This happened yesterday! And I am so excited with how it turned out.
Oh, the random scraps in this quilt - both old and new, and some with some great memories.
I think that is the thing I like most about a scrap quilt. It's not paint-by-number. It's a carefully curated creation of bits and pieces from all stages of my quilting life. Each piece tells a story - even if the story is only "I think that was in a scrap bag given to me by....."
Three cheers for the Sew Q Laser making the diagonal seams on my bindings so super straight and spot on. I love this thing! It's the best accessory I installed last year. Still is.
If you are wanting to check it out for yourselves, The Sew Q Laser folks will be at the following shows:
AQS - Daytona, FL
Feb 21st - 24th (Wed - Sat)
Ocean Center
Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival
Hampton, VA
Feb 28th - March 3rd (Wed - Sun)
Hampton Roads Convention Center
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Atlanta, GA
March 7th - 9th (Thurs - Sat)
Gas South Arena
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Lakeland, FL
March 14th - 16th (Thurs - Sat)
RO Funding Center
Once you see it in person, you'll have to have one. And do tell them Bonnie sent you!
Feb 21st - 24th (Wed - Sat)
Ocean Center
Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival
Hampton, VA
Feb 28th - March 3rd (Wed - Sun)
Hampton Roads Convention Center
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Atlanta, GA
March 7th - 9th (Thurs - Sat)
Gas South Arena
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Lakeland, FL
March 14th - 16th (Thurs - Sat)
RO Funding Center
Once you see it in person, you'll have to have one. And do tell them Bonnie sent you!
I keep my vintage 201 in the cabinet with walking foot on at all times - it's so great for bindings with that gear driven potted motor. It powers through all of the fabric, batting and binding layers without a complaint.
This purple? I think it's a Hoffman - and this is the last of it. There is only an 8'' or so piece left to be added to the strip drawers.
Label on and bound...ready for evenings of cozy hand stitching. Out lovely temps in the 50s are heading back down with a high of 33 on Saturday. Yikes. That's the HIGH. I'll need to be under a quilt.
The B.A.D. (Bound And Determined!) quilters are in the house!
I'm super thrilled to have them with us this year - it's their first Quiltville Inn retreat, and we are pulling out all the stops.
They hail from Northern Virginia, with some members from further away (like Texas!) and are such a fun group.
Easy Street from MORE Adventures With Leaders & Enders is happening here proving once and again that quilt projects have no deadline - no shame or guilt involved no matter how long it takes!
A very holiday sampler coming together!
Gorgeous block on another wall - love the colors!
And we all know what this is!!
Indigo Way is also now available as a PDF pattern booklet!
Both Indigo Way and Winter Cardinal are currently 25% off in the Quiltville Store ONLY. No coupon needed. Sale price good through 2/23/24. Price reverts back to full on 2/24/24.
Sandcastles from String Frenzy is on the design wall here - love the blues and pops of color.
And it wasn't all sewing - we had a record number of 9 of us getting out for a mid-afternoon dirt road walk, getting in 2 miles of steps.
I'm glad we did - before the temps dropped. Let's see if anyone is brave enough to go with me again today, even though it will be a bit chillier than it was yesterday.
Evening relaxation flipping binding and hand stitching it down.
Yes, I sew with the quilt backing against my legs. Yes, I stitch from right to left toward my hand that is holding the binding.
No, I don't use pins or clips, as my thumb holds the binding in place while I work my way around.
I'm self-taught and this is the most comfortable hand position for me.
We may each do it differently, but once it is on there, no one knows, or should care!
I start just before the left corner on a short side so that my LAST side finishes up the short side I started on.
And (GASP!) I'm a rebel and never sew the folds of my mitered corners closed. I like them just the way they are, origami style.
And all of this - I'm still having an exclusive exhibit at the Quilter's Hall of Fame in Indiana later this spring! So - there are no rules, you do you, make beautiful quilts and remember that the Quilt Police are self-appointed.
I quilted Oopsie Daisie in a barely gray thread in an edge-to-edge design called Swirl N' Hearts by Crystal Smythe.
