I made it!
I made it all the way around.
Can you see where my hoop is now? It's moving up about 10'' from the edge and I'll start working the cross-hatching toward the center of the quilt.
For those asking to see the stitching on the back - here you go.
This civil-war repro print is fairly busy, so it's a bit harder to see, but you can.
I am loving the simple quilting with this as the patchwork design on the top is fairly busy as well.
Anything fancier I could have done would simply be lost.
And let's face it - I needed a break from Baptist Fans. (But I'm sure they'll come up again in the future because i do love quilting those also.)
Trimming before binding.
There are many methods to get your binding on. I've tried them all - believe me. I've been at this for 40+ years.
I find that the edges of quilts are rarely straight. Fabric pushes and gives, even by longarm.
If I want my binding to be straight and my corners to be square I have found that I get the best results when I trim the excess batting an backing from my quilt and then apply the binding by machine.
I tried binding by longarm - No Bueno. Not for me.
Also - No Bueno!
Looks like I've picked up a hitch hiker!
I must have picked up a tiny scrap from where I was paper piecing log cabin blocks. And I am not unpicking this to resew the bias.
I'll just snip off everything I can manage -
And then press the heck out of it.
I dare anyone to find that spot!
I have had this red in my stash FOREVER. At least close to 20 years? And sometimes it takes that long for it to be the perfect red to finish a very red project.
Many peaceful binding evenings ahead!
My "under" finger is feeling pretty poked up from the last week or so of evening hand quilting so the switch to hand binding will give those callouses a rest - and then I'll be back to wrestling the hoop on a nightly basis.
Our weekend was fairly calm.
With the power back on I spent Saturday and Sunday getting ready for Tuesday's retreat ahead of the incoming snow storm.
We spent last evening with friends in a long-winded cut-throat game of Mexican Train. Always Fun!
(And yes, it is MEXICAN train, not AMERICAN train and we will not be changing it, nor will we ever call it the gulf of America.)
Luckily predictions have changed a bit - we may now get up to 2'' instead of the over 6'' predicted.
Snow starts Tuesday evening and goes through Wednesday instead of Wednesday/Thursday and that makes me feel even better about shifting the incoming group to a Tuesday arrival instead of a Wednesday one so they can beat that mess.
Today?
Today?
I've got Dogwood Daze to load in the machine! I can't wait to have that one finished...and then it too will need a few evenings of binding stitching -
And log cabin blocks are still ongoing.
How about you? How was your weekend?
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
Just so you know!
And I'm not going to argue with this one.
And I'm not going to argue with this one.
Have a marvelous Monday, everyone!
perfect binding...have to say by itself it never would have inspired me but using it for binding is a match made in the scrap tote...
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling me I am beautiful and deserve unlimited quilting supplies. I laughed out loud! Have a lovely Monday, Bonnie.
ReplyDeleteI’m so glad you are done with all that ice mess. I love reading your blog. Your quilts amaze me. Lots of snow clean up here, more time for sewing! Sandi Z.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting around the Red Quilt. Perfect for the Season just past and 4th of July time too. I never tried binding on my longarm. Too set in my Binding ways. I finished two bindings for Quilt Guild. Hope to get there. Roads are sketchy with all our snow. It's raining now. Temps sho I ld be higher. No freezing drizzle to keep me home. Enjoy the Retreaters! Be safe and Quilt on!!
ReplyDeleteThe red fabric you're using for binding on Abbeygate is the perfect match!
ReplyDeleteGlad the snow prediction is lower for the incoming Quiltvillians. We're predicted 3-5" in Kansas with extreme cold warning. Come on Spring!
Love the hexi quilt behind today's quote. Jenny
Thank you Bonnie, We are all beautiful and deserve to be treated as such!
ReplyDeleteStay in weather here. It is -40 c which is 40 below zero here this morning. Hope your temp is better than that. Read you blog every morning. Have a good day.
ReplyDeleteI just found your site. So happy! I am also in VA (rural coast line) and expecting 10" of snow.
ReplyDeleteI agree will never call the Gulf of Mexico anything else
ReplyDeleteAwe, thanks for the quote! You are beautiful as well! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you are moving right along on Abbeygate! It's going to be spectacular, as always. I haven't been quilting for quite that long, but there is stuff in my closet that I bought when I first started this "hobby!" HA!
