Binding the "No Name" Quilt

I'm absolutely delighted about finishing my 65" X 71"minimalist quilt - the one that's certainly not minimalist, and I've called by several names.... none of which are keepers. So, my No Name quilt is done and currently lies across the guest room bed, awaiting its outdoor, styled photo shoot with better pictures to come.

For binding, I used my favorite binding method. First, I marked the quilt perimeter.

Then, measured it and a strip of binding, to make both the same length. I sewed binding, separately, to four side.

Corner are left free, for machine-sewing.

After sewing corners together...

... ⅜" from the sewing line, I rotary cut to trim batting and backing.

I have a 2009 tutorial for this "No Tails Binding: Mitered Corners by Machine method here, but I'm wondering if it's time to write a new one... though I wouldn't be telling blog-readers anything different. 

Here's an honest picture of my sewing room today! Since finishing the quilt (It still needs a name; did I mention that?) I've continued to make a few Bibliography selvedge quilt blocks (royal blue blocks on the far right and bottom left). Yes, that's a heaping, messy pile of selvedges on the table.  I'm keeping up with my 100 Days of Quilt Your Life - 42 days into 100 days. I have made 63 blocks, and am only (at the moment) four blocks behind. 

I'm also hand-quilting the second of four wedges for the modern potholder quilt. See the last picture of Pot  Luck here. 

Book Recommendations

Nothing Else But Miracles by Kate Albus takes place in the Lower East Side of Manhattan (a place I've never been), where 12 year-old Dory and her brothers - one older and one younger - are trying to get by on their own. Their mother has died, and their father has been called-up to WWII service. 

Head-strong Dory often does things her elders tell her not to do. They're getting along fine with their father's monthly paycheck and people in the neighborhood who offer baked goods or a weekly meal. Their landlord is kind and understanding. But when he suddenly dies, the children find themselves in difficult circumstances, in the watchful eye of a new, unyeilding landlord. It's through Dory's tenacity that they find a place to hide, beyond the prying eyes of the landlord and the authorities to whom he's reported them. 

I found this is a deliciously charming tale about plucky children, fending for themselves as best they can in unfortunate circumstances. This story is unlike any you've read before. 

Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro was a reflective story about families growing up on the same street, and how neighborhoods turn over and change through the years, yet how people remain the same. 

Dr. Ben Wilf and his wife have raised two children on Division Street. Ben unexpectedly meets his new neighbors, the Shenkmans, as Mrs. Shenkman goes into premature labor. The son who's born, Waldo, is one of the main characters, an 11 year-old who's noticeably quiet, unusual, and has a fascination for star-gazing. Though Waldo's father loves him, he's doesn't "get" him, so when Waldo encounters Ben with whom he finds understanding, an unlikely relationship forms. The same night they meet, another encounter changes Waldo's and Ben's lives forever. 

Woven throughout the story is the Wilf family's terrible experience - a tragedy they never talk about, but haunts all their lives. 

Linda's score: 3.8/5.0

The Clinic by Cate Quinn is a somewhat far-fetched, yet engaging story that will draw you in.

Readers go with Megan to a remote, coastal part of the Pacific Northwest to The Clinic, where celebrities stay in a plush, exclusive facility for rehabilitation from alcohol and drug abuse. Meg's going, under cover, because her sister, the famous singer, Haley Banks died while in The Clinic. Though Haley's death is ruled a suicide, local police investigate to learn that more is going on than a suicide. 

While Meg promises her partner, Harry, that she'll give up her alcohol and drug habit while she's in The Clinic, she will also find her sister's killer. Meg comes to know the other guests - three women and two men - as she receives threatening letters warning her to leave. Then her life is in danger too. It comes to light that everyone in The Clinic is involved in rehabilitation using a new, experimental treatment that dredge's up painful, traumatic memories. 

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0

I've been playing Wordle for a while now. You too? In fact, I've played 891 times, but I've lost several times. My longest streak was 164. No doubt you've got longer streaks than me! 

Anyway, it doesn't often happen that I can guess the word in two guesses, so I had to document it.

I've been following Debbie J aquilterstable as she's been making pieced chairs. Her project brought to mind an old pattern I kept (one of a few) of a set of pieced chairs. The pattern, called "Come Have a Seat," was published by Four Corners in 1994 (!), and when I recently opened the pattern sleeve, I found an extra chair I'd made in 1995 when I made and gifted this quilt to a co-worker at Drake University. One of these days (ha!) I'd like to make this little quilt again. 

Linda

Potholder Quilt Next Step

I feel like I reached a milestone Sunday afternoon when I finished putting binding on the last of 42 blocks for the modern potholder group quilt I'm putting together. 

The pictures below are of the process I followed, putting binding on a 6" X 6" block stitched by JoElla @jemquilter. Step-by-step:

1) sew binding strips on each of four sides

2) trim all four sides ¼" away from the stitching

3) use my ⅝" wide cardboard template as a guide to sew mitered corners

4) four mitered corners sewn

5) turn four corners inside out; use a stiletto to pull fabric to make points

6) fold and clip single fold binding, ready for hand stitching

I sewed 168 mitered corners, but who's counting? Ha! I got pretty good at it. 

