Did you see that block in the corner?

The one that had the outside blue round right up against the blue border.
<<<This one.

Well it just drove me crazy!!
I have no idea why I got it twisted around like I did.   But there it was and I didn't like it one bit!
So I fixed it today.


This is much better don't you think?

NOW the top is finished and as soon as I clean up the strings and give it a good press I can get it to my quilter.

Last night was our quilt guild meeting and I was able to share my CherryLime Mash  quilt that won at the Fair.   We talked a bit about some of the things the judge looked for.  She commented a bit about the piecing and the importance of matching seams and points.  Some quilts had beautiful fabrics and a lovely pattern and had been quilted nicely... but the quilter hadn't paid attention to matching some of the seams.  
     I'd have to say that the one thing that kept coming up over and over again was the binding and how it should be full and well sewn.  She stressed that not only did it look and feel better but a full binding doesn't wear as badly as one that is too empty.  She also commented about sewing the binding by hand or by machine.  In her opinion she said as long as either are done well it makes no difference to her.  She prefers hand sewn but wouldn't mark down a machine bound quilt.  She also laughed and said not every judge would feel that way.   I'm so glad I was able to help that day and I feel confident now about my quilting abilities.  I do need to consciously work on matching edges, points and seams a bit better sometimes but I do feel like I'm on the right track and have learned some lessons well.   I'm looking forward to next year and starting to think about my next fair entrie(s).  Hummmm....

Thanks for stopping by....Linda

How I make my binding

I have been working on bindings (among other things) these last several days to try to get a few of my UFO's off my list.   While I was working on them I thought about how I used to always have such trouble trying to get the strips right when mitering them together. 

I don't like to just sew binding strips together with a straight seam end to end because it causes so much bulk when the fabric is folded over and over on itself when attaching it to the quilt.  
I always use an angled seam (like a miter seam) to join the strips so the bulk of the seam is spread over the width of the strip.
  
I cut my strips 2½" and square up the ends, cutting off the selvages.

Once I have all the strips ready I start telling myself..... 

"Left is RIGHT and Right is WRONG"!

Which translates in my mind that the strip on the left is always RIGHT SIDE UP and the strip on the right is always WRONG SIDE UP.  
   
So I'll pull a strip and turn it wrong side up and I mark the sewing line on the back.   I love the little Olfa 4.5" square for this but you could use any ruler that will help you mark a 45° line.  I line up the 45° angle along the left side of the strip with the point of the ruler at the top of the strip and draw a line from top/left to bottom/right.  

     

I then pull the next strip and lay it right side up.  (This becomes my Left strip)  

   

I'll line them up and carefully pin together like the picture shows.   Then take them to the machine and sew on the line.  

I use needle-down and line the marked point up with the needle to get it under the presser foot.... then sew on the line to join the two strips.

The unsewn strip end now becomes the next "Right" strip.  So I take it and lay it wrong side up and mark the sewing line just as before and continue this until all strips are sewn together and I have enough to bind my quilt.  

Now the seams have to be cut apart and the 'waste' cut off.  I'll just use my scissors and 'eye' the cutoff.  It doesn't have to be precise.   (some people save the little cut off triangles to sew to another color to  make 1½" half-squares.  Sometimes I keep them .... and sometimes I don't.  Depends on the mood I'm in at the time)  ;o) 

Press the seam open.... and flip the strip over and admire the perfectly matched binding strip.  

 

So there you go..... "Left is RIGHT and Right is WRONG!

and I can now make my binding without twisting the strips the wrong way.  

  lol

Thanks for stopping by....Linda

This afternoon I made the binding for this snuggle quilt that I'd made a few months back.  (Sorry about the poor picture quality but I was running out of light)

I had already decided to attach the binding by machine like I did my last quilt....and then I got lucky!
I read Crazy Mom Quilts blog a couple of days ago.  She has a post about attaching the binding by machine and she's changed it up a bit.  It was like a bell went off when I read her instructions and it just made so much more sense to me.  She said to sew the binding on the back and wrap around to the front and sew by machine.    Of Course!!

Now this is where I changed it just a little bit more.  Amandajean uses a 1/4" seam allowance when sewing the binding on the back and the front.
 I use my walking foot and set the right-hand edge along the edge of the quilt & binding.  That seam measures about 3/8".

 Also when I turn the binding to the front (like I'm doing in these two pictures) I'll use the outside edge of the walking foot and run along the outside edge of the folded binding.
Another 3/8" seam.

And I take it slow and only sew a couple of inches at a time as I hold the binding in place.
I can see the back seam easily as I fold over the binding so I can make sure it is covering that seam.  I love this method!

I've cut my binding 2.5"  and did everything else just like Amandajean did in her instructions.   But the larger seam allowance seems to put the final top seam right along the edge of the back seam and almost looks like it's been stitched in the ditch.  And an added bonus is this also makes the binding the same size front and back.

I will definitely be binding all my everyday quilts with this method for sure.  Especially now that they can finish out this nice.
Thanks bunches Amandajean!!

And.....TaDa.....
All of my 224 blocks lined up and lookin' pretty!
I'm ready for tomorrow's Orca Bay clue #2.
Thanks for stopping by....