I'm finished with this gift!

I made the binding today and had so much trouble with it. I wanted a wider binding so I cut out my double binding at 2-1/2 inches which made it 1-1/4 inches wide after folding. Then I sewed it at 3/8 inch seam instead of a 1/4 inch seam. I thought the bigger seam would allow more binding to show up on the front of the quilt and it would have worked but for some reason I didn't have enough to turn around to the back. It was not wide enough. I don't know why because all the measurements work out, but it just didn't fit. So I trimmed my seam allowance down all except the corners which could not be trimmed because it would leave a hole in the corner. Even then I only barely had enough to turn over to the back.

On top of all that trouble when I cut the bias strips and sewed them together the 45 degree seam was turned under on the wrong side on every other join. I had to rip it out and redo.
Then when I was making my join at the very end after the binding was sewed on I cut it too short and had to stretch and fiddle with it to get it to work. Boy! I have never had this much trouble with binding before. But I don't usually make bias binding. I needed it on this because I wanted the plaid to be on the bias. I choose this plaid because I thought the colors in it reflected the colors in the middle squares. Over all I like how it came out but I ended up with narrower binding than if I would have made it like normal with a 1/4 inch seam to begin with.

Oh well, it is done and I like the look of it. The person that gets it as a gift will never know the troubles I had. They will hopefully just love it the way it is.
Have a great day!
Terry

Autumn Table Topper Done!

I really enjoyed this project. It went together quickly but more importantly I enjoyed the colors. Yes, the hues are down and dirty but they are my favorite. I love this time of year and I think that reflects my love of these colors.

Of course I did not quilt it like the pattern. It was quilted on the diagonal across all 100 little squares. I thought it was too much quilting both for the size of the project and the feel of homespuns. The border has no quilting at all so I didn't want to cram a lot of quilting in the middle of such a small area. I stitched a large "X" across the whole middle. After I finished I realized it looked a little like a barn door and I thought it was appropriate for the piece.

The close-ups (hopefully you can see them close up) are of the embroidery and the label I attached to the back. T. can tell you that I am a little obsessed over labels. I love them, both the fabric and the sticky kind.

Good Morning, November!

Last night I began working on an adorable little table topper. I found a cute pattern in the book Primitive Gatherings by Terry Burkhart and Rozan Meacham. I love these colors even though they are a bit drab. The middle of the topper has (100) 2" squares with two small borders around the edges. The inner border is embroidered with words like "apple cider, crackling fire, hayrides & rustling leaves". It put me in the mood for Thanksgiving and T's cornbread dressing, family & fried turkey. Unfortunately, they will all have to wait while I work on this project.

Until we meet again...

Vanessa