Flange Binding-Tail Connecting

If you've been by my blog before, I'm pretty sure you know by now, if I'm going to bind a quilt, more than likely there will be a flange involved.

Why? For me personally, I do not mind a binding done on the machine as opposed to by hand.  It's a bit sturdier and I want my quilts to be well loved, so it's just a good option for me.  Also, I think it can add a "wow" factor to the quilt.  Who doesn't love adding a small inner border to a quilt before you add a bigger border?  Think of it as a small binding before the binding.  A tiny POP of color and an unexpected detail that leaves most people going, "how in the world did they do that?"  And you always want people to think you are magical.

I think the hardest most intimidating part to this process is combining the where you started point to where you end...the tails.  So that is what this post will focus on.  There are many great posts talking about how to make your binding strips and attach them to your quilt.  I learned this process from reading Marti at 52 Quilts post called Susie's Magic Binding Method (she also has a great video).  Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts also has a wonderful tutorial on this binding method and can be found here.  Both of these tutorials have you work with a binding that is 2.5".  If you happen to like a slightly smaller binding, say 2.25" then check out Sandra at mmm!quilts tutorial to construct a smaller binding.  All of these tutorials are wonderful and will get you to what I'm talking about today.  A closer look at connecting the tails.

Actually let's start right after you make your binding strips.  They are all sewed together and pressed so that you have a nice crisp little flange peeking out from under your binding strip...now what?

The first thing I like to do, is figure out which end I need to start with.  The end on the right side of the ironing board, will be my starting point when I start sewing it to the quilt.  The raw edge of strip to the raw edge of your quilt.  Always remember the flange fabric should be facing you.

Now that I have identified where I need to start, I take the other end of the strip and begin wrapping it around my hand, keeping the flange fabric on top.

Rolling your binding will help keep things neat and ensure that the press you made to create your flange stays nice and crisp.

I like to take my little binding doughnut and place it around one of my extension table legs.  If your machine doesn't have an extension table or your machine is recessed in a table, you could easily use a spool of thread or anything that will stand up straight to keep your binding from unraveling and flopping all over the place (until recently, I have been a floppy binding person).  Now you are ready to sew your binding to the back side of your quilt.

As you can see, I like to leave myself with long starting and stopping tails, maybe even a bit too long, but that's okay (trimming an overage is easier to fix than having to little).  I visually pick a spot that I will aim to make the meeting point for the strips.  I like to take my time and pin the binding strip on my left to the edge of the quilt until I get to the point I've chosen.  Then I fold the strip back on itself like in the picture below.

Then I place a mark about 1/4" away from the strip.  This will be the stopping point for the right binding tail.  Then I pin the strip to the quilt and fold the excess back.

You end up with something that looks like this.

Next, I press the two folds using my iron.  Creating good creases is very important, because it is these lines that will aid in lining your two tails as accurately as possible.

I remove the pins from the tail on my left and open the tail up so I can see what I am working with.

Using a blue water soluble pen, I have marked the lines created from pressing my strip so that you can see them a bit better.  There is a horizontal and vertical line you will use when lining things up.  When joining the strips, these are the lines that will match up with the other strip.

Now I unpin the tail on the right side of the quilt.  The above pictures shows how the strip will lay across the other tail.  The arrow in the upper right hand corner points to a pin.  I like to fold the quilt up and pin it, so I'm not fighting the strip while I'm trying to line things up.

You want to line up the crease of the right hand side binding strip with the crease in the left hand strip, the marked lines in the above picture.

I simply place my finger inside of the strip to hold it in place then flip the strip open, making sure that every thing stays lined up.

Once everything is lined up, you are ready to pin your strips into place.

I always pause for a moment to think about drawing my diagonal line.  Make sure your extra tails will be what you are cutting when you trim.  I can't tell you how many times (other than too many)  I have sewed the wrong diagonal and trust me, the last thing you want is to cut the wrong thing.  

Now you are ready to head to your machine and stitch your seam.  A great suggestion from Marty at 52 Quilts is to use a bigger stitch length (2.5) then check your strip.  

