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Saturday, July 12, 2014

Done! And It Feels Good

I finished my silk flower quilt. It measures about 40" square. I call it Chrysanthemums. I love the combination of dupioni silk and batiks. A little bit of hot pink velvet thrown in, really makes it pop.

Most of the flowers aren't perfectly symmetrical. I blame it on my discomfort and working in the mountains without all my tools. It is said that to do a job right, you need the right tools. I do love my nested acrylic circles.

I have started doing a lot of my bindings completely by machine. Why not? Not only is it quicker, but it think it will last longer over time. I have to admit that it has taken several quilts before it has gotten less nerve wracking. I still have corner issues. But I have them even when I bind by hand.

Here are some photos of how I attach my binding by machine.

The first step is to stitch double fold binding to the wrong side of the quilt with a 1/4" seam allowance.

 

Then I turn it to the front, just covering the stitching line and top stitch it down. I move my needle to the left so I can use the edge of my walking foot as a guide.

The only place where I pin my binding is as I approach the corners. I try my best to make it as perfect as I can.

As I miter each corner, I stitch into the point and back out again and then continue on my merry way.

I stitch into the corner and back out, turn the quilt 90 degrees with my needle down, and then keep going on my merry way. I stitch the entire binding down without cutting my thread. I tie them off at the end.

While we were in the Poconos, we surprised the kids and took them out to dinner where they were married. I can't believe it was 2 years ago. When I made the reservations, I made a note that this was their wedding reception location. Lo and behold, they brought over flutes of champagne for all of us to celebrate. How lovely.

 

Bailey was kind enough to put up with Cooper. Kind of!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 comments:

  1. That quilt is beautiful, love the design and the individual petals.
    What a nice surprise for the kids.

    Debbie

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  2. IT'S BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Chrysanthemum is the perfect name and I just love your color choices. You would never know you didn't have the right tools. (My husband always says that - the right tools make the job easier) Can't wait to see it in person.

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  3. Thank you for sharing with us Cheryl. I love that youworked on this while on vacation in the Poconos. I think that every flower in nature is slightly different. So, now you can say yours is a "natural"....not formal and stiff. Think of the gardens with everything in straight little rows and then think of the way nature sets the plants around, complementing each other. I love it. I like the mix of the silk too. I have had so much fun playing with the "scraps" left over from my silk project you taught. If you peek at the "chicks" on my blog this weekend, you will see little bits of silk in my log cabin blocks. :) Mary / Ocean Waves QG

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  4. I bet those silks are just gorgeous mixed with the batiks. And you know I love champaign!

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  5. Beautiful quilt, Cheryl! I like the centers being deeper color than the petals anchoring them. I can't believe it's two years already! Still remember you working on decorations etc.

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  6. Thanks for the mini-vacation in NYC and the Poconos! What a great surprise for your kids!
    That dupioni wall makes me drool.....

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