I TOTALLY agree with you on not changing any names!!!! That's some of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard!!!
Today we are enjoying our President's Day off morning; then it's a binding party on tap for today. Have a fabulous week and stay warm!
I agree it’s Mexican Train (which I enjoy) and Gulf of Mexico. Thanks for your values.
ReplyDeleteJust a note for those of you who live within shopping distance of a JoAnn's and haven't checked if yours is staying open - the list of locations closing came out last week. It's getting harder and harder to shop for those "unlimited" sewing or quilting supplies in person. We can support LQS's if we have them, but I've lost many of those in my greater area over the years. Had enough to do a Shop Hop...now down to two that remain open. Is there such a thing as a Shop Shuttle?
ReplyDeleteIt’s beautiful and sunny here, as long as you stay inside and quilt. -28C (-18F) for about the fifth day in a row. But no shovelling for now! Hopefully your snow doesn’t last long. Stay warm.
ReplyDeleteOh Bonnie, thankyou for your kind words of support yesterda (and those of your commenters as well) to us flabbergasted Canadians - we so appreciate knowing that not everyone feels that way. I hope, one day soon, I will be able to enjoy one of your retreats. Until then I love reading your blogs and being inspired by your beautiful creations. I also love seeing what the weather is doing there and how you cope with it. Cheers! Happy Quilting all! Diane from Southern Alberta, Canada
ReplyDeleteOff topic here from a long time lurker. During your travels to Australia you posted an airport photo with your carry-on. Could you please provide information as to this carry-on? I have a photo of it but don't know how to attach it. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteLove the quilt and your binding is yummy! I love the idea of unlimited quilting supplies. LOL!!
ReplyDeleteMary
I read somewhere that the Gulf of Mexico was named that long, long before Mexico was even a country. So why change it? Surprised he didn't want to name it after himself. I think someone needs to relearn some of his history lessons.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for continuing to speak your mind. My dh says it's like Alice in Wonderland and he's so glad he's retired now after a long career in the Fed. Gov't. We have never been so fearful for our country and its people.
ReplyDeleteWell, I have been thinking about asking if I could come live with you for a month so I could mimic your quilting ways and learn all of your skills! I especially want to learn how to find time in each day to sew! However, I've finally realized that even though I'm almost 20 years younger than you are, I couldn't keep up with you! I do so love posts like this one, full of the hows, why, and the methods you use. You add to my knowledge base from afar!
ReplyDeleteHi Bonnie, This past weekend I managed to get the center part of my hexie quilt top completed. Your help along with an internet search made the hexies going every which way much easier to join together. I didn't want to fold the papers, but finally realized that folding the adjoining hexie was really the only way to line up the next seam to be sewn point to point. Your words made the light bulb click on, thank you so much! Now I'm off to prep more hexies for the rest of the quilt...even with that large center piece completed, I'm not even 1/2 way done with the top...I'll be at this for a long, long time.
ReplyDeleteAlso AQS quilt show is coming to Daytona Beach this Wednesday - Saturday. I'm taking 2 classes there (finally something new to learn - dot painting and an applique mandala quilt class). I'm excited about that, ever get the "been there, done that" feeling when looking at classes? I'm always excited to learn something new and a mandala class is exactly what I've been wanting to do but could not wrap my head around how to get everything spaced evenly and make an accurate circle. Even the smallest bit of an off curve on a circle draws the eye to that flaw. I'm anxious to learn how to make it perfect. Then maybe I can design my own mandala quilt to enter into one of the major shows. For that though, I've got to work on my longarm skills too. That's why this is on my bucket list.
A big chunk of the USA used to be Mexico. We should honor that history.
ReplyDeleteThe land you're talking about was ceded to the U.S. after 2 years of war with Mexico and a $15M payment for it. I don't think we owe any more "honor" for that by changing map names now.
DeleteThere’s still hope that all that fabric marinating in my stash will one day find its place in the “perfect” project! Until then, I’ll keep making trips to my favorite LQS…
ReplyDeleteI just spend two delightful hours online selecting ‘needed’ quilt fabric plus several yards to round the amount up for free shipping. Your blog is a great start to my day. Thank you. Sue AZ/OH
ReplyDelete