Blueberry Delight is back from the quilter and I love how it works on my January tablescape. I love to have some blue and white in my decor during the period after Christmas. I enjoy the crisp coolness of that palette after the hectic red and green of the holidays.
This pattern is free from the Fat Quarter Shop. They did a sew along called Petit Four which featured their line of foundation papers. Each week we used a different foundation paper to make the blocks for the quilt. The fabric I used was Blueberry Delight by Bunny Hill Designs.
This is a closeup of the quilting. Since the design of the blocks is pretty angular, I wanted something rounded and swirly for the quilting design. In retrospect, I kind of wish I had chosen something more wintery, like snowflakes, perhaps, but overall, I am quite happy with how this turned out. I did my binding all on the machine, which got this project out on the table faster than it would have otherwise.
Now for my little tip. I have a terrible record of misplacing the fabric needed for my quilt bindings. In spite of my best intentions, these fabrics get mixed up with other scraps, accidentally used in some other project, or just lost. It is particularly a problem when I have used a cream or white in the quilt that is essential to match on the binding. I finally got smart, labeled my binding fabric, and set it aside in a special basket designated for binding fabric for future use.
I am sure most of you are far more organized about keeping track of the fabric you plan to use for your quilt bindings, but for those of you like me, I hope this little tip helps.
9 Responses
Like your basket idea, I have a large, wooden box with a lid for binding. The lid keeps dust and thread scraps from collecting. The box is under the table that holds my primary sewing machine.
I have used my binding box for 30+ years. My brain is trained.
I keep dark navy binding and black binding in there, ready. I make full sized quilts, so usually am using dark binding. I just made dark navy binding to replenish my supply. I cut up three full yards of 45” and sewed/pressed all of it. I wrap binding on pieces of cardboard to keep it nice.
If I need a special match/color, I make binding for a current project, right when I finish the top, as it is headed to the long arm quilter. Then when it comes back, quilted, I am ready, the binding is waiting in the box. I have always done it this way. I do not move on to another project until the binding is planned/made/ready.
The only exception to this is when I am using the excess fabric, from the quilt backing, for the binding. This just happened with a quilt. My trick is to make a little bit of binding, or put a note with a scrap of the fabric, in my binding box.
I have used the same long arm quilter for 30+ years. She no longer makes me get in line. She quilts my tops within two weeks of my giving them to her. Sometimes it is less than a week. So it is easier to remember now. Long ago, I sometimes waited 6 mos to get a quilt back. In those days, making my binding in advance was vital. (I was just talking to another long arm quilter in my area, she currently has a 9-12 mos waiting list. I do not know my quilter’s current wait time. She has four machines.)
I too am very careful about white fabric as I am working on a project. I agree, whites and off whites get very confusing. It is shocking how different but alike whites and off-whites can be.
I am working on a white background quilt right now. I bought 4 yards of 120” bleached muslin for the back. I bought 3 yards, off the same bolt, for piecing the blocks. I put every bit of other solid white fabric away in a bin with a lid before I started. The only white fabric out is the one I am using. Even so, I labeled the 4 yards of backing and paid attention to where I put it.
So glad you are getting back to a more normal life. Hope you are both able to sleep well and nap as needed.
We have snow and ice right now and it is very cold. I load the dogs in the car and head to JoAnns or Lowe’s most days. Both stores welcome dogs and do not care if we come in to walk the store in bad weather. It gets us exercise and socialization. I almost always need something. Yesterday, it was one spool of thread in a distinct color that I needed for my binder. On the way home, I dropped the thread and the quilt at the binders. (She is the smartest thing I ever did.)
Vickie
I also make the binding when I finish the quilt top. That way I can ensure it doesn’t wind up in another project! I have a set of 3 hat boxes that were my daughter’s when she was young and the smallest is where my bindings live. When I take a quilt off my longarm, I know exactly where to find the binding! Love your table topper! I need to make a few for my dining room table!
Love your table topper, the frosty blue and white is so fresh looking. Yesterday I put all of my Christmas quilts, runners and toppers away and brought out my blue winter quilts, it’s a good change. For several years I’ve made my binding when I finish any quilting project, also labeling is key! I like being able to trim my project, add the binding and have it ready to stitch down in the evening. I haven’t mastered finishing a project completely with my machine. Have a good day, it’s good to see your posts more often. Take care! ❄️💙❄️
Are you in any danger of the wild fires?
Blue & white anything has always appealed to me in January for some reason. Your topper looks soothing after the hectic holidays. It’s nice to see you fitting some sewing time into your days. I, too, make my bindings as soon as something is in my long arm quilter’s hands. I like having it waiting when the quilt comes home ready to be completed.
Absolutely beautiful. I love blue-and-white quilts.
OMGoodness I thought I was so smart when I started making my binding as soon as I finished the top. I would completely get them ready 😕 and wind them up in my favorite figure 8 way. In my mind I would not forget where I put this treasure after spending so much time prepping it, but I have found three this year that I had given up on. Crazily enough I do have a special basket for binding “ends.”
I love your tip. Starting today with the perfect basket. TY.
I too would always misplace my binding fabric. Now as soon as the quilt top is completed, I cut and sew my binding strips together, press and roll it up and put it into a little baggie with the name of the quilt. I keep all binding in one container so I know where to find it.
Just love that topper and wish I had made it! That fabric sold out crazy fast so doubt I can replicate it now but it is so pretty!