Sunday, November 8, 2015

Right Way, Wrong Way ...

... or My Way!

There is a lot of conversation on the "proper" way to hand-turn a binding.  
This is MY Way ...



... with the quilt in my lap and the edge on the table/counter. I stitch from right to left.  I have friends who rest the quilt on the table with the binding closest to them.  Which way do you turn a binding?

I say, "whatever floats your boat" as long as the result is the same!

I spent most of Saturday at the kitchen counter stitching down the binding on "Royal Wedding" (Cathedral Stars). My goal is to get it done in time to enter in a local quilt show next weekend.

Royal Wedding
While stitching inside, I kept a discrete eye on the "tree guys" working on our hill outside.  Their last task was to cut down two small dead trees by the driveway that were a threat to any cars parked underneath.  I am surprised what a difference removing those two spindly trees makes in my view from the kitchen!

View from my stool
 After the tree guys (I know there must be a proper term for them) had left, I went out to "survey the acreage," as Daddy Bill used to say.  The back hill looks much neater with the dead trees and downed limbs out of the way.  And I was happy to see that the garden angel was doing his job in collecting leaves.


It's November 8, yesterday was our coldest day so far this Fall and look what's in my garden ...


... the Encore azalea is still in full bloom.  Honestly, this is the prettiest it has been in the 7 years we've been here.  (And I can't believe it's been 7 years!)

I tried to catch the gorgeous sunset, but my camera was not liking the low light.



The blur is kind of artistic, isn't it.  At least you can see the stunning color.

By the end of the day I had accumulated all my essential tools close at hand ...


... TV, tablet, USB-powered LED light/fan, Clover Wonder Clips, Clover needle threader, scissors, Thread Heaven, 40-weight thread, and the critical glass of zinfandel.

The binding was counted out when I made it, so another week with nothing in and nothing out.

Linking up with Patchwork Times.


7 comments:

  1. Cathedral Stars is on my list (and yet another excuse to use my tri-recs rulers) - yours is gorgeous!
    I do the binding with the quilt in my lap (which is very cozy in the winter, not so much fun in the summer), backside up, stitching right to left on the edge closest to me. This lets my left hand roll the binding up over the seamline in a comfortable position (for me).
    I'm always fascinated with how many ways there are to do a simple task, and how we can each do something completely different but it's the right thing for US.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cathedral Stars is an example of the Tri-Recs stars set on point. They look completely different!

      Delete
  2. Your Royal Wedding quilt I beautiful. Congrats on your finish!
    I do all my binding by machine. The arthritis & tendonitis in my left thumb & wrist are so bad I can't do much hand sewing any more, especially anything involving a pinching type of grip. Thank goodness for wonder clips, pins, glue-basting, etc!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cathedral Stars is on my to do list too.

    After almost 10 years of quilting, I still haven't settled on my favorite way to bind. It's like I have to reinvent the wheel every time. Sometimes I do it by machine, sometimes by hand. The only time I've really enjoyed binding was a quilt I did with 3 other people. Each of us did a side, and we were done in less than an hour.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm like Laura . . . I feel like I have to relearn binding every time I do it (which speaks to how prolific a quilter I am). Your Royal Wedding is superb!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I bind like Gayle. It works best for me. Once a friend and I were binding a soldier quilt. She worked left to right, so we took off in opposite directions and soon had the quilt bound. Sharon B in Franklin

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your Royal Wedding is beautiful. I stitch my binding down pretty much like you do. We've had such a warm fall, but that pretty much ended last night with the 45+ mile per hour winds.

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me smile; I would love to hear from you! I respond almost exclusively by email, so be sure you are not a "no-reply" blogger. Or include your email address if you need an answer to a question.