Sewing Binding Strips Together With Stitching Lines

Today, I made a scrappy binding for this little baby quilt.

I sewed the different sections of binding together using my Stitching Lines. 

As you can see, I can use each piece of Stitching Lines three times. 

 

OK, this is the last time I can use it.

Then I trimmed away the fabric, making a 1/4" seam allowance.

I pressed the seams open. 

I use to press them to one side, but I think there is too much bulk that way.

Now it is time to sew the binding on. Lets hope I finish today.

Baby Bird Quilt

I finished up the little birdy quilt and got it added to my Etsy shop. I think it came out very cheery. I especially like the black and white gingham checked binding and the white and black backing fabric. Of course, I also like the top.




I quilted it with a diagonal serpentine stitch. Stitching it that way ensures that I have quilted over each intersection, something I like to do. Knowing this quilt will be washed over and over again, I like the seams to be really secure!



I love that bird print. I just had a little left over from the Spanish Tile quilt I made last year. You can read about my Spanish Tile quilt.

Notebooks and Pin Cushions

I have been busy the last few months watching my sweet little grandaughter, Evie Jo. But today I had the day off and spent it finishing up a ton of little things.

Here are just a few of the items I finished up today.

I make padded covers for small notebooks that I sell at quilt shows along with my patterns and Stitching Lines. Actually, lest you think I am Superwoman, I finished these the other day along with about eight others! But I did finally photograph them today!!
That, in itself, is an accomplishment!
I also sell them on my Etsy shop. There is a link on the right side of my blog for my Etsy shop.



I finished up more pincushions and started taking photos of all. These are just a few that I made.





I also finished another baby quilt top today.



My next show is at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, CA the end of this month. And then the next weekend will be a show in Camarillo, CA. So there is no time in between the two shows to make anything new.

Another Quilt Show

Off to another quilt show tomorrow. Going to Henderson, Nevada again. It was a good little show last year. Hope for a repeat this year!
Thought I should check my laptop and little receipt printer before I packed tonight. Good thing I did. The roll of receipt paper was just about gone. Neither Staples nor Office Depot carries the size of thermal paper roll that the machine takes............OF COURSE, I find this out at the last minute!!
So I bought a size that is just 1/8" narrower. Seems to have screwed the printer up. So I can't use my great little POS program that Andy designed. Good thing I kept my old fashioned register. I found the key for the register...............in my money bag that was already packed in the hidden compartment of my car...........had to unpack quite a bit to get to it..............All in all........not a good evening.
Ahh, SLEEP, where are you!!

Squaring Up a Quilt With Binding

I don't know if I do this different from other quilters, but I have a method for squaring up my quilts after they are quilted.



I don't have much of a problem with out-of-square tops after I put them together, but things can change after I wash the quilt.



I like to wash my quilts after I quilt them. I love the look of a crinkled up quilt. Sometimes, though, after I quilt an all-over meandering stitch, the top can get a little longer or shorter on a side or two. In the shrinking process, one side might shrink up more than the other, because of a little more quilting, or who knows what. Anyway, I don't put binding on until after I wash the quilt. Then I use the binding as an evener-upper. If one side is a tiny bit longer than the other, I just ease the quilt to the binding. It doesn't take much, just a little stretching of the binding before sewing it down.

Even though I almost always wash my fabric first before cutting, I like to put the binding fabric in the wash, again, along with the quilt, so I am sure that most of the fabric shrinkage has taken place before I sew it on the quilt.

Snowball Corners Equal a Bunch of Triangles

Here's what I am working on.
Super simple, super fast.
But made simpler and faster with my Stitching Lines.


Just a bunch of large snowball corners.




I think I have become addicted!

Pressing Half-Square Triangles

To answer Joyful Quilter's question in my last blog: With the pink and green baby quilt, I laid out all the blocks,and then sewed the half-square triangles into four patches, removed the last few stitches in the second seam within the seam-allowance and then pressed in a spiral fashion. That really helps to eliminate bulk. I do this with a lot of blocks. Not only does it reduce bulk, but it lets me turn the block in whatever direction I think looks best.




And then I wanted to make the whole thing a little wider and a little longer, so I sewed the extra rows together, pressing in whatever direction I needed to to make them nestle up with the first section.

In the Blue and Green baby quilt, I skipped all that, and sewed the half-square triangles into rows, pressing all in the same direction. I struggled with the pressing!

It works much better the first way, although, it takes more time. But, I think it is worth the extra trouble.