POOLSIDE...soon!

The Poolside Tote by Noodlehead is probably my favorite tote bag.

I use soft and stable interfacing so it stands at attention.

No squatting allowed.

This llama fabric  had to become a bag!

The black fabric was buried in my stash

Perfect for pocket and straps.

I made this bag and gifted it to a friend for her 70th birthday.

The mustard/gold GRUNGE is great for the lining.

and before I know it...sewing begins.

I add key fobs to almost all my bags.

Back

I have this poolside tote...but it never sees the pool either!

Sew...whose ready for summer and the pool?

ME!  I am heading to Siesta Key, FL as you read this.

A 2 week, Thelma and Louise adventure, plus one more girlfriend.

I just might have one of these by the POOL!

TRUCKIN AWAY!

During the holidays I made a couple pillows using the fun 

Vintage Truck/Christmas Tree fabric.

I had some red and green grunge 
and some buffalo plaids...
Economy blocks seemed perfect.

I quilted the fronts of the pillows

and found a black print in my stash that worked well 

for the envelope / back of the pillows.

I love these pillows!

Here's a good view of the envelope back of the pillow

My front porch was decorated with this truck theme

And I have a lot of blocks left over.

I will be making a lap size quilt for my hubby.

The backing will be flannel.

I did NOT get all of my Christmas sewing done!

What about you?

SUCH A CARD!

As if quilting isn't a big enough hobby...

to pour money into...

I now find myself being "such a card" maker!

I joined a group of quilty friends who also make cards.

Lets just say...a couple of these gals have been

making cards for close to 20 years.

No armatures ...cept me.

Here are a few cards I decided to make using

 Black, Gray, White and Yellow

The Thank You is a word die cut by Sizzix

Dimensional wings on this bee

A happy sentiment from Stampin up

Dragonfly Dreams Stamp set

The quilted hear is a die cut from Stampin Up's

Quilted Christmas Set.

This cute sewing theme die cut set is from Jillian Designs.

And here's a quick look that includes a couple more bee themes.

My friend Kim Hensley gifted me this sewing machine

 "handmade" stamp that's great for sewing themed cards!

I  have a couple other options as well.

Sew you may see more posts about my card making.

It's like making mini quilts and just as time consuming...

not to mention the costs...some might think

it silly...but its just another creative outlet. 

MITERED CORNERS ON QUILT BINDINGS - TUTORIAL

Nothing bugs me more than a beautiful quilt

with crappy looking binding!

SEW here's a tutorial on how I

make the pretty mitered corners on binding!

My binding are all 2 1/2" wide

Piece strips with angled seams for less bulk.

 1/4" foot with a guide

***Where ever you begin sewing down the binding...

LEAVE a loose 10" tail for a mitered binding finish.

(That will be a separate tutorial)

Sew binding down the side of the quilt, aligning raw edges

STOP the needle 1/4" from the edge of the quilt

TURN the quilt 45 degrees (clockwise)

 and sew STRAIGHT OFF the edge of the quilt.

Like this!

Here's a close up view.

TURN the entire quilt (quarter turn counter-clockwise) 

Raw edge of quilt always to the right side.

FOLD the binding straight back

MAKE a 45 degree angle fold and finger press

Like this...

Bring the binding strip forward,  straight down along and 

on top of the right side of the quilt and finger press.

DO NOT loose the 45 degree fold....as you do this.

Begin the 1/4" seam again...at the top edge of

 the binding and quilt corner

DO NOT LOOSE THE 45 degree fold at any time

Continue sewing 1/4" seam 

REPEAT this process, for each corner.

Now lets talk Mitered Seam Finish..

Don't loose me here...its not hard.

I have posted about this technique before and you

can review that tutorial HERE (more detail)

or stay right here...

Leave a loose 10" tail at the beginning of 

sewing down the binding

Leave a 10" loose tail at the beginning strip of the binding.
Start sewing at the 10" mark, back stitch to secure.

Sew all the binding on around the quilt.
When you get to the last edge of the quilt....
STOP sewing when there is 10" of space, back stitch
Then cut another 10" tail.

Now your binding has two tail and a 10" space 

between the loose tails.

Pull down the tails toward each other, pin them down snugly.

This is important to get a tight binding finish

Fold back each tail (right and left sides) 

Leave a snug 1/4" space between the tails.

Trim each tail to 1 1/4" out from each FOLD

(keep that 1/4" space centered)

The 1 1/4" trim on either side is half of the 2 1/2" binding width.  

Now THIS is the tricky part.   Fold the ends as if you were 

sewing binding strips Right SIDES together.

Sew across at a diagonal...

just like sewing the binding strips together.

Lay the sewn piece out flat to make sure it is NOT twisted BEFORE you trim off to 1/4" seam!!!

Now flatten it out, press and sew it down to finish your binding.

THIS is the flat, mitered seam finish.  

trim off any dog ears as needed.

I prefer to "hand sew" the bindings 

for a beautiful finish. 

I have yet to see a machine sewn finish that looks pretty?

FLORENCE the Party Animal...shes been framed!

Let me know if you give these techniques a try

and how they work for you!