Thursday, August 12, 2010

Summer Flowers in the Field



It's done! Now all I have to do is hang it on the wall. I was calling this "my scrappy triangle flowery wallhanging thing," but then I thought I'd go a bit more hoity-toity, so "Summer Flowers in the Field" it is. I crack myself up.



I finished it last night, putting on the binding while watching Top Chef. Gawd, that show makes me want to EAT so I was glad to have something else to keep my hands busy. I'm not a hand sewer of bindings. Gimme my machine all the way, baby! ;-) I tossed it in the washer last night and the dryer this morning so I could have that puckery goodness. I love a puckery quilt. It looks less puckery in these photos than IRL but I think that's because shrinking the pics to more web-friendly size lost some of the contrast/definition. Trust me. It's plenty puckered.

This binding is one of my most successful to date, I think. Usually, I will wuss out and just use a small ZZ on the front so I'm sure the back of the binding is caught. I match thread to binding and you really can't even tell unless you're looking for it. I'm not entering quilt shows or anything.

But I decided I want to master binding a quilt by machine so I forced myself to do it the right way with no shortcuts. My tips: Lots of pins and a walking foot. And this YouTube video. Notice how she's constantly pushing the seam allowance more open as she stitches in the ditch? Do that.

I still had a couple of spots where I missed the back but that's because I joined some of the binding pieces straight instead of using bias seams and they made the binding more lumpy. But I was seriously eeking out the last scraps of these stripes and a bias seam would've eaten up too much of my smaller pieces. I know better, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. It wasn't a big deal to do a second pass where I missed. It's going on the wall. Even I'll never see it.

The quilting itself is nothing special. Mostly just in the ditch, but I did echo the flowers and greenery. Also on my list to master is free motion. I'm OK. But I need more practice.



And, speaking of my sewing room … Oh? We weren't? Well, now we are. ;-) Here's yet ANOTHER photo of my IKEA shelves. I found some bins that work for me. They look basket-y but they're really plastic. I'll need to put labels on them or draw myself a map because with all this reorganization, I CAN'T FIND A THING! But I'm slowly getting used to where my stuff is. Oh, and those 4 bins on the bottom? Those are the ones that used to have blue/yellow lids. Krylon Fusion for plastic rocks!



I also got these smaller rattan baskets. There are 4 of them but you can't see the last one since it's blocked by my cutting table. I'm going to make liners for these — first, because the baskets are kind of rough and second, to keep the green thing going for the lower half of this unit.



While I'm still in quilt-mode, I'm going to try to knock out a quick table runner for my sister for Christmas. Yes, I'm in shock too. I usually never even think about Christmas until December. But I still have scraps I'm determined to use up and this will go fast. I might even make one for myself. I'm going to join in the August Create-With-Me sew-along on UCreate, here. UCreate is a great blog, BTW. Lots and LOTS of crafty ideas. Fill up your coffee cup before you click on that link. I'm just sayin'…

24 comments:

  1. Your little quilt/wall hanging is SO cute!! Love it!

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  2. It's very cute and I love both names! I had no idea that there was paint for plastic - that's brilliant!

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  3. If this post doesn't get me motivated...nothing will. Everything looks great in your sewing room. I love the quilt and especially the binding. I checked out ucreate and put it in my "favorites". Thanks as always. You are an inspiration!

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  4. Is there a special "stitch in the ditch" foot? I usually miss by a fraction of an inch, and that irks me to no end.

    Your quilt is really cute. Great bright spot in the room!

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  5. I'm not a quilt but even I think that is adorable! When you have your sewing room perfect, are you going to come organize mine?

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  6. Your quilt is perfect and the name is spot on.

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  7. Debbie, I think you should consider quilting your other hobby - you are great at it. Yeah, after Trena's room, come over here - I haven't cleaned mine in a year and have migrated in to the breakfast room...

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  8. You're not the only one you crack up. :-)

    I sure like what you're doing with the whole reorg/reuse/recycle thing in the sewing room. Looks really good.

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  9. Cute quilt, Debbie and your room is fantastic. I bet it is wonderful going into this room and creating. BTW, did you find those baskets at Michaels?

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  10. Beautiful quilt....and I love the name :)

    Your sewing room looks fresh and bright.

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  11. Pretty quilt but your sewing room is wayyyy too organised. :)

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  12. This looks great! The colors and fabrics are so fresh and pretty- and I love a striped binding. Your quilting looks pretty darn good to me!

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  13. Debbie, I don't even like quilting and I love your quilt. You have such a great eye- that looks like a design I would pay for.
    And, I hear you on Christmas sewing. I declare I will have it done before Halloween.

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  14. You are making me look SOOOO bad. Your new sewing room and organization is terrific---mine is such a mess right now!

    The quilt is perfect for the room!

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  15. Your quilt and sewing room are great! Your quilt is cheery and fun. Everything looks fantastic!

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  16. Really great quilt Debbie, I love the colors and the bold design. I think quilting is as much an art or graphic design skill as it is sewing. All of my designer friends want to quilt - event the guys!

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  17. Very nice. It must feel good to be in your newly remodeled/organized sewing room. Continue making beautiful things!

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  18. Love your quilt! I have a question, what is the little green machine on the second shelf, second cubbie? Maybe you have mentioned it in a previous entry on your blog, but I'm too lazy to look! You inspire me!!!

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  19. Have you ever considered using the generic binders for quilt bindings?

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  20. So CUTE! The colors are so fresh. Can you come organize my sewing/craft room?

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  21. That quilt is SO sweet. And thanks for the link, i hadn't seen that one yet!

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  22. Stop trying to get me caught up in krafty krap!! Yes, I clicked on the link. Yes, I'm going to look as soon as I publish this... sigh...

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  23. Hi there love your little quilt. And I must say love your shelving and your bins they look fantastic.
    I want to thank you for being a follower just noticed you were there as I just posted a new post. Have fun with your table runner I am sure it will wonderful.

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Thank you for each and every comment. I appreciate them all, but I have to be honest and let you know that I'm usually bad about answering questions. I hope you understand that there just isn't enough time in the day to do everything I want to do.

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