Does your seams all match up?  If so, simply open your strips back up and stitch over your seam with a smaller seam to secure it.  If it doesn't....well, rip your stitches and try again and be thankful they aren't teeny tiny stitches.

Once I'm happy with how my seams match up and I've made sure that my newly joined binding strips fit the space of my quilt, I pin the strip to the quilt and finish sewing on my binding.

I usually take another peek to make sure everything looks correct.  My flange didn't 100% match up this time, but it is well within an acceptable range for me.  All that is left to do is fold the binding over to the front and stitch it down.

I will use a blue colored thread in my bobbin to match my backing fabric and a pink on top to match the flange.  After a leisurely stroll around the quilt with my walking foot, I now have myself a completed quilt.

And that my friends, is really all there is to a flange binding.  I promise it is easy peasy.  I hope that these more detailed photos will help you in trying to match up your binding tails.  This was the part that tripped me up for the longest time, because I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking at.  I figured I couldn't be the only one.  Let me know if you find this tutorial helpful, or if there is something that you think I have left out.  There is always room for improvement with most things.  Thanks so much for stopping by...and give the flange a try.

Today I'm linking up with Tips and Tutorials Tuesday, Main Crush Monday, Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers, and Linky Tuesday.

Favorite New Quilting Tool and Blue Sky Fabric

She had high hopes.  She had high hopes.  She had high apple pie, in Blue Sky hopes.  Okay, maybe that's not quite how that song goes, but that was me this weekend.

About a month and a half ago, David, scored us a deal on yard cuts from a LQS of every print (but one, she sold out) in Andover's Blue Sky fabric line.  We were in love with the blues and creams.  But what good is a truck load of fabric if you don't do something with it.  So for the past few weeks, we have been working on possible design ideas to use these babies in.  The sky was the limit (yup gonna be a punny post, look out)  So this weekend, rotary cutter sharp and machine threaded I was ready to embark on a piece-athon and put together two of the three quilts we came up with.

Let's pause there for just a second (or two).  That brings me to my new favorite quilting tool...

The Instant Pot.  I know, I know.  This is technically not a "quilting tool," but I swear it is.  Some of the best quilting tools are technically not quilting related at all.  Instant Pot is turning out to be a time saver, there for, time saved means more time for quilting.  That's like finding time in a bottle!  Or rather a pot.

I discovered this magical kitchen device, during my trip to Julie's house (Pink Doxies) over the 4th of July.  She made us some of the best BBQ ribs I've eaten for dinner one evening.  While chopping some broccoli, she began telling me about the wonders of Instant Pot and how easy it is to use.  Basically, it is an electric pressure cooker.

Now, if you are like me, I instantly had flash backs to my mom, yelling at me to stop running through the house, because if you bounce the giggly thing off the pressure cooker on the stove by running, the pot will cause the house to explode!  Causing my fear of pressure cookers and a twitch in my eye just hearing the word.

But the tale that Julie spun, slowly relaxed the twitch in my eye and replaced it with a curious gleam, like a child in wonder.  A device that could cook food in a fraction of the time of an oven or crock pot.  I was in!

Quilting Life confession, and it pains me to admit this, but my family eats out/fast food way way more than we should.  Why?  I could makes excuses until the cows come home, but honestly, after working all day, running back out to the store after I get home and just poor planning on my part, most nights it's easier to just pick something up on the way home.  Who wants to eat a home cooked meal at 9PM??  I hate talking about it because it makes me feel bad.  I know we could be eating healthier.

So on Amazon Prime Day, I noticed the 8 quart Instant Pot was on sale for $40 off.  This was just enough to make me order it; a promise of home cooked meals and time saved.  So this weekend started my new cooking adventures and no eating out.

On Saturday, for a quick lunch between mowing and power washing the house, in less than 15 minuets, my family was snaking away on spinach artichoke dip.

Then a few hours later, after a 50 minute pressurized stay in the pot, we were enjoying wonderful pulled pork sandwiches (sorry no pics).  Sunday, brought about a few left overs from Saturday's cooking and chicken fettuccini alfredo cooked in less than 20 minutes.  And the sauce didn't come from a jar!

