. Hopefully, one of these days, I'll get around to it!

 

Late last night, I finished hand-sewing the binding on this Fox Trails striped quilt.

I just love this fabric collection, and I've lost count of the number of quilts I've made from it!  I've made tumbler quilts (sorry about the sideways photo!)

 

 

 

and charm quilts:

 

 

I was sorting through some Fox Trails yardage this weekend, cutting up some tumblers for the next quilt, and decided to piece together a backing so I could finish the striped quilt.  The striped Fox Trails quilt finish also helped me reach a milestone in my Etsy shop: 75 items listed.  This is the most inventory I've ever had at one time.  Not all of them are quilts, of course, and some are made-to-order listings of quilts I have previously sold, but I'm excited about having so many different items in the shop.  My overall goal is to make it to 100 items.  Having a cleaner sewing room has certainly helped with the storage of inventory.

 

On top of that, I am nearing the halfway point of the summer's unquilted quilt tops.  If you followed my journey of quilt tops this July and August, you might know that I returned home with 38 quilt tops.  I had stockpiled some quilt tops before the trip, so when I returned home in August, I actually had a pile of 50 quilt tops awaiting finishing!  I've made quite a dent in the pile, despite an unusually high amount of custom orders.  I've quilted 21 of the 50 at this point -- it will be nice to get past the number 25!  (several are still awaiting bindings, however!)

 

Tonight, I'll be hand sewing the binding on another Peak Hour quilt which I will hopefully be able to share tomorrow! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Checking In!

October was apparently NOT my month to blog!  Only ONE post!  Not very impressive at all.  Let's see if I can get the momentum going again.
Lest you think I have been idle, here is a little collage of what I've been working on this past week:

 

I've been working on several new quilts for the shop, and I finally finished two new quilt patterns.  The patterns had been in my head for a while, but I hadn't had the time to get them on paper.  The first one is called Beads and Baubles.  It's a fairly easy pattern for a beginner, and it looks more difficult than it is.  I named it "Beads and Baubles"  because the blocks in the quilt remind me of a string of beads in a necklace.

 

I finished this version of the quilt in the spring -- made from the retro fabric collection "Flock" by Thomas Knauer.  Usually, I try to make 2 or 3 versions of a pattern as samples for my store.  This one sold earlier this fall.  I have two more that will be in the store as soon as I finish the bindings:

The one on the quilt rack was made from Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms collection.  I love the way the grey sets off the bright colors.  In fact, I tend to use grey a lot when I sew with Amy's fabrics!  Here's a Daisy Chain quilt:

 

A "Love" dresden plate pillow:

And another Soul Blossoms quilt -- this one in a chevron/ zig zag pattern:

Speaking of chevrons, I had wanted to write a chevron pattern for a long time.  I've done a lot of zig zag quilts for my shop, and they've been very popular.  To write the pattern, I made a sample using Denyse Schmidt's brand new line Chicopee:

The pattern has instructions for the row-by-row chevron design shown above, as well as a scrappy version with one background color, and a striking two-color version using solids.

 

Besides writing patterns, I've been finishing some smaller quilts for the shop.  It's always harder to find cute boy fabric collections, but these two are some of my favorites.  Peak Hour by Kellie Wulfsohn for Riley Blake Fabrics:

And "Ahoy Matey" (Michael Miller fabrics):

I'm working on some additional bindings this week, and hoping to quilt one or two quilt tops today!

 

 

Show and Tell

 

 Well, I guess if I've been absent from the blogosphere for 2 weeks, I'd better have some quilty things to share!  Unless you'd prefer to see pictures of my unfolded laundry or dishes to wash -- I have plenty of those on hand as well!  I spent the last two weeks feeling three steps behind on everything, so this weekend, I gave myself permission to "play" in the sewing room!

 

This summer, I enjoyed joining in on the Great Granny Quilt Along (see button on sidebar for a link to the Flickr group).  Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet posted this great tutorial on how to make these 12 inch crochet-inspired blocks.  Granny Squares were one of my favorite things to make when I crocheted (before I discovered quilting!) so I was excited to try this pattern as a way to use up some Tula Pink Parisville scraps.  At first, I was only going to make a block or two a day, but I quickly became obsessed with them!  It's hard to stop making them, because each one comes out so unique, and you can't wait to see what they'll look like!

