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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Simple and Sweet, Winners, and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday!  This is my wild thing's very last week of elementary school, and it is bittersweet.  I can't believe he's heading to middle school in just two short months!  May is always jam-packed with activities, but it seems that there are even more since it is his last elementary year.  Sometimes in the middle of the madness, it helps to just sew something simple, and this quilt, made with Strawberry Fields leftovers from my Strawberry Season quilt was just what the doctor ordered.


I had enough leftovers to create this baby quilt, measuring 40" x 45", including plenty of fabric for the binding and most of the backing.  I did pull the green print from stash, but I think it blends nicely.


I am calling this one Berry Picking, and it is such a sweet little finish.  The thing that makes me the happiest with this quilt though, is the binding.  Y'all know I'm a machine binder all the way, and lately I've been playing around with a different method of attaching binding with a combination of my lap seam foot (Bernina foot #71) and my walking foot.  There is a tutorial for using this foot for binding HERE, but as written, that method just didn't work for me.  I've made so many modifications to the tutorial that it's not really the same, so I almost didn't even reference it, but that tutorial is the whole reason why I purchased this particular foot to begin with.  So, maybe you'll have better luck if you want to give it a try.

So, usually I pull my binding to the front past the first seam, which creates a seam on the back that runs beside the back binding like this-


Instead, lately I've been adjusting my binding strip width and needle placement so that I have a regular seam on BOTH the front and back of the binding.  I really like the clean, professional look of having a uniform seam on both sides of the binding.  I'm still perfecting it, but this is my most successful attempt thus far.  When I get it worked out perfectly, I'll let you know!


So, before we get to last week's highlights, I have some winners to announce!  The prizes this month were amazing, and I really wasn't kidding when I said that I am a teensy bit jealous that I couldn't win them myself!  As always, the winners were drawn in the order that the prizes appeared in the blog post.  The winner of the drool-worthy Turn Up the Volume bundle from Fat Quarter Shop is comment number 143, Deborah!




The winner of the drool-worthy Turn Up the Volume bundle from Fat Quarter Shop is comment number 143, Deborah!












Comment number 80, GranChris is the winner of the Flower Sugar Holiday bundle, sponsored by Fort Worth Fabric Studio- lucky lady!












Next up is the winner of the $25 gift certificate to LouLou's Fabric Shop.  The winner is Jean, with comment number 103.  I know you'll have a blast spending that, Jean!









And last, but certainly not least, comment number 50, Linda, is the winner of the beautiful low volume bundle of Little Ruby fabrics.






Congratulations to all four of the winners.  I'll be contacting you lucky ladies ASAP to get information from you so that you can get your goodies!

Okay, time to get down to business with the utterly amazing highlights from last week's party!  Ruth at Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner linked up this adorable ticker tape silhouette quilt- and she shared the process!  So cool!


This Ruby granny square beauty is by Jennie at Porch Swing Quilts and it is just lovely!


and this pretty quilt is by Amanda at The Cozy Pumpkin, for her daughter's teacher.  I know she'll treasure it.


Are you ready for some fresh inspiration this week?  Let's party!

**NTT will be taking a vacation next week, so we'll party next on June 8th.  See you then!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!
2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.
3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  
4. Spread the comment love far and wide!
5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)



16 comments:

  1. Lovely work again Kelly! Binding can be a tricky beast can't it...x

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  2. Very cute and sweet baby quilt. Congrats on your son's graduation to middle school. It goes very fast from here. My little girl is now a high school senior.

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  3. This is such a pretty little quilt. That's how I do binding also. I love having the stitching stay on the binding both sides :)

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  4. That seam running along the binding is the very reason I'm not in love with machine binding. I like the look of yours much better! That is a method I may practice myself. Thanks!

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  5. Hi Kelly, I haven't yet mastered sewing binding on with a machine but I kind of enjoy the hand sewing process. Still . . . it would speed things up so if you get that figured out, hope you'll share! I like your simple little blanket. It showcases those gorgeous fabrics just perfectly!

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  6. Beautiful quick baby quilt, Kelly. Thanks for the binding tip; I have the Bernina foot 71 (for sewing jeans!) but never thought of using it for binding! Brilliant!

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  7. I'm a sucker for simple patchwork. It can break my heart to cut beautiful fabric into little bits before sewing it back together, and your Berry Picking allows the fabric to take the spotlight. Love that!

    Now that summer vacation is looming on the horizon, I'll be mixing up my sewing time -- more complicated projects after the boys are in bed and more simple projects for the more chaotic daytime. I hope your summer is a good balance of time with your son and time creating. : )

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  8. I've tried machine sewing one binding! I love hand sewing my bindings, but certainly can appreciate those who do machine sew them on!

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  9. You should check out this binding method, it's really great and you only have to sew around the binding once! I LOVE IT! It's a 2 part video you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_meyLgvBz-w and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsKXJ8abPGM

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  10. Middle School! I bet he is excited. Does middle school start in 6th grade for you? That is what we have - grade 6, 7, 8 are middle school. Pretty crazy that he is moving up, right?

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  11. Nothing like the school years to show us how quickly life flows on. Even though it's crazy busy for you, I hope you savor those last events of elementary school while looking ahead to what's next. Your baby quilt is adorable and a good reminder that simple is lovely. I like doing my bindings with the stitching showing on both sides. If you're interested in how I do it, let me know and I'll give you the link to my post about it. I didn't use a particular foot, though. I'll be looking forward to your method because I'm always tweaking how I do machine sewn binding.

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  12. I wish I could perfect my machine binding. So far I'm most successful when I attach it to the back, turn it to the front and then stitch down on the front. For my latest pattern quilts I didn't want the stitching to show so hand stitched. I'll be back to machine again for the next quilt. It's soooo much faster. Let us know when you perfect the method.

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  13. THANKS FOR SELECTING MY NAME!!!!
    msstitcher1214@gmail.com

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  14. Thanks so much for sharing my quilt, Kelly! Hope you're having a great summer.

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  15. Wait, I am so confused -- isn't today Thursday? I see that the linky is already closed?? -- DUH, just remembered that you said you were taking this week off! Well, I hope you're having a wonderful and restful vacation. I wish I had seen how you did this binding a few days ago. I tried to sew binding completely by machine for the first time and it was a disaster! I don't have the lap seam foot for my machine (just every OTHER presser foot Bernina ever made!) but I'd love it if you could do a tutorial showing how you did your binding. It looks fantastic, and although I enjoy hand stitching the binding on special quilts for myself, there are definitely times when it needs to get done a lot faster and still look good!

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  16. Thanks for the shout out Kelly. I have not managed yet to get a clean machined binding and end up doing by hand. My least favourite part of the process!

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Thanks so much for your comment and for visiting! I read and appreciate every single comment, and I reply to each one as soon as I can. If you don't hear back from me, you might be a no-reply blogger. :)

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