Binding on Average

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, 

the last of the human freedoms 

- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

~Victor Frankl in Man's Search for Meaning

Quilting

Today seemed like a good time to review binding because frankly, I've gotten a bit lazy. There are many good videos on YouTube showing how to apply binding, turn the corners, and finish it off. In general I like this McCall's set of four videos but find they've missed an important step - waving edges. That happens when the binding length is not measured and fitted to each side. 

It's easy to think the quilt is perfectly squared up but that's not always true. So cutting binding to the sum of the sides isn't enough to keep the edges flat. Sewing the binding to the quilt without comparing the side and the binding lengths allows them to stretch... even when using a walking foot. 

A smarter way to attach the binding is to measure across the middle of the quilt in both directions and use those measurements for the sides. If the quilt is square like this one, measure both directions, take the average, and apply it to all four sides. 

In this case, my "perfectly square quilt" was off by 1/8-inch. The average is 42.5 inches. 

Measuring across the quilt to determine
the length of the sides of binding

Insert a pin several inches from one end of the binding. In the photo below the pin is about ten inches from the end of the binding. {You can also mark the place with a pencil or marking pen.}

Start marking the binding with a pin 

Add another pin when you reach the average length {the one measured across the middle.} You will do this four times for a total of five pins in the binding. If your pins tend to fall out, you might prefer to simply mark them with a pencil. Just make sure you mark on the "top" so it will fold inside the binding.

Insert another pin each time you reach the average length

Starting with the first pin line it up with the first quilt corner/edge. That extra ten inches will extend back over the "fourth" side. Pin the binding to the quilt at each corner until you return to the starting point with that fifth pin. 

This isn't a good photo but the binding is pinned loosely to all four sides and overlaps the original extra bit here. 

Pin the binding on the fourth side
over the original extra

Go back to ease the quilt and the binding on each side with more pins. On the fourth side, pin the last overlapping binding but remember it won't all be sewn the first time. The two ends need to be fitted together. Mark where the binding ends meet and plan to leave some space to sew them together. Again, look at the YouTube videos for a method you like.

Fold the original leader back
when pinning the binding in place

EDIT: Patty "The Quilt Lady" has a different way to sew bindings that she has used for years. It looks like her corners might be tighter than mine but she still matches the length of each binding side to the average length across the middle. 

This post is a personal sticky note that I hope helps you, too. 

Reading

Mary Robinette Kowal's latest installment of the Lady Astronaut series was my latest book. I find the the premise of this series very engaging. The Relentless Moon is the first story without Elma {the original Lady Astronaut}, who is on her way to Mars. In addition to a Martian base, humanity is creating a lunar base to evacuate more people. Post-Meteor life means women and Blacks have new opportunities but there have been several accidents that could ground the space program. Are they caused by minorities or by political extremists or are they the result of poor planning by the space program?  There is evidence to support all these reasons. 

Nicole Wargin, another of the first women astronauts and the wife of the governor of Kansas where the US government and space effort is headquartered, is sent to the moon again to help discover the truth. At fifty, she is intelligent, resourceful, and privileged but also experiences physical and mental issues - like a real person. Mary expands her book universe tremendously by developing the motivations and point of view of {previously} secondary characters.  

Well researched, well written. I enjoy the twists that happen in this alternate world including how Mary addresses racial and gender equality. 

Voting

Early voting begins today in Texas. Wherever you are, print a sample ballot; research the candidates and issues and take it with you to vote. VOTE UP THE BALLOT. That means research and vote each position on your ballot, not just the presidential race. 

My ballot has already arrived at the election office. Where is yours?

Enjoy the day, Ann

Green String Toddler Quilt

For once, an easy finish. The stash of presewn blocks made this a quick job. I laid the blocks out and sewed them up in one afternoon. Small tops take very little quilting time. I channel quilted on the diagonal using the walking foot and casually spacing about the width of that foot. With this design, it's important to keep the quilt square with your hands or it can warp into a diamond.

