Matchy-Matchy

Last week at Seattle MQG, I participated in what we call a 'Round Table' - a chance for several members to share a skill with the rest of the group. I was asked a while back to share about matched binding, which I was happy to do.

I took a few samples of finished quilts with matched binding, necessary tools - minus my sewing machine - and also made up a small (16" x 20") sample quilt to demonstrate the technique.

I shared the same demo with five different groups of about eight people, using a glue stick and wonder clips in place of my machine at each of the color-change junctions. Sorry, my hands were too busy to take photos, but it worked well enough! Once I was back home, I sewed the binding with my machine, hand-stitching on the back as I normally would.

The piece, which I'm calling "Matchy-Matchy," was quilted with an uneven grid using Aurifil 50wt 5021 [Light Grey], which I actually thought looked more like a light tan. Whatever, I liked how it let the grid show off without being too stark color wise. 

The demo got a great reception from my fellow guild members, some of which had never seen the technique before. I think I even convinced some of them to give it a try! 

P.S. It was surprisingly, harder to catch the true colors of this quilt in the natural light than inside. The second and fourth photos are most true - with the pink more of a peach color, and the medium blue more of a light teal.

#seamswap

It was swap time at our guild meeting this week! I had drawn Ginger/@illstickwithgin's name to create for, and after perusing her list of what she'd like, I collected some of my favorite fabrics [Carolyn Friedlander's carkai and doe] in her favorite colors - peacock blue, navy, white - and hearkened back to those crosscut blocks.

I fashioned the blocks into a table runner, quilted in the same fashion as my previous crosscut quilts. Something about that organic zig-zag just seems to suit these blocks, and it's alot of fun to do! Just mark a zig-zag with your hera marker every 6" or so, then wing it in between.

For this version, I included some 'plain' squares scattered among the crosses, the perfect opportunity to incorporate some matched binding.

Meanwhile, just look at what I received from @sadiesews! The pattern for this beautiful fabric bucket is by Anna Graham, found in her book, Handmade Style. But my partner took it to another level by making the sides of some woven fabric, aka modern meshwork. This design choice felt a bit serendipitous, as I witnessed @sadiesews create her first meshwork at our guild retreat a few weeks ago. I remember enjoying checking in on her progress several times. Very fun.

So good times! Check out #seamswap if you want to see more of the beautiful projects made for the swap.

Linking up with Finish it up Friday!

Scraps :: To Save or Not to Save

So I have a scrappy project to share today and the crazy part is, they aren't even my scraps!! I admired the Oakshott Italy that Cindy/Live a Colorful Life was working with a while back, and she responded by sending me her scraps! Yay for me! But before I show off what I did with them, I need to share a little tale . . .

So I was at a quilting retreat a week or so ago, and I came to a point where I had lots of little triangles left from what I was working on. So I asked the gals if I should keep them or toss them, and Joan, sitting next to me, piped right up with 'toss them!' So I did, you know, not really sure if I'd get around to using them or not. So whatever. Though I was a tad surprised at Joan's response, being an avid scrap-saver herself.

Well wouldn't you know but later in the weekend I caught Joan gathering up scraps even smaller than I had tossed. And the truth came out! Linda laughingly suggested that Joan might just be planning to raid my 'discard' bag after I had left to head home! Can you imagine?! haha. Well I don't really know if she did or not, but if she did, here's to enjoying what little leftovers I tossed.

Now on to what I did with that awesome Oakshott! My inspiration came from a photo I took of a chair at a local coffee shop. I take odd photos like this all the time, but this might be the first time I actually went on to create something!

So here's my first block, which my quilting buddy Sharon identified as a "Greek key" so that's what I've been calling it.

The scraps Cindy sent consisted of 7 colors and I used 6 to make the larger improv blocks, using Essex linen in natural as a background. It was after I'd sewn those 6 blocks together than I came up with the idea for the small unraveling 'key' in the bottom corner. Kind of a random element, but I think it added a bit of fun to the quilt. And for the record, those Oakshotts together with the Essex made for such rich texture in these blocks.

