As I was talking about yesterday, I picked up this quilt top kit at the BAMQ meeting from the Community Giving table. I was saying that my plan was I'd be using these units and blocks as leaders and enders for another project. Well, that didn't happen. I just did it all on its own. I think I was just too interested in seeing how it got put together. First up, I had to look up the directions for 8-at-a-time HSTs. Just checking that I had it right before cutting up any fabric.
The 8 at a time method really works for me, as long as I remember to do a scant 1/4" seam.
The HSTs turned out surprisingly accurately, but I'm still glad that I trimmed them to size.
One of the included squares for the Postage Stamp blocks was cut a little too close to the selvedge and had a white strip showing. So I used a fabric marker to add some color. Otherwise it was going to look like the white square was too big and a rectangle instead. It would have thrown off the pieced pattern.
This is a good example of the power of HSTs in a quilt pattern. Now all the pieces are constructed so it's time to sew it together the rest of the way into a quilt top.
At the BAMQ meeting on Saturday, over at the Community Giving table, the ever organized Peggy had handy-dandy irresistible kits put together for making up a small quilt top. Included along with the helpful illustrated instructions are five already completed Postage Stamp blocks, enough fabric to make the big HSTs, and squares for making the partial Postage Stamp blocks seen in the pattern.
I'll be using these as leaders and enders while I do some more piecing on another project.
And over on the free table, I at first resisted, but then gave in and took this FQ from one of the recent Alice in Wonderland fabric lines to add to my "words on fabric" bin. I thought the little illustrations and coloring were super interesting. Yes, I've already added this to my Fabric-IN spreadsheet for the 2025 Fabric Tracker.
I attended the BAMQ meeting yesterday and picked up this Community Giving quilt that needed binding to made and applied. Isn't this a fun one, I really love these zingy colors. And since I'm on a roll with binding things, I figured I'd get one done for the group.
First I stay-stitched the edges of the quilt, just because it helps the seams that hit the edges not pop open. Then I trimmed off the excess of batting and backing.
I found a fabric in my purple boxes that I thought worked really well, ironed it, cut it and sewed it up into some 2.5" binding. After all that, actually sewing the binding on was pretty easy and quick.Now to try and remember to bring it along to Sew Day to turn it in.
Hey, that's another amount for me to add to my Fabric Tracker for the year. With this addition it means I'm at 4.23 Net yards of fabric. To be specific according to my calculations, 34.78 yards Bought - 30.55 yards used so far. Meaning I've added 4.23 yards of fabric to my stash so far this year.
Finally, the binding is completely attached, the sleeve is added, and Spring Speaking to Summer is dropped off for display in the BAMQ group challenge exhibit at the San Mateo County Fair.
I think the binding turned out pretty good on the display side. Not perfect on the back, but it's a table runner so I don't really care too much.
It's a weird one for sure!
It turned out so curvy, it almost has a waist.
The bottom section (the "Summer") is my favorite part of the whole thing. Guess I like Summer?
Welp, the binding I posted about for my BAMQ challenge quilt, Spring Talking to Summer, had to be removed. I didn't remember to give myself extra folds to make it around those big curves when I turned the binding around and over the quilt edge. Yes, it was a lot of "un-sewing" but it will be worth it. I pinned the whole thing folded bits and all.
And I even went to the extreme measure of first basting it to really make sure it'd work and look good. I just didn't want to have to un-sew the whole ding dang thing again. So....now that the binding is stitched on for real, tis finally time for the hand sewing and finishing. Ack!
While clearing out my folk's house, we of course encountered my father's ties. This is only a selection of the older ones. I displayed them spread out on the floor like this just to document them.
There's such a huge array of different styles from all the different eras he lived through. Very very skinny and long 50's style, extremely wide and short 60's, wild fabrics and prints 70's, and boring 80's.
Look at the extremes in styles here.
Some truly wild stuff.
My mom politely declined my offer to make her something with all of these. I agreed, it would have been Too Crazy to wear.
