Facing method binding tutorial

I found this tutorial that I created in 2010 and never posted. I cut my strips 2 1/2" wide, folded them in half lengthwise and pressed them.
Starting the longer side piece


Trimming the binding length short enough so that it does not go to the corner, but long enough that the cut end will be under the end binding once the binding is turned to the backside of the piece.


So now the binding is sewn on each side and it is ready for trimming.


Trimming the edges. I trimmed my batting and backing about 1/2" from the stitching line.


Piece is trimmed the same all around, but now I trim the corners to get rid of the excess batting and fabric.


Trimming the corner


Corner trimming finished.


Pressing the binding


Long sides pressed and ready to turn corner


My turning tool. I must have dropped it at one time and broke the point off, but this is a good thing. Now I don't have such a sharp tip and there is less of a chance of poking a hole in the binding. The key is to gentlely push the corner out and not going too far. You have gone too far if you get a kind of bubble at the corner and it sticks out from the outside edges of your piece rather than being a smooth line to the corner.


Corner after turning.


Pressing the binding to the back side.


Ready for hand stitching


Finshed corner

Progress on the yellow and gray quilt top

Last evening I was busy and tired. I had to run an errand, laundry, work in the kitchen cutting up strawberries and prepping lunch for today. By the time I got that done I was just too tired to sew so I had some extra time this morning and managed to get two rows sewn together and the blocks on another row sewn. The more I work on this quilt the more I like it. I have been thinking about what I am going to do for the back and have not decided yet. I guess it will be a suprise for all of us!

What I got done this weekend

The Halloween quilt top is done! I forgot to measure it, but my design wall is 8' x 8' so it is a pretty good size.

Glen, you see your fabric?

My quilting buddy, Peg, is going to come for a quilting weekend in June so I decided I needed to make a quilt for her gray and yellow room. I used 15 yellows and 15 grays from my stash for this top. I reduced my stash by 7 1/2 yards. I will work on sewing the row together this week. This quilt is for a twin bed.

I did go out Sunday morning and weed wacked the tall grass in the back yard near the edge of the woodes that has not been mowed this year. It was still wet, but at least it is cut. After weed wacking the front also and mowing, two hours had passed and I needed to get back to the gray and yellow quilt

Sewing strips and a raccoon

I finished sewing together the scrap pieces of the Halloween fabric. I have a few other Halloween scraps sent to me and I will add those next. My plan is to get the Halloween top finished this weekend so I can move on to another project.


Now the raccoon story. I have had the windows open the last couple of nights since it has warmed up. I also have two bunches of ripe bananas that I use for my smoothies on my kitchen table. Well, the smell of the bananas must have migrated outside to the point where a young raccoon smelled them and attempted to gain entry thru my kitchen window. It knocked out the screen and I think the noise scared it so it ran away, but woke me up two nights in a row at midnight. Then it would alway come back a second time about two hours later and try again. Well, last night it took me a hour to go back to sleep and at 2 a.m. I heard it again. I had closed the kitchen window since I finally figure out what was going on, but there it was hanging on the the window trying to figure out how to get in. I banged on the window. It scared the raccoon and he ran away. I now have placed the bananas in a covered sealed container and will keep the kitchen window shut for awhile. I wonder how many nights he will be back before he finally gives up? I am just so glad he didn't get in! I have chased bats, a mouce, spiders, silver fish, deer, and grinnies, but never a raccoon.

Halloween quilt- addition

I decided to make the Halloween quilt a bit longer by using up the scraps. The quilt needs to be a bit longer and this way all these little pieces won't go to waste or end up in the scrap bin to be used at a later date.

Busy, but no sewing

At work we are trying to finish up the estimating on a 350.000 s. f. high school/middle school by Friday. I have lots and lots of furniture to count so I took the drawings home last evening and worked on them. I just want to get this done! I am tired of doing this day after day and feeling the pressure of getting it done. We have a team of seven working on this estimate to get it done in three weeks! We normally have a month to do an estimate on a 50 - 60 thousand s.f. elementary! But the architects are behind so to make up a little of the time (very little!) the estimating group has to get the estimate done FAST! Does it make us look good? Well, not really because I think the building will be over budget and that does not sit well with the school and the architect. Oh well, we will see how the numbers add up on Tuesday. Here is one page of the drawings I was working on. I color them in as I count and write the counts on the page.

My weekend working at Miller's Dry Goods, Charm, Ohio

Here is the calm before the storm.

It was crazy on Friday! We had a group of 50 quilters from one retreat and lots and lots of quilters from other retreats in the area. I got to my cutting station at 8 am and only left once to get some water. After that we were steady cutting fabric until 12:30. I finally got to go to lunch at 12:45. At one time there was probably 40 people in line waiting to check out. That line remained that long for at least 2 hours! There were 8 cutting tables and we were all busy! The rest of the afternoon and Saturday were steady, but it never got as jamb packed as it was Friday morning.

I again stayed at the home of one of the Amish ladies that also works at the quilt shop. After we were done working, Mary, mowed her lawn and then we went to a local grocery so she could pick up a few items. After a long day that cup of homemake mint chocolate chip ice cream at the grocery sure tasted good! Here is my room in Mary's house.

So here is the fabric that came home with me. These were all in the bargin basement. The left fabric I bought 2 yards, then I emptied the bolt for the other pieces - 3 1/2 yards, 3 1/4 yards, and 6 1/2 yards - all for $6.00 a yard minus 30%. That means they were $4.20 a yard!

Here are some half yard pieces except the black background comma fabric, the solid grayish, and the gray mud looking comma are 1 yard pieces. The mud comma piece I found in the remment bin for $6.00 a yard plus 30% off - a really great deal!

They had some new sock monkey fabric so I picked up a half yard of each. The Rock star fabric is for a pillow case for my nephew for Xmas, and the gray music was a remment so it just had to come home with me. I stopped at another quilt shop on the way home on Saturday to pick up a few more Halloween fabrics. Miller's just didn't have any that would work with the quilt. I also have a piece of Moda Bella Solid coming. I sold the enitre bolt we had to a lady and it was the most beautiful soft white so I just had to have some. This may replace my beloved Kona Snow. I will show a comparason once I get the Moda.

And of course I picked up a couple more pair of these gloves for machine quilting. The tack wears off after awhile so I like to keep a couple extra pair on hand.

I worked on the Halloween quilt on Sunday, but I am not going to show a picture of it untit the top is done. Yes, I am using the crazy improv pieced triangles.