Green String toddler quilt

Continuing my vow not to save fabric for a {possible but unspecified} future use, these two made a delightful back. The yellow moons with lilies have always made me smile.

Back of Green String toddler quilt

Originally I cut some light green binding but didn't like it. When I added it to the little box of leftover binding I found lots of green remnants. They work much better for me. The purple dot is the last of an apron made two years ago for my dear sister who's passed away. It's a cherished memento.

Binding and quilting detail on green string toddler quilt

Off to my darling grandson this week.

Quilt Details

Size: 40" x 48"

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton

Thread: Gutterman green cotton

Quilting: Walking foot on a domestic machine

The next AHIQ linkup is the coming Tuesday. What utility or improvisational quilting do you have to share?

This Thanksgiving I hope we all consider how we can share our many blessings with others.

Enjoy the day,
Ann

T-Shirt Quilt Finished

This quilt is finally done and in the mail. Wow. It's taken longer than any other t-shirt quilt I've made. {Guess I'm out of practice.}

She wanted many t-shirts incorporated. They each represent an important memory. After choosing the twelve main blocks she then selected 20 pocket logos for posts. Did you notice the lower left block is actually two t-shirts sewn together?

Megan t-shirt quilt

Text bites and images from  the remaining shirts and leftovers from shirts already used were scattered across the surface and machine appliqued with matching thread or invisible nylon. These are usually placed in bare areas of the larger blocks and extend into the sashing. Two of them are actual pockets cut so the pocket still works. With so many layers, both sewing and quilting must be slow and careful.

And look at the binding. It's an older 30's reproduction plaid on point that I loved but never used. I think it goes very well with both front and back. Who'd have thought? {I love mixing styles unexpectedly.}

Megan's t-shirt quilt, detail of binding,
backing and free-motion quilting

 Quilting the border seemed daunting originally. How would I highlight the huge circles. I worried too much. It's a combination of spirals with echos to get to a new area. I used purple thread. The pink and blue threads were too severe on alternate colors. Purple blends pink and blue; perhaps that's why it worked here.

Border folded to half circle

We considered cutting the binding at half and three-quarters of the circles by the simple expedient of folding the border back.

Border folded to 3/4 of the circles

The half circles may be my favorite but overall, the border seems too narrow for the quilt. The partial circle is neither here nor there.

Quilt Details

Size: 77" x 96"

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton

Thread: Various cotton, Metler neon polyester, YLI invisible nylon

Quilting: Walking foot and free motion on a domestic machine

Enjoy the day,
Ann

Midnight Snacks Finished

Midnight Snacks is quilted and bound. The straight lines are 3/8" from the seam lines. Very simple.

Midnight Snack quilt 

As usual, the quilting is much more visible on the back. The section of scraps adds some interest and extends the width of blue fabric ten more inches.

Midnight Snacks quilt back

More leftovers make the binding. They include the last scrap of the print fabric on the front,  gold fabric used in this pillow, and some cotton plaid seersucker.  It's such fun to create these simple bindings.

Midnight Snack quilt binding detail

Here's a shot of the quilt folded to show the binding better.

View of the binding of Midnight Snacks quilt

Quilt Details

Size: 48"(H) x 51"(W)

Pattern: One block - equilateral triangle

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton

Thread: Gutermann cotton sewing thread in light blue

Quilting: Straight line with walking foot in a triangular grid

We drove through a shower last week and found a double rainbow on the other side.

Double rainbow

Enjoy the day, Ann

Philadelphia Finish

It's quilted, bound, labeled, washed and presented. Hooray! And he likes it very much. It finished 77" by 89".

Nine-inch Philadelphia blocks in reproduction fabrics
and muslin sashed with floral stripe.

