Binding Week

 This week was dedicated to binding quilts. I have lots of quilts quilted, but they were sitting waiting for binding, so my goal this week was to get 4 quilts bound.

I started binding the Twister table toppers I made for Julie. The little one is 17" and the big one is 25". They turned out great, but the binding on those inside corners was a nightmare. I should have stitched and flipped instead of quilting them. 

I used a Sweetwater fabric that has brands and barbed wire on it. 

Here they are stacked on top of each other. I hand-stitched the binding on these this week. 

I also made a wall hanging for my friend Pat for her birthday. She loves the Sakura fabric and while it's a month late, she completely understands. I hand sewed the binding on this one too. 

I added the binding by machine to the 3rd ABC quilt. I now have 2 baby quilts for when I need them for gifts. I was one piece short and had to look hard to find the extra binding fabric. 

I also did the binding on this Quilts of Valor quilt I made for a family member. It turned out super cute and I think he'll like it. 

I did loops and stars in RWB King Tut on this one. 

This weekend I put the binding on June, the quilt along from last year with GE Designs. I love this one, but I think it's going to be a teacher's gift. 

I used Glamping Gypsies fabric for this one. It's 73X93, so it's big! I quilted it the long ways as I had extra-wide red backing. 

Yesterday I got new struts put on my car. Look how shiny and pretty they are!

My brother has a new auto business and he put them on for me. It gave me a chance to visit with him and catch up without the whole family around. He does such good work. 

Last week I did my last gig of the school year with a career fair at Spearfish High School. I also did one at Stevens High School the same night. It was a lot of fun and my co-worker Susie went with me to the event. 

Saturday I helped 15 4-Hers make tote bags for our Pizza and Craft Day. It was a lot of work, but the kids had fun and they made some adorable bags. There were 4 sewing machines, a mom, dad, and a grandma who helped, and lots of different outdoor fabrics for tote bags. They were simple lined totes with webbing for handles. This is the 3rd year in a row that the kids have done a sewing project. 

Hand Sewing Binding

Thursday and Friday I was busy sewing binding down by hand, so I could finish these two projects. I sewed the binding on Jungle Friends and used Mikaela's orthodontist appointment and Mathew's Parents First Communion meeting on Thursday to get in quite a bit of stitching on the quilt. I was 2" short of the binding, so I picked some up at The Sewing Center on Thursday and sewed it on to finish up the machine part on Thursday night. It turned out super cute and I was able to finish the hand sewing Friday. 

A high school classmate commissioned me to make this to give to her new grandson, due any day. The mom is my nurse at one of the clinics I go to regularly. She requested golden colors with giraffes, monkeys, and elephants. It turned out better than I hoped. I had a giraffe pattern and had planned to add an elephant pattern I had seen. When I went looking for the monkey pattern, I found a pattern online that was all three and I adjusted it to include the animals she requested. It was the same designer as the original giraffes' pattern, Sew Fresh Quilts. 

I found this panel and decided to make the giraffe to gift with the baby quilt. I think it turned out super cute. 

I have never used the lettering on my machine but didn't feel like dragging out the embroidery machine, so I tried it out for this label. It took me about 4 tried to get it right, but I'm pleased with how it turned out and I was able to match the fabric on the quilt, so it looks like it belongs. I hand sewed it down this morning and will deliver it over lunch today. 

I also finished the hand sewing on the binding for my Sakura Stars table runner. I hope to get it in the mail later this week to my friend for her birthday. It's English Paper Pieced and I started it in July of 2019. 

Saturday we went shopping in Sturgis and Spearfish. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to get out and go for a drive after the bitter cold of the previous two weekends. I worked on block 3 of the Threadology quilt-along Saturday night. I cut one of the large red squares in the wrong direction without realizing it, but I found the fabric pretty easily and was able to re-cut one and finish it up. I'm loving how these blocks look. Hopefully, I'll be able to get at least one more block set done this month. 

Mikaela got her expander put in her mouth on Thursday morning. She's doing well with it so far and is figuring out what she can and can't eat. The biggest struggle is pop and chips. We've had a few meltdowns over pop, but otherwise, she's been loving it. 

Yesterday I cleaned my closet. I took out a bunch of summer clothes and all of my "too big" jeans. I've lost 19 lbs and so far have been keeping it off. I'm really happy with my progress, but it was time for all the clothes to go. It gave our room a nice refresh as I re-organized. It felt so good to get so much done. I look forward to cleaning up my sewing area next. 

Last night I was able to work on my Thread Dispenser. I modified the pattern a bit, so I am hopeful it will work. I just need to put the binding on next. 

 

President's Day Quilting Marathon

Monday was a day off for both the kids and me. I planned to quilt at dad's house and for once the weather didn't prevent us from going. It was cold, but the warmest day in over a week, so we went.  I finished the Jungle Friends baby quilt top on Friday night and quilted it up. It turned out beautiful! I think I'll add a dark gray binding. I used a off white King Tut and Bottomline. The backing is a cream color with gold giraffes. 

I started with this Sukura Stars runner. I finished it up on Sunday night and took out all of the papers while we watched the Daytona race. It's a gift for a very special friend. I hope to have it finished by her birthday. 

I quilted up this Tula Pink Rock Candy table topper. It's made of scraps and I don't know who will receive it, but I'm happy it's quilted. 

I plan to make a sewing thread organizer from ByAnnie and so I decided to quilt it, but I had left very little in the way of backing, so I had to only use 1/4" on each side to attach it to the leaders. It worked and now it's ready to be made into a bag. I have 5 bags cut out in this fabric, so I hope once I put the thread on, I can start making the bags. 

I wanted to quilt some quilts for Quilts for Kyds, so I picked up two. This Star Wars one got a gray/black King Tut thread on it. 

This dog quilt was quilted with a colorful verigated King Tut. 

The backing had silver Bottomline. 

Then I left the biggest ones for last. I quilted up my Hope quilt. I used aqua minkee on the back. It turned out really nice. I used an aqua King Tut on the front. 

I used the same aqua King Tut on the front of this Random Shuffle quilt. I used aqua sparkle minkee on the back of this one. 

I did loops on this one. 

I'm really pleased with all I got done. I would have finished another runner, but I forgot to pack the backing fabric. Six and one half hours later, I had 8 quilts quilted and I was done for. We were able to grab a quick supper and make it to Shooting Sports with 2 minutes to spare.