I finished quilting and binding the Parisville Granny Square quilt last week, and was inspired to play around with more Granny Squares.  First, I pulled out some Bliss scraps (trying to cure myself of the hoarding -- see this post!).  I'm really loving the way they are turning out!

I have 12 squares done so far, and 8 more partially done --- I'm torn betwen making a lap size quilt like the Parisville one (20 blocks) or making a full size one!  I'll finish the 8 partial blocks before I decide!  It has been a great way to use up some of the bags of white solid scraps I have leftover from so many Etsy projects.

 

While I was making the Bliss blocks, I started thinking about how a different background color would look.  I love using grey solids, so I pulled out some Amy Butler Soul Blossoms fabric and tried that combo. I just love the way the grey background looks with all the saturated color prints.  I incorporated some solids in these blocks as well to break up the wild fabrics.  I managed to finish 12 of these blocks, and although I'd love to make more, I'm thinking of  laying them out in four rows of three and adding a border.

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I also quilted a top that had been set aside for three years -- I sort of fell out of love with it and therefore wasn't inclined to complete it.  However, once it was quilted, I was very happy with how it turned out.  This one is headed to school for a raffle.

I've got a new batch of custom orders, including more Backyard Baby -- quilted, and ready to be bound tomorrow night!

And in-between custom orders this week, I plan to start working on some of the smaller quilt tops that I finished this summer.  I really need to start working through the pile, and the small ones are usually fairly quick to complete! This little Modern Meadow triangles quilt is loaded and ready for quilting tomorrow after school.

These smaller quilt projects should all be great topics for more frequent blog posting!

Checking In...

 

It's been another quiet week on the blog -- this time, there was a lot less quilting going on, and a lot more driving to soccer games, appointments, etc!  However, I do have a couple of finishes to share.

This was a custom order request that began with a lampshade and a sea-themed nursery.  The challenge was to create a quilt to match the lamp (pink, aqua, green) and coordinate with the nursery (purple, yellow and lavendar).  I was a little stumped on what fabric to use, until I remembered the brand-new collection by Chez Moi called "Coquette".  The colors were perfect, and I was able to add in some of Sarah Jane's "Out to Sea" anchors fabric in pink and yellow.  I also appliqued a sea horse

And an octopus:

For the octopus applique, I used this tutorial.  I really liked the design of the octopus -- not too scary, and not too cartoony.  I did enlarge the pattern a bit so the applique would occupy a large corner of the quilt.  It feels good to have this project (almost!) done -- I still need to sew on the binding.  I dragged my feet on it a bit because I was second-guessing fabric choices for the applique, but in the end, I chose Kona solids in colors that coordinated with the Coquette fabrics.

The second finish of the day is this Reunion pillow cover, made to match another custom order Reunion quilt!

 I love the way it turned out.  Everytime I make a pillow cover, I feel like dropping everything else and playing with scraps to make a bunch more pilllows.  They are so addictive!  I did manage to move on to the other proects that needed doing, but I do see myself revisiting this pillow design sometime in the near future!

 

Let's hope this week is a bit calmer than the last one was so I'll have more quilty things to share!

Projects to Share!

I know it's been quiet on the blog this week, but I had one large custom project to finish that required all of my concentration!  The good news is that it is DONE and on its way to a new home in Canada!\

This quilt is based on my When the Stars Align pattern, which I have to say is my favorite of all the ones I've designed.  It's also the most time-consuming to make because of all the half-square triangle blocks involved.  Not a difficult task -- just labor intensive!  This is the first full/queen size quilt I've made from the pattern, and it was basically like making 2 1/2 lap quilts!  (The lap size version has 12 blocks -- the full size has 30 star blocks!)  30 star blocks translates to 360 half square triangles!  Once I finally got the pieces made and the top sewn together, it took several hours to quilt, and several episodes of Project Runway to bind!