It seemed fitting to be quilting hearts on Valentine's Day.
Today? I need to look closely at some UFOs that got set aside while mystery season ramped up and see what I can now push forward (Meaning get re-interested in?!?) and also come up with something to use as the new Leader & Ender until July when we start our next challenge.
How about you? How are things going in your quilting progress?
The Winter Cardinal PDF pattern release including Star of Hope is going great guns -Thank you, everyone!
The price is marked 25% off and good through 2/23/24. Price reverts back to full on 2/24/24.
If you missed it, click over to Friday's Post to read all about it and add yourself to the Gift-Away. We'll draw for our winners on Monday, 2/19/24.
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
It starts now.
It starts today.
It starts with each and everyone of us.
(Please notice how the Baptist fans are worked in black quilting thread - love it!)
Happy Friday!
Thank you so much for sharing the Sew Q laser. My husband bought one for me for Christmas. I LOVE IT! I used it on a slew of sew and flip corners without drawing lines or using specialty rulers. It was so fast!! Thanks again! Sincerely, Missy Reynolds
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I also sew my binding with the quilt face up and the edge turned. And also right to left with my thumb holding down the binding. However, I do sew my mitered corners closed... sometimes (hahahaha). I didn't know there was a "right/wrong" way to do these things until I started watching YouTube! Like you, I am self taught and this is comfortable for me.
ReplyDeleteThat is the way I do bindings also. So good.
DeleteI had to chuckle when you described how you bind...I do it exactly the same way! And I get crooked looks sometimes, but it works for me :-)
ReplyDelete"Oopsie Daisy" is such a happy, beautiful quilt!! We finally made it to Friday... and looking forward to a long, quilty weekend! I hope everyone has fun on the retreat! Have a great weekend!!
ReplyDeleteI'm self-taught with binding, too, and do it pretty much exactly the same way you do. The only difference is that I used to go sans-clips too, but have started using a couple of clips as my hands get a little stiffer with age. You gotta do what works, right?
ReplyDeleteIt's always so much fun to peruse the fabric assortment in close-up photos of your scrappy quilts. Happy mix of everything!
The Swirl N' Hearts pantograph design shows up nicely on the purple border. Looks great! I'll be working on Indigo Way this weekend. I have all Block A's placed on my design wall. It's giving me an incentive to get Block B's finished--so pretty! Thanks for the Mystery. It's the first one I've done with you and I've enjoyed it very much. Happy sewing everyone!
ReplyDeleteNo matter how that binding gets sewn down on the back I still like the look of hand stitched binding over a machine stitched. Sometimes I sew my mitered corners down and sometimes not, depends on my mood :0). My Indigo Way came out perfectly with all those bits from my scrap bins, it will be presented to a Veteran come Nov.. Happy Sewing!
ReplyDeleteI bind the same way but backward..... I'm left handed!!
ReplyDeleteI used to bind using the “accepted” method for a right handed person sewing from left to right, but found I was continually getting cramps in my both hands. Being raised by an engineer who taught if one way isn’t working for you - try another,, I decided to try “the Bonnie” method. No more hand cramps! Thank you for showing another way.
ReplyDeleteI bind like this, and just recently decided to stop trying to sew the corners - I could never get them to look right!
ReplyDeleteThis is just fun, love reading your blog. I'll be hand quilting all even with you. I'm moving through my UFOs too. How do we get so distracted and have these. Love the scraps, my daughter in law asked for a quilt from all the quilts I've made their family of 6. I think I did get most all the scraps in I could remember. She loves it, that's all that matters. 💞
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to finally find someone that binds their quilts the way I do. From right to left with the backing down. AND I also leave my mitered corners open. Most quilters I know think I am crazy!!! Thank you Bonnie!!
ReplyDeleteBonnie, I never thought that hand stitching the way you do was odd. That is the way I do it too. My mom always said I sweep backwards and people tell me my ironing board is backwards too. Oh well, it works for me.
ReplyDelete