Binding Adventures

This year our quilt guild didn't have a volunteer to make next years raffle quilt so we (the board) did it.  Actually Lucy our past president did 90% of it as she helped pick the fabric, then did all the cutting and piecing of the top.  Another member quilted it and I put the binding on.  I haven't done a big quilt binding in quite a while. 100" each side.  Mainly because I haven't gotten any quilts finished in the last couple years!  Lots of UFO's stashed around my house.
Well I received the quilted raffle quilt at the last meeting and got it out to trim and sew the binding on.  You know I had immediate help...

What you doing mom?

 I smell interlopers!
Don't worry, I said, they aren't coming to visit.  Dog and Cat at Lucy's house.

 

I was at the joining the binding stage.  Got out my fancy binding tool and for the life of me couldn't figure it out.  Even after watching vid on Utube.  Why do they shoot the video from across the table when its a do this and then flip this way type thing? Everything is backwards from how you have to do it and my dyslexia went nuts.  No way I could make it stick in my brain.  It either came out too long or too short.  I finally gave up and joined it straight like I do welting. Oh well, not strictly correct but its not going in a show. Mittens was not a help in this situation!

Just making sure you are doing it right.

  
Only took me 14 hours to sew on and then do the hand sewing.  Good grief. I was feeling like a totally lame hand sewer until I got to the guild meeting and asked some of the pros we have, and they said yes that was pretty standard for a big quilt, so I wasn't as much of a slacker as I thought I was.

Looks pretty good mom!

 Lounge worthy...

 

I did do some real work in the last few weeks, a fitted silk bedspread that is a remake of one made in 2006. Owner got a new mattress that is bigger.  The original I did myself on my old Bernina, in a much smaller stipple pattern.  Took forever.  I didn't ask what they did with it.  Knowing these people, probably pitched it.  Ouch.  The new one I did in a much larger stipple, took less time.

 

 Note the nice long hard fingernails, was fun to have them, but shortly after this we underwent a hormonal shift and they all got soft and flaked apart like mica.  Sigh.  Really don't want to get into the salon and acrylics route, once you start you have to keep going, but really don't like having no nails to work with either.

Also made some gorgeous silk panels, only got one not good photo as the small room was full of manly men hanging a 17th century french chandelier imported from a palace... Too amazing.  Will take photos on my next trip to the home as I have more projects there. 

Isn't this fabric cool?  Silk from Thailand, its blue on the front and gold on the back

 and shimmers in the light...

The drapes are in a west window and still need some adjusting here, but the only picture I got as between the chandelier men, the drape installer, me and the homeowner there were 7 people mushed in a room meant for 4.  But they looked wonderful.   Banded on 3 sides in a tan silk.

 

Oh and remember all the tree cutting?  Of course they forgot to do the one in the backyard on the wires and naturally it snowed.  Told you.

Thankfully not so much snow that the wires got pulled down... but it was close.  Slacker landlordboy showed up the next morning and hacked them off waist high and left them in the middle of the yard.  They are still there.  Hey, at least I have power, and its not my grass.  Cheers!