Stay tuned

Oh no! The blogger gremlins got me. Last post May 27th 2012? That just won't do.

I'll be back ;)

Kelmscott Manor - Sentimental Reasons Quilt Show 2012

Kelmscott Manor - Sentimental Reasons Quilt Show 2012, originally uploaded by sailbit.

One of my entries in the Oakville Quilter's Guild show in May 2012.

1st place, Viewer's Choice, Large Quilts Category
& also Member's Choice for Large Quilts

Thank you to family, friends, fellow quilters, and complete strangers --- I am so very touched that you love this quilt as much as I do!


(Also a special shout out to my friend Dorothy Baker, who won 3rd prize Viewer's Choice for her gorgeous "Vintage Tiles" Quilt!!)

Oops - Missed a spot!

Oops - Missed a spot!, originally uploaded by sailbit.

When you have 7,225sq inches of quilting to do, and you realize you missed a spot waaaaay back in the middle of a closed off space ... well, your first reaction isn't something that needs to be described. Second reaction?

"How in the heck am I going to find that spot later?!"

I like to use #8 perle cotton for various things quilty. Like basting the way Sharon Schamber does. Or big stitch quilting. Or embroidery. So I have more than a few spools tucked into my stash.

So I grabbed the brightest colour I could find and a big darning needle, and I "flagged" this little spot so I don't have trouble finding it in the middle of this huge quilt. When I am at the end of another bobbin or need to start in a new place, I'll snip the thread out and finish up that section :)

Not a bad idea at 8am on a Saturday!

Quilt Math aka The Murphy's Law of Bindings.

Hello out there :) I've been alternately sick or quilting my little brains out for the past few months (not that I have much to show for either!) The lovely thing about blogging is that it waits for you and you don't have to make any deadlines!

So, lets have a wee chat about bindings. It's not my first rodeo - I've bound a lot of quilts. By machine, by hand, by both. I've made double fold, single fold, and bias. I calculate what I need and bias join my strips and iron and roll and do all the things a good little quilter should do. I even bias join the start and finish - no tucking the ends in for me. And every darned time, this is what seems to happen:

 This piece of binding has 7 joins, probably about 3 inches each where it is thicker because of the seam.  21 inches of trouble, over 244 inches total.

A quilt has 4 corners. Usually.

So, here is a question for a statistician: How come at least one darned trouble spot of the binding ALWAYS lands on a corner for me?! I mean ... 92% of the binding is trouble-free, smooth sailing. And look what happens. I got pretty lucky on this green one because at least the seam is centered right where it would be if I had tried to miter my binding (HA). But STILL, I know the odds are just not high enough to account for this happening every time.

And I know it happens to you ladies out there too ...

Yup, I know, I'm probably just starting at the wrong place. But it seems like I have tried to start in every different place, with the same results.

So: calling smarty-pants binding experts. Is there a no-fail way to attach a binding so you DON'T have a seam on a corner?

Kelmscott - William Morris

Kelmscott - William Morris, originally uploaded by sailbit.

36 blocks, 16 birds, 4 corners, 50 knots --- all of this is waiting on the last 6 blocks!

Which I have traced and waiting for some snipping and stitching.

And then the fun part - stitching the 25 knots borders, made from 2 sections each.

And then the really fun part (no, seriously this time) -- quilting it!