Turning Corners!

The knife-edge binding project continues -

And I have to admit that while I felt quite fumble fingered at the start - I'm getting better as I go along.

Isn't that true with many things we apply ourselves to in life?

Things I am reminding myself of as I go:

• Trim just a bit ahead of where you are working.
• Carefully trim batting just under the edge of the hexies - batting has loft and it smooshes.
• Only look 3/4'' ahead to the next corner.  Worry about the rest when you get there.
• Do 2 stitches in each corner to hold them secure before moving to the next hexie side.
• End thread at the half way point of any hexie side, NOT in the corner.  
• It is not a race.  It is not a race. It is not a race!

Other things that help from the kitchen cabinet!

I had been using my seam ripper to turn edges under and poke out the corners so they were crisp.  And it was doing a great job, but could also be kind of slick and slide-y.

I remembered from earlier applique days how helpful it was to have a wooden toothpick to turn edges under.  They have just a bit of "grab" to them (especially if you find yourself chewing on the pointy end) and this is actually working better than the seam ripper alone.

It's really doing a good job on those inside corner clipped "V" areas, tucking the loose threads to the inside.

You can barely see my little whippy stitchies.

There are roughly 8 stitches in that 3/4'' space.

And 2 stitches in any corner to keep them snug.

Good job, Mama!

I turned the second corner last evening while watching The Silver Skates on Netflix.

It's a Russian film taking place in St Petersburg as the world turned from 1899 to 1900.  Beautiful costuming, wonderful cinematography -

It is Russian overdubbed in English, which was fine with me as I was far enough away from the TV that the mouths moving a bit differently than the words didn't throw me off.

The only weird part is that scenes with the female lead and her French teacher don't have subtitles and my 44-years-since-high-school-French really struggled, picking up only a couple of words per sentence. But you can get the gist by their actions and the things that happen next.

The movie is a long one running 2 hrs 15 min or so - perfect for an evening of stitching.

In Quiltville Inn News -

It was cold and windy yesterday - not a good day to get started on laying pavers.  

So it became a ceiling touch up day - in an area that we've put off and put off just because of the stairs -

Suffice it to say that The Hubster now has a new ladder (Merry Christmas!) and he can safely adjust the legs to get into areas that previously proved to be difficult.

This also means - any quilt hanging in hard to reach areas like stairwells can happen!

This happened at the QPO Studio!

I have a plan!

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And since so many of you are deep into hourglass units with part 4 of Rhododendron Trail, I can join you in making a large batch of my own!

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(Different size but same technique using strips and my Essential Triangle Tool ! )⁣

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Project development continues on the juniper green & orange project. I've decided to set with alternate blocks leaving me enough main blocks for 2 quilts! One bed sized and one wall sized. ⁣

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I'm feeling rather chuffed at this idea!

Sewing on these units just may start today.

Even if Lola has other ideas -

Any time I sit in this chair she is right up there on me, purring away. At nearly 12 - I'll take as much of this as she can give.

This one however -

Oh, Ivy Lea - you crack me up.  "This is MY sunny spot, keep away!"

That little strip of fabric behind her up against the table leg is one she was playing with last night - so fun to watch.  Who needs a cat toy when a stolen strip from mom's string piecing project will do?

So here we are at December 23rd.  The day before Christmas Eve.  Christmas Eve EVE if you will -

There are a couple of presents to wrap.

But mostly, it's a done deal - Are you ready?

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Do more. Give more. Love more.

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Keep the momentum going!

Happy Thursday, folks!