Starshine Stitches

Wide binding corners

I used to really hate binding quilts.   Corners came out cupped or dog eared.    When I jumped into quilting for hire I had to get it right.  Most directions allow for 1/2" finished without problems.  Wider than 1/2" and I was in trouble.  So I had to sit down and figure out how to consistently turn a corner with any finished width binding.

I am going to assume that readers know how to fold a corner.  The point I want to make is - do you know where to put the fold.  Most directions tell you to line it up with the edge of the quilt.

I do mark the finished perimeter+1/4" and make 1/4" corner marks so I know where the finished corner is.  We all sew to within 1/4" of the corner and back-tack.  My little 1/4" line is my guide to stop and back-tack.

To put the right amount of fabric in the corner I measure from the seam to the fold of the binding.  That measurement is transferred along the seam line of the binding and I mark a dot.  The binding is folded as usual and the dot goes right at the corner, using the corner mark.  The images are of a 1" finished binding, cut width is 4 1/2".   I begin sewing the next side at the fold.   Cut the quilt layers after the binding is attached. 

Back to the workroom........ Cheryl

 

Hydrangea Wholecloth Quilt Pattern

Truly, some fabrics are just to pretty to cut up.  Holly's Hydrangea fabric is one of them.  The clusters of blooms are wonderful.   Using the fabric as it comes off the bolt is a bit tricky.  In simple words, it has no central focal point.  The focal point needs to found and centered.  The small picture is the fabric as it comes off the bolt.  There are 3 1/2 large blooms across the width.  The quilt above centers one of the large blooms to create a pleasant grouping.  The pattern includes twin and queen quilt sizes.  Email me for pattern information and pricing (WC-01).  Wouldn't this look great in a guest room, or an entry way? 

I took the quilt to guild show and tell after market and was asked how long it took to make.  Let me answer it here, 10 hours minus the hand finishing.     Let's break that down.  About an hour was devoted to finding the "sweet spot" on the yardage.  45 minutes to cut the panel (first time to do this takes time) and the booth requirements must be met!  Borders usually take me 1/2 hour ( add 10 minutes for the stripe- gotta keep it straight).  When the tops are finished I usually assemble the binding, 20 minutes.  Marking the scallops was quick, less than 10 minutes.  The remainder of the time was quilting.   

Quilting was the bulk of time with this one.  I wanted the quilt to have a trapunto effect but didn't have the time to do the real thing.  So I layered a polyester batting on top of a cotton.  The cotton will shrink just a bit after washing and the poly will not. 

The flower blooms are "lightly" quilted and outlined.  The filler around them had to be tight, to give the blooms lift.  Holly hated my choice - oh well.  I used it for 2 reasons.  1. it's quick.  2. it's easy to get around the stems.  It's not the best choice but the market clock was ticking and it had to get finished. 

I want to go back and try an idea on the inner border........ more on that later.

The outer border was quilted to look like a large scale stripe/floral print.  Crosshatching is one of the hardest things to do on a longarm.  Picture trying to fill an "Etch-a-Sketch" screen with crosshatching.  The longarm works kind of the same way, horizontal and vertical movements that combine to make diagonals.  There are no feed dogs to guide the stitches, you must use a ruler along the hopping foot to stitch a straight line.   

I hope you enjoyed a peek at this project.

Back to the workroom, Cheryl   

Scarey Snow

After a lovely visit with my daughter and the Grand Kitties, I got a call that would make any parent cringe.  Robin was on the side of the road with a broken windshield.  I chunk of snow flew off the car in front of her.  The guy did stop, but was rather nasty.  The police wouldn't come out since there was no injury.  Why oh why is it so hard to take responsibility for accidents. 

I could hear the kitties in the background, clearly upset.  I told her to make as many notes as possible aside from the usual exchange of information.  You never know what little detail will be important.   She was at a point just about half way back, Mom couldn't quickly buzz over to assist.  Thank goodness for safety glass. 

She made it back.  The girls were happy to be home.  Although they did pick up some new habits from my kitty crew.  The window is fixed and all is back to normal? 

Cheryl