I don't think I could have made these all work together in one piece. My mom said that my dad would get positive feedback or interaction from people when he'd wear unusual ties, so it kind of became a thing for him. I think he figured that if he had to wear a tie, it might as well provoke conversation kind of thing.
We all picked out one or two ties to take with us to remember him by. My DD took the really skinny ones to wear at her bartender job, my DS took the Tweety Bird one, and I took the Peace & Love one at the top in this picture and a couple of the wilder paisleys. A video version of the above photos, just for fun and dizziness.
It’s Binding season around here lately. Guess that’s good because I’m maybe finishing some things? I found a great color of bias tape to use for the binding of the BAMQ challenge quilt.
I had to check the color all along the length of this piece.
It’s pretty close to the darkest color of the quilt. That’s how I choose binding colors usually (but not always).
I had to trim the excess backing fabric away first.in some cases, I’d do a satin stitch or couched ribbon sort of binding.
After a whirlwind few weeks of getting my mom moved out of her home, I'm unpacking the treasures I brought back to my own home. There wasn't a lot in the sewing area that I nabbed as she'd already been generous in sharing a lot of the fabrics and stuff from her mother. But there were of course a few items, as seen above. I wrote about her sewing room back when we were fire-evacuated and staying at my parent's house. So much has happened since then!
These are the type of pin I really like to use, and they're "the quilter's pin" so that's so very official and all. I'm probably going to toss the cute and somewhat vintage box. But maybe I'll make something with it.
There were two pincushions, one the red traditional tomato (or strawberry) red and the other a mid-70's wild floral in the same shape. Some of the pins are rusty, so I tossed those. And a silver thimble that maybe fits my pinky finger, but it's really pretty. A wooden box with wooden spools of thread that are likely too old to use. But I'll try them out to see. Some empty wooden spools that are just lovely all on their own. A box of miscellaneous buttons, one heavy duty zipper and some cotton-polyester threads in dark colors that I can use.
And lastly, I brought home an unfinished hook latching project from my rainbow-obsessed preteen years. I was willing to part with it, but my daughter said she wants a pillow made out of it, so I'll have to actually finish the project after 50 years. Polyester yarn is of course-- forever.
I've been out in the garden the last couple of days. A lot to do as the rain stops and the heat begins. So there's no new sewing pictures or work to report on. Here's some flower pictures from the previous month, call it a day early Flower Friday.
Admiring this one iris that's finally come through with the special, fancy colorations.
There's a local person a couple towns over from us that holds a yearly "Iris Sale". We went probably five years ago and this is one of the ones that I bought and planted. Glad it's finally decided to show itself off.
Some very lovely lemons from my mom's former neighbor. In one of the ceramic trophy bowls that I claimed when we helped her move.
A picture of the blooming Large Wild Iris at my mom's house with red geraniums in the background.
Several colors of Columbines this year. I'd call this Dusky Rose, maybe?
These Columbines really are interesting structures.
I always like this step of quilt binding. Getting to turn the sewn on binding over the edge of the quilt to see it in its nearly final form is so fun. Something I really anticipate.
Now to hand sew down the edge. That’s what baseball games are for.
I think the slightly different blue that I used will be fine. Close enough for me.
Time to make some time for some binding making. I didn't have enough of any of the fabrics used in the Slopes quilt, so this blue will have to do. It's very very close to the other blues, so hopefully it will blend in well enough. Or at least be not too different or remarkable to be noticeable.
My Binding Betty is all ready to sew on the binding for Slopes!
I finally got to sit down at the sewing machine late yesterday, and I finished the diagonal quilting on Slopes. But first I sat in the rainbow-ness of the sun setting in the window.
It was really quite bright but it made for good light on the quilting left to be done.
Well-illuminated indeed.
I turned on some music (X-Wild Gift and The Blasters-Live 1986) and finished off the diagonals going in one direction. And then flipped it around and did the other direction too.
I think I like it.
And now I'm done quilting it. Now for the finishing! But what color of binding? I do have small-ish pieces of all the colors left over, but that might be too much variety for a binding. I think one of the darker blues might be nice. I'll have to see if I have enough of one of them to make the binding or not.
