Looking Forward in 2014

I love new years! The Christmas decorations and tree is packed away. The house is swept and clean. Pork & Sauerkraut are roasting in the oven and filling the house with the smells of an upcoming delicious dinner. And the sewing room is ready for some focused work! We are expecting a winter storm and I have the song stuck in my head that goes,

"Well, the weather outside is frightful, but my fabrics are so delightful. I have no other place to go. Let it snow, let it snow, LET ME SEW!"

In the sewing room, I went through the cupboards and drawers and took inventory of all the works in progress, blocks, quilts needing only the borders, quilts needing quilted and binding put on, and unopened kits. I am so thankful to be blessed with so much. But I am also so convicted to be a better steward of my time and gifts that I seriously need to clean up, finish up, give up, and move on. 

So this new year, in 2014, my goal is to finish 12 items! I feel this is a realistic goal as there are a few items that should finish rather quickly.  My motivation and accountability will be to get them completed and journal the progress here. The only fuzzy part of this challenge is defining what completed is. I am happy to have the top finished and ready to be sent out to be quilted, so if I only make it that far, then I will be satisfied. Please forgive me if I am wimping out.

Today, the project in my lap is the El Dorado Canyon quilt I have pictured in a previous post. I picked it up yesterday at the machine quilter's and today I am stitching on the binding. This is the ONLY easy project that counts towards the 12 to reach my goal. Is that fair? 

I really enjoy attaching bindings. I really enjoy handwork. In high school, I made my homecoming gown with an over-skirt of chiffon that had a hand-rolled, bias hem of what seemed like 20 yards! We only had an old Kenmore sewing machine, and I didn't have a clue how to use the hem rolled presser foot (if there even was one). The tension on that machine was so fickle it would have likely ate the sheer fabric anyway, so to save the frustration, I hand stitched it and LOVED the process! It took me a week working in the evenings. How I now wish I learned to quilt at 17!!

To make the binding, I cut my binding at a width of 2.5 inches, across the width of the fabric. I prefer cutting along the length of the fabric because it has no stretch but this time I did not. I do not use bias binding nor do I make bias binding, even though it really wears the best. I sew the lengths of binding together on the bias and trim the dog ears. This is so there is no bump when turning it over and stitching it down to the back of the quilt. I love the look of mitered corners. To see how this is done, you can check out a video on YouTube. It is not complicated but would be for me to explain the process here.

Fold over your binding and blind stitch to the back. I try to keep my stitches about 3/8 inches apart except smaller around corners and seams. How about you? Are yours smaller? Larger? I certainly do not want a "toe-catcher" but I guess it depends on the expected use of the quilt. A child's quilt would have heavy use and frequent washings.

I found Roxanne applique needles at the quilt store and I am in love. They glide through the fabric like a hot knife through butter!

Once the binding is finished, I will make my label, attach it, and cross this one off my list! BOOYAH! And happy new year!

Making labels will be a good subject for my next post.