I love the way it turned out, and I'm dying to make the pattern in so many other fabric collections, but that will have to wait until I catch up on some unquilted tops!
So once this quilt was dropped off at the post office, I found myself in a brief "custom-order free" state!  I actually have one more custom quilt in progress, and two more orders in the planning stages, but since I am waiting for additional materials for the one in-progress,  for the first time in weeks I was able to work on any project I wanted to! 

This "Children at Play" baby boy quilt was a quick, easy finish!  The top was already done, and the quilting went fast -- I just need to bind it later this week.  I'm super happy with this one -- the colors are so nice, and I found flannel fabric for the back in the same orange bicycles print.  

I was so anxious to keep quilting that I quickly loaded this vibrant top on the frame.  I wasn't a huge fan of the "Terrain" collection by Kate Spain when it first came out, but it is really growing on me!  I always love her fabrics, and I have to admit that the colors in this collection were fun to work with.  I found this pattern on the Moda Bake Shop called "Charming Stars" and decided it would be fun to use a purple solid for the stars.  I also omitted the sashing strips, and I like the way the stars "float"among the charm squares. 

This quilt did use up the last of my batting stock, which has been seriously depleted by my custom orders!  I buy batting on the roll through Joann's online.  Since we live in a remote area, this is so much easier than waiting for a sale and stocking up so I don't run out.  I always use Warm-N-Natural, and the roll (40 yards!!) is a good deal with a coupon or a sale price.  Usually the giant box arrives on my doorstep within a week.  I finally purchased a new roll a few days ago, but other than the piece I set aside for this week's custom order,  I'm totally out until the new roll gets here!

However, I do have a bit of Dream Green recycled batting on hand, so I think I'll be loading the remake of my Lorax quilt later tonight.  I really do like the Dream Green batting, but I don't usually use it for my Etsy quilts since it doesn't crinkle up in the wash as much as the cotton batting.  When I made the original Lorax quilt last spring, I decided the Dream Green was the perfect match -- it is actually made from recycled soda bottles.  You would never know it, because it is so soft, and is very similar to the feel of the Warm and Natural before washing. 

I finally managed to finish the binding on this fall quilt (made from Sandy Gervais fabrics), and build the additional storage crates I bought from Michaels last week for my sewing room.  The additional vertical storage helped me clear up other areas of the room even more.  I also purchased and built a shelving unit for the closet, but I am still sorting through the things that need to go back in there. All in all, it was a very productive and fun weekend!

 

Stash Hoarding, Day 5: It's A Hoot

Today is the final day of my Stash Hoarding Top Five list, although I think I should include some "honorable mentions" later this week (let's face it -- I hoard a LOT of fabric!).

There are certain fabric designers whose work I would buy sight unseen, just because I've loved everything they've done. Momo (for Moda Fabrics) is one of them. The first quilt I ever sold on Etsy was made from Momo Wonderland fabric:

I've made and sold at least 5 or 6 of these quilts, and stocked up on quite a bit of Wonderland along the way. I think I'm over the hoarding of it, however -- I had the opportunity to add some to my stash this week and chose not to! The next collection was Freebird, and I thought this one was a lot of fun, too. The first quilt I made in it sold very quickly:

I made a couple of other Freebird quilts, but decided to try separating the bright colors with a neutral fabric. I do really like the way the solid sets off the wild fabrics.

This spring, I made a Freebird circles top for one of my customers who likes to handquilt:

I loved this one so much that I'm working on one for my store!

The next collection that Momo produced was It's a Hoot, which is the subject of today's hoarding post:

I've actually only made one It's a Hoot quilt. It sold so quickly that I never even got a picture with the binding finished. Since then, I've purchased a lot of It's a Hoot fabric with the intention of making follow up quilts, but the fabric just seems to collect in a drawer. I have charm packs, layer cakes, and yardage -- definitely enough for several quilts! I'm not sure why this one keeps getting pushed aside, but I still keep buying those precuts whenever I find them!

It's definitely time to revisit this collection and make some quilts, and then maybe I'll have a chance to make some out of the other Momo collections (I have an unopened fat quarter bundle of Just Wing It, a brand-new layer cake of the brand-new collction "Oh Deer", as well as several charm packs of Half Moon Modern). I've got a few more custom orders and many unquilted tops to make a dent in before I make good on this pledge, but I WILL use up some It's a Hoot this year!