Binding and other projects

So many projects, so few complete~!!~  Only 1 week to go before the 1st clue on Bonnie Hunter’s blog  Allietare Winter Mystery Quilt 2015 .  My fabric is all pre-washed.  I won’t bore you with the photo’s of the RED color catchers and the BROWN color catchers! Just know that I am VERY happy to report that my pre-washing was not done without good reason.  Used nearly a full box of those color catchers while washing the red, the brown, the gold, and the green.  Yes, the red bled like crazy, and so did the brown.  (The red fabric that was running was quality quilt store fabric by Robert Kaufmann.  Can’t blame it on the fabric I got at Hancock’s or Wal-Mart.)  No color transfer from my golds or greens.  I have some ironing to do, but all in all, the fabric came out of the washer & dryer with little ravel.  I pinked the raw edges with an Olfa rotary pinking blade before they got washed.  I have all the reds “starched” and ready.  I will work on the other colors this weekend getting them ironed. Meanwhile, while I await the 1st clue, I have other things in the works.

I  do need to “make a list” at some point.  Actually have my UFO list posted, but I have many more things to get organized.

I have been helping my hubby at his train club get ready for the annual  Delmarva Model Railroad Club Open House .  The skirting under the HO layout needed some work, washing, repair, resizing etc.  I did some of it at home, but then took my machine, rotary cutting tools, iron & mat to the club and worked Monday for several hours. I had convinced him to buy new fabric and got quite the deal on some broadcloth for $1.79/yard. So, 2 bolts &  40 yards later…..My part is easy. He has to hang new furring strips etc to attach the skirting in a more permanent fashion.  In previous years the members had just “unrolled the bolt, wrapped and stapled as they went”.  This wasn’t a bad approach, but when ever you needed to get UNDERNEATH for work (wiring etc), it was difficult to move.  I am working with width of fabric (44″) sections and measuring to length.  This way, they can just clip up a section in the area they need to access.  Certainly won’t get it all done before the first Open House date, as the hubby is the “limiting factor”.  I can sew pretty fast, but his efforts for hanging furring strips take lots more time.  Oh well, on to more fun sewing…that black fabric gets pretty darn boring!

I am doing a Christmas Table runner Sew Along, following along with From My Carolina Home on WordPress.  Step 3 of the Table Topper was published a few minutes ago, so I am chomping at the bit to get out to the sewing room.  I have Step 1 and Step 2 completed – pix here:  Step 1 and 2 on Flickr  .  (Note – I am going to start using Flikr for my photo’s for the blog for a while as I am nearly at my limit here on WordPress.   Do let me know if you were able to click the link and if you had any troubles.)

I am also “busy” working on my Little Blue Bird project by Pat Sloan.  I got the half square triangle border on yesterday and the final outer border.  I worked on cutting bias strips (THANK YOU to YOU TUBE) to make the trailing vine around the outer border.  I actually got the vine attached on the top, and have the other strips cut and ready to attach.  Pat Sloan used a fabric glue, but I found I had a roll of fusible web that I could press on the back of the bias strip and iron to the project.  That worked out really well for me, and I didn’t have to wait to order the fabric glue.

My other project this week started on Wednesday, and FINISHED on Wednesday.  My quilt bee – The Material Girls met at 1 pm, and we were handed a stack of flannel squares.  The backing fabric was cut and ready, the batting was cut and ready, and after 2 hours of sewing during the bee, and then a couple of hours at home, I have a finished charity quilt ready!

Charity baby quilt in flannel

Used my favorite binding method

I was reading a post from Carole – Adventures in Machine Binding ; this morning and her efforts at machine binding. Well, 1/2 way through the article, she discusses turning the backing from the back over and making it binding.  Good tutorial if you are working with charity quilts.

I was “supposed to” do that with this flannel quilt, but I struggled with the method, and ended up using my favorite binding “SUSIE’S MAGIC BINDING”.   My first exposure to this method was from Aunt Marti on her blog 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks (Susie’s Magic Binding ). Recently I tripped over a great tutorial by Margo Clabo on this style of binding.  The video is a bit long, but she had so many tips on my favorite binding method to ensure an excellent finish. Yes, I learned several things and have incorporated them already!  This is a great tutorial and one you might want to save:  Margo Clabo tutorial .  Carole also mentioned a method she was going to investigate and linked to it from Susan at Quilt Fabrication – and it is the same as Susie’s Magic  Binding, and the Margo Clabo method.  As a collector of information, I will share that link as well.  Quilt Fabrication method   I think it is important to “look at all these tutorials and get as much information from them as possible, to find methods that work for you.  Every time I look at other tutorials I find things that make the method a little bit easier.  I still struggle with lining up the piping at the join and use lots of basting stitches until I get it “just right”.  Takes me longer to line up that join than any other step!  Practice makes perfect!

I hope what ever your project is today, that it goes well, with few ripped stitches!

Do let me know if you had troubles with FLIKR.  Did you have to join anything? Sign up? Etc….    🙂