Cool Cut Up...Continuous Bias Binding

The nifty continuous bias binding technique is pretty simple until you get to the part of cutting out round after round after round of binding from that awkward crumpled sleeve. It always seems the danger of a miss-directed scissor point will ruin the whole integrity of the strip. One tutorial for the binding had a suggestion in the comment section from another quilter. She said she draped the sleeve over the end of her ironing board to make the cutting go more smoothly. That got me to thinking about something that would have still less friction and more freedom of movement for the task...a tension curtain rod! It worked! This is great. Maybe I'll make all my stash into bias binding! It is that easy. Yea!

Just In Time for the Fourth!

Top left: Baby's Pinafore. Top Right: Tot's aprons with divided front pocket Bottom left: Flip side of same aprons, also with divided pockets. Bottom right: patch fix for when this apron edge got caught in the embroidery machine. Oops!

Seems ages ago I decided to make an apron for each of my local grands. The green stripe fabric had just enough from my stash, for two tot-sized aprons. Once I constructed the front pocket I realized I might be able to make this simple design reverse-able. I was still working on my granddaughter's red/white/blue Raggedy Ann quilt trilogy, and decided the red stripe fabric from that would be great either for a Christmas or the 4th of July-themed apron. Further thought, however, ruled out Christmas as a once per year occasion, while patriotic holidays seem ever-appropriate. 

With that decided, the binding color was an easy pick. Meanwhile, I had other projects to complete, so I kept setting this one aside until.... Oh! My goodness! A whole 'nother local grand came on the scene! She's far from big enough for one of the original aprons, just yet. Too, I have no more of the green stripe fabric, but I did find a pattern for a little pinafore. The trio of chefs will be able to roast their hot dogs in style. Well, two of them, at least. The baby's job is to look cute and ... sparkle!  🎆 Happy 4th!
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Tweet Street

The donation fabric with birdhouses all over it was the inspiration for the theme and name for this, my latest Project Linus quilt. I began by using the Buddy Quilt pattern from quilting class. Due to miscalculations on my part, I did not have quite enough of the theme fabric to make the side borders, and so improvised by making the applique bird blocks to extend them the needed length. Often end-arounds make for a better quilt, don't you think? 

When I started working on the back, I found I still had a nice rectangle of the theme fabric, and so used it as the center. I also had some extra cuts from the front construction, so I began a surround with that. The large cornerstone blocks were fabric inked in black and then colored with fabric crayons, and heat set. The nest block used the tulle over fragments of fabric to create a 3D effect for the nest, itself. Fun experiment, for me. I was in too big a rush to do it right, and did not trap the tulle in the seams as would have been most effective. So, I ended up securing the on-block edges with extra random top stitching. Traditionally these corner blocks would
have been on the outer border, but since this was the back of the quilt, I was unsure what the final trimming would catch, so opted for the inner border. 

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying watching a pair of robins in our yard with their little nestlings. Tweet Street ... local. 

P.S.: Post Script or Postage Stamp?

This (see bottom-most photo) is the doll quilt I made for my granddaughter #1. If you image-search for doll quilts on Pinterest, you may be able to spot my inspiration for the front of the quilt....though, the added store-bought "P.S." embroidery bits were my idea. Love that the P.S. can be both "Postage Stamp" and "Post Script". I used to write and mail lots of letters and hardly even one left my hand without a post script of some description. 

I found a printable pattern download by Cotton Confections for this 16 blade Dresden Plate online. It was perfect for my needs since I was already working with only four fabrics for the project.

What had begun as a notion to use the scraps from granddaughter #1's first birthday party's rag bunting decorations, became multiple forays to Hobby Lobby for still more of the same fabric prints for what became what I refer to as my Raggedy Trilogy. But that's another (two) stories/posts.

Free Motion practice was another mini bonus!

Onward with the mini doll quilt at hand! Having completed the front of the little project, I needed a backing, and decided to use sheeting and to try my hand at a Dresden Plate block. This was my first, and I found it so addicting that I made multiples for the backing of a larger (crib size) quilt... also for granddaughter #1. Actually, the crib quilt may become the girls' "birthday quilt" to be used on birthdays...because while I was working on these quilts, granddaughter #2 was born to the same household. 

Well, that's that. Except, of course...

P.S. May your mini, mini projects be as fun for you as this one was for me.

But Will it Fly?

Worked on a new (to me) technique of trapping fabric scraps beneath a veneer of sheer tulle for a corner block on one of my Project Linus donation quilts called "Tweet Street". My only (?) mistake, was in my impatience to “get ‘er done”. Had I taken a bit more time with it, the tulle would have been aligned to the edges of the block so that it would  be secured within the eventual quarter inch seam allowance, making for a smoother end presentation. As it was, though, I ended up securing the tulle's misplaced edges with random free motion stitches. The scraps trapped beneath the tulle in this block depict a bird’s nest surrounding the nestlings-to-be, which were drawn directly onto the block using a fabric pen and fabric crayons.  This worked well for my fledgling attempt. Yes. I think this will fly.

Here it is as the corner of the first round border of the quilt still in progress.

Digital Design ... Free Style

While I had the Fresh Paint program as a preload on my PC, there are likely other programs which can be found online that do some of the same things. In fact, if you have a PC, there is a program with a free version that does all of this and more. I believe it is called Sketchpad, and the version I liked was 4.1. That one does take a little exploring to figure out, but for me, that is true of any of them.  So, if you want to do some practicing without pen and ink, try digital doodling, and see what comes of it.

     Here we see the grand enjoying a self-rendered bedtime story, with the quilt and pillow which came of the design doodling pictured above. Looks like a happy ending, to me.