And when I was finished cooking, really all the clean up required was the dishes we ate on, and the Instant Pot itself.  I promise I'm not a paid spokes person for Instant Pot, but I'm a huge fan of anything that can help speed things along and give my family more healthy eating options.

With all the time saved this weekend, I was able to piece two quilt tops using the Blue Sky fabrics, but I think we will talk about those tomorrow.  I promise they will be worth the wait.  For now, I just want to give my new "quilting tool" time saver its own little day.

Do you have any favorite non-quilting quilting tools?  A favorite little gizmo that saves you time and allows you to do more of what you want to do...quilt.

Today I'm linking up with Main Crush Monday.

Easter Stashing

Ah, Wonderland by Rifle Paper Co for Cotton + Steel, oh how I love thee!  I've been debating on purchasing this fabric ever since it hit my Instagram feed.  Honestly, it wasn't 100% love at first site (I think I was sick that day).  But, when Pat Sloan released April's The Children's Library block, Alice in Wonderland and I saw her block in these fabrics, I knew I had to order some, just for this block.  No picture can do these prints justice.  They are AMAZING.  After they showed up in my mail box I couldn't wait to chop them up!

Pretty sure I'm going to need more!

Another package found it's way to my house this weekend...several spools of Aurifil Thread!!

Soon these spools of thread will all be frolicking in a quilt top together and I will be sharing it with you, but alas not yet.  Ordering just the right thread online can be tricky.  Computer monitors and picture lighting can drastically skew what a thread color actually looks like and for some reason, matching turquoise is the worst.  So awhile back I broke down and purchased an Aurifil color chart and now there is no guessing at all.  I know exactly what I'm getting.

Saturday, David and I took at trip to one of our favorite LQS south of us, The Quilt Shoppe.  This store has fabric in just about every color you could think of.  It's many nooks and cranny's make it so cozy and inviting.  The shop owner has a wonderful 30's reproduction, civil war reproduction and batik sections.  The rest of the fabric is in sections by color.  After about 2 hours of walking around and petting all the pretties, this is what I walked away with.

I really am having a love affair with fabrics with text.  I have no idea what I will do with this, but I'm sure it will find a home soon enough.

Next up, is a few random FQ purchases.  I thought these greens and purples would look lovely in the Medallion Sampler QAL over at Stitchin at Home, that I am working on.  I was able to make a bit of progress on this one, but I'll save that for another post.

Sandra (mmm!quilts) and I have been kicking around the idea of working on the Sewcial Bee Sampler, later this summer when our schedules slow down a bit.  I plan to piece my blocks using a FQ bundle of Paradiso by Moda Fabrics.  I've been searching for a sashing fabric and finally fell in love with the Moda Grunge on the left.  I'm thinking the gray linen print will be my block borders and the white will go in some of the blocks and an extra fabric choice.  Note to Sandra:  we need to start this sooner than later so I stop buying fabric for it :)  This is actually the second time I've bought sashing and border fabric for it...quilting confession.

Last but not least, I decided to pick up another pair of Machingers quilting gloves.

The pair that I have now, have definitely been well loved.  The rubber tips of the fingers are quite discolored from use.  The gloves themselves have little picks in them from where the cats will snatch them up and run off to play with them.  Sigh, I can't have anything nice.  It was just time for a new pair.  It's a quilting item I cannot do without.  

The temptation to purchase more fabric was strong, but I held back.  Being a two quilter household, I have to leave room in the budget so that Dave can pick a few things out too :)

Today I'm linking up with Sunday Stash and Main Crush Monday.

Happy Sweet 16

You may remember a few months ago (June to be exact) I was over there in wonderland partying over the number 17.  We had seventeen year cicadas and David and I celebrated our seventeen year wedding anniversary.  Now it's time for me to celebrate the number 16!  This is the year of the Sweet 16.  This fall, my beautiful baby (ok not a baby anymore by a long shot) will turn 16.  Where the heck has the time gone???