Backing was a stash find, 'garden spiral' in chocolate by Alexander Henry Fabrics, chosen for the pattern as much as the subtle color. For the quilting, I used Aurifil 50wt #5021, which is light grey by its number label but looks more like camel, and I am seriously thinking it might have been mislabeled. At any rate, it is a lovely match for the Essex natural, subtle enough not to be distracting on the colored spirals.

I began quilting there at the intersection of the top 4 blocks, then did a wonky, uneven square spiral around the quilt. Dare I say this was FUN?! I did very little marking, so lines are a little wobbly here and there - just the look I was after.

To keep the focus on the spirals, I used more Essex for the binding, while using the last little piece of the reddish Oashott Italy to make a short bit of matched binding.

One little added comment on this project . . . when completed, the  little "Keychain" quilt measured 24 1/2" x 29". I usually don't compare quilt measurements before and after a wash, but I was curious considering I was using the linen and shot cotton. Color me surprised! After a cold wash and a warm dry, the quilt measured 23" x 27". whoa. That's quite a difference. Note to self.

Despite the shrinkage, I love this little quilt even more now that it's super crinkly!

AND it's the last project on my 2015 Q1 FAL list! Double the fun.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday.

Angled Matched Binding

I've been meaning to write this post for ages. Whether you know what I mean by matched binding or not, as a refresher, I suggest you read this post. I'll wait . . .

SO, as I said then, matching binding at a 'straight' seam is about 150% times easier than at an angle. I have managed doing it at an angle twice, but both times it was a headache, and I knew I needed to take the time to document the process so I didn't have to waste time re-figuring it out every time I wanted to do it. So finally, this past week, I did just that.

To start, measure around your quilt and jot down how many inches of each color of binding you will need, allowing yourself at least 6-8" extra in length for each section. Then cut strips for each section, and press each in half lengthwise just like you'd usually do for double-fold binding. Lay two colored strips alongside your quilt, about where they will be sewn on. Cut both ends on an angle as shown below. Do take note of the angle you are trying to match. Pictured, mine happens to be a 60-degree angle on my quilt, so I cut the binding at 60-degrees, just in the opposite direction.

Stitch ends with 1/4" seam. Press seam open, then repress binding strip for a nice edge.

Pin the binding to the quilt, with raw edges matching.

Fold binding strip up so you can see how things are lining up. Unpin and adjust as needed.

Now to tackle the next angle. Pin binding to quilt every few inches, smoothing as you go and placing a pin at the next binding color change location.

Turn binding up and using a removable marking pen, make a mark on the side next to the quilt, extending the angle of the line.

Unpin the binding strip, lay a clear ruler over your mark, and draw a line 1/4" away, toward the loose end of the binding. Use your rotary cutter to cut along this longer line. Now you're ready to cut and add the next color as in the first step above. Continue on as your particular project requires! Though it involves some up and down, I find it easiest to machine-stitch one connection and pin it in place, then measure, cut, and add another color, pin in place, etc., moving around the perimeter of your quilt. Eventually you'll have the entire binding pinned on and you'll just machine-stitch it on. I usually finish my binding with hand-stitching, but if you machine-stitch your binding, it should work the same way.

Good luck and have fun using this technique on just the right quilt!

If you try this method, be sure and add a picture to Quilting with A Quilter's Table on flickr!

Various Sightings

It's been a while since I shared Triple-Zip sightings {here and here}, so I hope you'll bear with me! I actually blame Leanne of shecanquilt, who made TWO this week! But before I show off some zips, I'll just mention how crazy it is to see your project on a post where you need a translator (from Portuguese) to read about it, like I did on Criar com Tecidos. A metric converter would also be a necessity for a reader of "Create with Fabrics" to make my tutorial. Lovely.