Wanting soft and comfy, I quilted a diagonal grid in gold colored cotton Gutermann thread. This 50-weight thread is a bit thicker than some other brands and was perfect for this use. To me, it is the machine equivalent of utility quilting. (The blocks were previously ditch stitched with invisible thread.) I had planned to use brown thread but it was too harsh against the muslin.

Philadelphia, detail

Spirals are my favorite quilting design so I added them to the border. I usually sew them completely freehand. This time I marked with Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Circles to delineate the maximum width and keep the spacing even. There are several sizes in the package so it was easy to choose a good size.

Philadelphia, detail of back

Why does the quilting show so much better on the back? There was only one skinny strip left of this Nancy Crow fabric. Not only is it a great design but the material has a beautiful hand.

Philadelphia, detail of border and binding

I've been intending to try mock piped binding for several years and finally did on this quilt. How easy and fun it was! That tiny bit of red perks up the quilt. There are many posts for this technique. I chose Susie's Magic Binding.

Links to the previous posts here.

1. Beginning the quilt.
2. Tutorial of the Philadelphia block.
3. Borders.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Windmill in the Mail

Windmill is quilted, bound, washed and in the mail. What a fun and easy process from Sujata Shah's book. She's started a blog for Cultural Fusion Quilts where you'll find many more made by herself and others.

This quilt began with leftover fabric I used to make some centers on Propellers and Planes. I'd set them to the side while deciding whether or not to keep them. But as I was sorting my stash, more fabrics appeared that just went with these wild things.

Windmill quilt

I don't know what came over me: the fabric seemed to magically fall into place and the top was done in a day.

I wrote about the quilting at the bottom of this post. Several quilters posted photos with something similar. They were so lovely but didn't include instructions so I made up my own method. Here's a close up of the tightest section of the curve quilting.

Top left corner of Windmill shows
the curve quilting with the smallest radius.

In the opposite corner, the radii are the largest.

Bottom right corner of Windmill
where the curve has the largest radius.

Another idea that struck me from other quilters is using leftovers for binding. Here's mine. I really like the black/white/red diamond print both as binding and in the blocks (see the second photo.)

The double fold binding is made from any
fabric in the quilt that was leftover again.
Cut 2.25" wide by whatever length was available.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Binding Propellers and Planes (Steam Punk)

Propellers is finally quilted. Wavy free motion lines about a finger width apart fill the border. It's an easy, relaxing design which I needed after wrestling with the bulk of this large quilt. Maintaining a relatively constant width was the hardest part. Do you find that your line spacing grows and shrinks depending on the day? I certainly do.

Propellers and Planes quilt detail

When we visited friends in Berkeley last fall, I took the opportunity to purchase the binding and border at New Pieces. The binding is cut on the bias to create diagonal stripes. The first side of the binding is attached (by machine) and I'm hand stitching the back in the evenings.

It still needs a label, hanging sleeve and a good soak and block. It will be in the SCVQA quilt show at the Santa Clara Convention Center March 14-15. If you're in the area, please stop by. It would be so delightful to meet in person.

Some of my backs are unusual, even downright ugly. In my opinion, people only see one side of bed and wall quilts. That's my excuse to cobble those backs from leftovers and older fabrics. Propellers is a good case in point. The squadron of planes on the back used up many quarter yard remnants. These are good quality fabrics; many were used on the front. Most of the back's sashing is leftover from previous quilts. This keeps my stash and scrap bag in stasis. And it amuses me to think I'm providing fodder for future quilt historians.

Here's a view of most of the back...

Prop planes in formation, back of Propellers and Planes quilt

followed by a detail of one single prop plane.

Prop plane quilt block

The quilting shows up better in the detail, don't you think? All the quilting is Aurifil Mako 50/2 except the ditch quilting which is YLI Wonder invisible Nylon in Smoke on top and Aurifil in the bobbin. Smoke show less with medium to dark fabric values.

Sketch of airplane block here.

Lucky me. I recently culled some fabrics from my stash but forgot to take them to the guild meeting. They will make good hanging sleeves.

Enjoy the day, Ann