In an attempt to be a good parent, I bought her something she can learn to drive on.  To her disappointment, it was not a car, but a Handi Quilter Sweet 16!  She will learn to love it in time.  Oh, HQ Sweet 16, I have been drooling over you ever since I discover your existence.  The first time I stumbled on to it was several years ago watching videos of the super talented Debbie Brown who blogs at Debbie Brown Quilts.  In her videos she was sitting down at a machine with a wonderfully deep throat free motion quilting.  I said, tell me more please!!!  After messaging back and forth I knew I had found the machine of my dreams.  But would I ever really own one?  I settled on a reality of no.

Every time we go to a quilt show and a vendor had one displayed, my butt plops into the chair and plays.  It just feels right.  I almost walked away last year at a quilt show with one, but the responsible side of me (sometimes I'd like to choke her) just wouldn't commit to spending that much money.  David was for it, I said no.

So a few weeks ago, David asked if I had called and priced machines lately.  He thought maybe it was time to take the plunge.  I didn't really want to call, again I knew no matter what, it's not cheap.  But while he was out mowing, I called the HQ shop to check the prices.  To my surprise they were hosting a HQ even that weekend and was having sales on their machines. (Part of me still wonders if David knew this already, or if it was a happy coincidence).  I jotted down the information and learned I had 24 hours to make a decision.  After I shared the news with my quilting partner in crime, he said lets go look at them.  I said okay and emailed Beth at Cooking Up Quilts.  I figured if I was heading her way I was going to meet her.  Which I did!  You can read more about that here.  Long story short after wonderful socializing with Beth, I ended up purchasing my machine.

But where was I going to put it???  I live in a shoe box.  Beth jokingly suggested that I sell my couch.  Don't think I didn't consider it.  But where would we eat our pizza if I did that??   I have already consumed the dinning room table with two machines.  So I focused on another area of the house.  The "catch all."  That space you never really look at.  For us, it is as you enter our our house, the breakfast nook.  It had a table David's father made, windows covered in dark curtains and became the spot where all things landed.  Oliver would also let you know, it's where he ate, the most important function it probably had.

And I'll be honest, this is what it looked like after I cleaned it up.  The best-est big brother ever, offered to put the table in storage in his garage for me so I could free up space.  So after the table was moved, I stripped the curtains off the windows and was left with this.

I couldn't believe all the light!  You might notice Oliver over there in the corner.  He was UNHAPPY about all of these events.  Being the lovable chunk he is, I'm pretty sure he was afraid he'd never eat again.  He laid in the floor and moaned LOUDLY to voice his concern.  It was getting old.

Then last weekend, the big day finally came, the delivery of my machine.  It was super simple to set up and after a quick demo of threading the machine and a few of the buttons, the shop owner was on his way.  I'm sure I had the look of any new parent left alone with their baby for the first time.  That deer in the head light look of what do I do next??

The fur kids, approved of the beast in their space, which was a good start.  Before I allowed myself to set down to play, I vowed to finish cleaning the space up.  Let's face it, if I didn't do it now, I'd never do it.  I added a second set of shelves, under my window, which turned out to be a great place for Oliver's food.  He seems happy with this compromise and view.

When I finally sat down to quilt, I was having some major tension issues.  This made me less than happy.  I tried several different things but nothing worked.  I walked away.  Did I really just purchase the most expensive cat jungle gym ever???  So I emailed Beth and watched a YouTube video and both were able to help me tweak the machine so it purrs like a kitten.  My problem was I was so afraid of breaking the machine, I didn't want to turn those knobs and screws.  Like the newborn, it's not as breakable as you fear.

So, the machine will still probably be a cat jungle gym while it's not in use, but now I'm ready to start finishing some quilts!!!  A huge thank you to Dave The Quilt Engineer  for giving me the push I needed and supporting me in purchasing this machine.  And another huge thank you to Beth for sharing in the big day with me, and the help...I'm sure it won't be the last time I ask you a question :)

Hey, Jenny, happy early Sweet 16!  This present is for, mom, who did all the hard work 16 years ago and has managed to keep you alive and turn you into the spunky teen you are!

Also, this weekend, Craftsy is holding a Black Friday sale to get us ready for the holiday season and all the handmade stuff we want to make for our family and friends.