The tutorial was also shared on Ninth Street Notions, along with other fat quarter projects; at Sew Pretty Sew Free, where free tutorials are shared every day; on Lola Pink's Great Tutorials(!) board on Pinterest; and on Sew, Mama, Sew!'s Sew It! ~ Bags board! Humbling to be sure.

So on to the actual pouches. First, Grandma G outdid herself and made her fourth Triple-Zip!

Deb of Trio Stitch Studio resized it and made one using some delicious fussy-cutting.

And Leanne, like I said, made two this week! I just love her use of patchwork!

 

While I'm at it, I might as well mention the fun convo I 'overheard' about my matched binding tutorial. {here}. And I quote: "...check out her post on Striped Binding...another clever technique." And regarding the striped binding tutorial, "The striped binding looks like way too much work." Cracked me up.

And to wrap up this self-gratification post, check out SharHen's very own Mod Angles Cushion also made with my newest tutorial! This is the first I've seen, and it made me so happy!

Random

Well it was nice to receive a couple of shout-outs from fellow bloggers last week - from my buddy Katie of Katie Mae Quilts, who talked about using left-over hst's, and mentioned how much she liked how I used them in "Spiraled".

And from Amanda from Material Girl, who shared a bunch of helpful quilting and sewing tips, including my tutorial for matched binding. 

Since these are two of my favorite quilts from this year, it's nice to know others are remembering them fondly. Thanks, Katie and Amanda!

And I keep meaning to report back about trying out "The Binding Tool"! I've used it on my last two quilts, and I like it - with one caveat: I've needed to watch Missouri Star Quilt Company's video both times. Which is fine by me - in the end, this tool really has helped me finish binding easily with very little bulk.

In swap news, Polaroid blocks are just rolling in. 

As of today, there are 72 swappers, I've received packages from 26 of them, for a total of 1304 blocks so far! Here are just some of the blocks I received this week!

1. 32-67, 2. DSC_0293, 3. picture perfect polaroid swap!, 4. *Picture-Perfect* Polaroid Block Swap!, 5. DSC_1936, 6. Picture Perfect Polaroid Blocks, 7. Picture Perfect Polaroid Block Swap, 8. 50 Polaroids for the swap, 9. *Picture-Perfect* Polariod Swap Blocks 2, 10. IMG_1694 1, 11. Polaroid swap, 12. Polaroid Swap Blocks

If you call me crazy, I certainly won't blame you.

About that Binding

The first time I did it, it was on a whim.

But I was compelled to do it again.

It just seemed right to do it again.

And last week, I did it yet again.

I guess when it comes right down to it, you'd call it "matched" binding. Basically, I make binding strips in different colors, approximating the size of what they need to cover and match. Then I trim and add as I get to the next section. Ie. Machine-stitch, measure-cut-add another color, machine-stitch....continue. Matching binding at a 'straight' seam is about 150% times easier than at an angle, which I did on quilts #2 and #3 above. So let's start there!

Measure around your quilt and jot down how many inches of each color of binding you will need, allowing yourself at least 6-8" extra in length (more if you will be adding in any particular color more than once, like I did with the white binding in the picture above). Cut and prep binding as you usually do.

Now begin sewing binding on just like normal, stopping a couple of inches before the change in color. 

With the binding laying flat, mark where the colors meet, then measure and cut 1/4" past that. Basically, you are just giving yourself a seam-allowance for adding on the next color.

Stitch the two colors together, right-sides together with 1/4" seam and finger-press seam open. (Normally I piece binding with a diagonal seam, but to get that right-out-to-the-edge look, it'll need to be straight.)

Just keep sewing around your quilt, repeating this process while adding your matching binding strips.

All stitched on and just finish as you normally do. (If you machine-stitch your binding from the back, it should work the same way!)

So there you go . . .

If you try this method, be sure and tag with #matchedbinding and tag me when you post on Instagram!

Linking up with TNT Thursday, show off friday, sew and tell, and Fabric Tuesday.