Monday, June 9, 2014

Another Rainy Monday

It's Monday.  It's raining.  And it's guild meeting day.

First, I misread the alarm clock, thought I had overslept, and rushed down to the kitchen at 5:30!  No coffee waiting for me. :-(  OK, I'll admit I'm spoiled.  Back in my working days my Main Man would bring the first cup to me in bed.  Sigh ....

So I headed down to the computer to write up instructions for today's guild program.  Just one block ... how hard can that be?

Well, harder than I thought.  Especially since my printer is on the second floor and I'm in the basement.  Rather than run up and down two flights of stairs to turn on the printer and then back up and down only to find out WiFi couldn't broadcast that far, I had the bright idea to e-mail it as an attachment to myself and I could receive it on MM's computer in the basement and print there.  Not to be.  E-mail didn't like something in the document, wouldn't attach.

Did I say it's Monday?  And it's raining.  Why do I always wait till the last minute?????  I ended up copying the text into a message and was able to print that.

So what am I working on otherwise?  Today at guild sit-n-sew I will be turning the binding on Rock Island, Rock On (a/k/a Rock Island Campfires).

Rock Island, Rock On
As I was sewing the binding strips together I was reminded of a tip I got in a class -- I think it was Susan Cleveland (Piping Hot Curves).  So I thought I'd share it with you.

Binding strips RST at right angles
You probably know that the seams on binding strips should be on the diagonal to reduce bulk.  This is accomplished by putting strips right sides together at right angles to each other.  Then stitching diagonally across the intersection.

But do you have trouble remembering which way to sew?

Think about the strips as the legs in a pair of pants.  Got the picture?

ALWAYS stitch along the waistline, NEVER through the crotch!

Now that I have your attention ..... notice that I do not pin.  I have a line drawn on the table insert that marks the center needle position.  I simply guide the notch where the strips overlap along the line.....


Stitching along the "waistline" using drawn line as guide
... then pull the unsewn end of the top strip face up and lay the next strip on top ...

Chain piecing binding strips together
... chaining till I have them all together.

Hope your Monday got off to a better start than mine.  Check out what others are working on at Patchwork Times.

12 comments:

  1. Never through the crotch. That is one I will never forget. Thanks for the morning giggle!

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    1. That little ditty goes through my head every time I join strips end-to-end. And it makes me smile, too.

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  2. Great tip! I've stitched up that crotch many times...OUCH!

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    1. I feel your pain! Thanks for taking time to comment.

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  3. That is great binding for your quilt. I do think that I have you beat in the crazy Monday stories - my hot water heater went out. Have fun at guild

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    1. Yes, Marlene, you beat me! Hope you have a good plumber. Thanks for noticing my bright binding. It's looking really good; got two sides done yesterday.

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  4. Love your tip! I will never sew the wrong way again! Your binding fabric is wonderful. Mondays can be a challenge...

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    1. That tip has saved me many times; it's hard to forget when you have the visual in your head ;-). Thanks for commenting on the binding.

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  5. Your quilt is just beautiful. Hope your Monday got better!

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    1. Thanks, Alicia. It did get better. (But it's still raining .....)

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  6. Ahh Mondays, yes, they can certainly live up to their reputation! Wonderful tip! And if my 'rememberer' keeps working, I won't forget. [A dear friend, now deceased, would refer to her Alzheimer's as "my rememberer is broken".]

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    1. My rememberer fails me more every day. BTW, you got a great deal on that FQ at $l.50!

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