I know I will be picking up another one of the Cotton & Steel FQ Boxes.  At $38.47 that's a deal I can't refuse!  That's the cheapest I've seen them yet.  So if you need to get ready for your holiday sewing, hop over to Craftsy and check it out.  (Links to Craftsy on this page are affiliate links)

Today I'm linking up with Main Crush Monday, and Can I Get a Whoop! Whoop!

May is For Makers Week 2

The second week of may is wrapping up and I have to say I have quite enjoyed hopping around and seeing the beautiful and creative patterns and books everyone has purchased during the #MayIsForMakers party. (I can call this a party, right?)

If you missed my post earlier in the week, I made three purchases during the first week of May.  I hopped over to Sew Fresh Quilts and grabbed a copy of WoW-E and Cat Treats.

Photo courtesy of Sew Fresh Quilts

And I ordered a copy of Lara's (Buzzin Bumble) book Crafted Applique.  I think this book just might be what I need to conquer my applique fears. Hmm, do I see a #BraveQuilter post in the future?

So for the second week of May I decided to pick up two more patterns, both from designers I have been admiring for quite some time and I'm happy to call them friends.

First up is Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs.  I met Cheryl last year when she co-hosted the 2015 New Bloggers Blog Hop.  Over the months that followed I would get to know her via comments and email.  I told her she is my Pattern Writing Yoda, when she helped me along my journey to writing my first ever tutorial for my block Watermelon Taffy for the 2015 New Block Blog Hop, which she also co-hosted.  She even hosted a pattern writing series with lots of valuable information.  If you've never checked it out you can find it here.  I have made two of Cheryl's free patterns.

I made two of her Midnight Mystery quilts, from her quilt along in late 2015.

And I made her Building Blocks Baby Quilt, a free pattern on Moda Bake Shop.

So I think it's high time to show some quilty love to Cheryl.  After looking around her Crafty Store, I settled on her On A "Jell" Roll pattern.

Photo courtesy of Meadow Mist Designs

I have several jelly rolls laying around the house, and any of them would look great in this quilt.  

Next up is Beth from Cooking Up Quilts.  A fellow blog hopper from last year (Julie at Pink Doxies) pointed me toward Beth's blog after learning I was from North Central West Virginia.  (fellow 2016 blog hoppers see the awesome networking possibilities created??)  Beth hosts a linky party every Monday called Main Crush Monday and over the past year (linky partying with Beth) we have struck up a friendship.  She has published several patterns over the past year and all have been very eye catching.  So when I heard of the May is for Makers idea, I knew Beth was someone I wanted to support.  Plus us West Virginia gals have to stick together.  I chose her latest pattern Spinning.

Photo courtesy of Cooking Up Quilts

This pattern has me spinning with ideas on fabrics and possibilities.

And one last little item of business.  As a Craftsy affiliate, I would not being doing my job if I didn't tell you about the awesome sale going on right now till Sunday at Midnight.

Craftsy is celebrating their 5th birthday this month and in honor of the occasion they have majorly marked down some of their best selling kits and supplies (up to 50%).  Last month during their sale, I picked up...

   

two charm packs of Moda's Strawberry Fields Revisted and Aurifil Monofilament Thread in Clear and Smoke.  I haven't had a chance to sew with my new thread yet, but I absolutely can not wait to.  I have used monofilament thread by other companies in the past and they have felt kind of like fishing line (just my opinion here).  This didn't have that same stiff feeling so I can't wait to give it a go with some free motion.

So if you are looking for a new quilt kit or project,

need to build up that dwindling stash,

have a notion for some new notions,

I think I have all 4 of the lovely blues

or want to stock up on one of your other passions

Hop on over to Craftsy and check out their birthday deals.  And feel free to grab a piece of cake or a glass of wine while you look around.

Okay, time for me to ground myself for the weekend.  There is a possible whole cloth calling my name and I need to get my behind in gear if I'm going to get it finished by Monday.

Today I'm linking up with Main Crush Monday, Sunday Stash, Can I Get A Whoop! Whoop!