I was delighted to see the whole thing arranged on the design wall. At this point it's 48" X 48".

To hand stitch blocks together, I'm using Aurifil 40-weight thread, in color #2605.

After labeling every block, indicating which piece is sewn to another, using column letters and row numbers, I've begun stitching. I position right sides together and use a ladder stitch to join two blocks. I'm taking stitches about ⅛" apart. 

After piecing a seam and laying it flat, this is what the front looks like. Pretty nice, isn't it?

Not all the stripes align, but that's okay. The overall effect is good. 

Blocks shown were made by: 
upper left - Karen @sunrayatplay
middle left - Kathy @kathycookquilts
right - Jane @gonequiltinginflorida
bottom - Debbie @aquilterstable

I so appreciate the variety of blocks I received from the 15 other makers (besides me) whose creations are in this quilt. I asked participants for quilt name suggestions and was delighted by one from Maureen @maydecemberquilts.  

POT LUCK

Isn't that just the perfect name?! Not only does it have the word "pot" in the name, but the concept of a pot luck is everyone bringing their best recipe to the table.

Maureen says it best: 

"All the dishes are brought to a pot luck, made by different cooks with no communication between those cooks, and it all works out to be just the right amount and types of food enjoyed by all!!"

Thank you, Maureen for the great name! 

Book Recommendations 

The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass is about Anna, a woman who has just lost her husband Henry. He had an art studio in a run-down apartment complex called The Sycamore. Anna has temporarily moved into her husband's apartment. Cass also lives at The Sycamore. She's been tossed out of a luxurious home where she lived with her boyfriend. Now she's making ends meet as The Sycamore's maintenance person. 

Residents lead routine lives - mothers and children who meet by the pool; single men: a teacher, an online seller, a recent widower; and a husband who threatens and beats his wife. Cass has had enough of domineering men who she knows how to videotape and blackmail into better behavior. However, one video backfires, and she's embroiled in a murder... actually, more than one murder. 

This book had my attention from the beginning. Its twists and unexpected turns didn't conclude until the end. Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

Time After Time by Karly Lane takes place in small-town Australia. Alice Croydon and her family have lived there for generations. Alice works in a local dress shop. She's engaged to Finn, who's a hard-working farmer on his family's crop farm. 

Alice has dreamed of designing gowns, and her latest masterpiece is her own wedding dress. When she's offered an opportunity to learn about the fashion industry from a world-famous designer in London, she's torn about what to do. Discussing that offer with Finn forces her to make a decision. She'll follow her dream, but only for a year. How things can change in a year.

Alice's dreams become bigger than she anticipated, yet she misses her family and home town. Her little house is still there, the one that her Granny Dot lived. She's drawn back, but will she be the person she once was?

Of course I enjoyed this book because of the Australian accented narrator. If you listen, pay attention to Gram's words of wisdom, and her marvelous accent. Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney takes place in Hope, Texas, where a mega-church - The Hope - has grown because of its charismatic preacher, Luke Nolan. His wife, Ruthie, and two daughters, Abigail and Caroline live in his reflected limelight. 

Abigail is engaged to Matthew, who Caroline is sure is the wrong man for her sister. The book begins six weeks before Abigail's wedding, at a bridal shower at the family farm, bequeathed to Abigail and Caroline by their grandmother. Bombshell news that Preacher Nolan has had an affair sends Ruthie and the girls into a tailspin.

Caroline finds evidence of her father's affair in the family farmhouse. Her already-tenuous relationship with her father breaks down further. The girls determine to find solace together, move into the farmhouse, and await the outcome of the church elders' investigation and decisions about their father's future. 

This story is about overtly evangelical Baptists. I found it interesting that the author used many biblical references, and attempted to apply and/or twist scripture to the situations the characters found themselves in. Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

Linda

Plodding Along

With the climbing number of Corornavirus cases, and hospitalizations in Florida, I'm feeling the weight of tedium. I'm plodding along. While other people are spending time with family again, I'm especially missing being able to travel to see my dad, children and grandchildren.

Last Monday, the Villages emailed residents to announce the latest change in plans - from reopening recreation centers on July 6, to recreation centers that will remain indefinitely closed. Without line dancing, ukulele club, quilting groups, and quilting workshops I was to teach, the days feel relentlessly the same. Initially, when plans were made to reopen, albeit in a new way, there was hope that life would eventually turn around. Now, the necessity of continuing to stay at home is testing my perseverance. 

Hubs and I have begun referring to 2020 as "the lost year."

I'm continuing to make, digging up self-motivation to continue WIPs, and a few new things. 

Like... the quilt I'm making from Kristy Lea's "Create" fabric collection. Using the 27 fat-eighths that were sent to me by Riley Blake, I created a design that's 44" X 44" - meant to be a baby quilt.

For the quilt sandwich, I made myself puzzle together batting scraps, trying to use up. Unlike the last time I joined batting with fusible interfacing strips, this time I slightly overlapped two batting pieces, rotary cut gentle curves, and used the widest zig-zag stitch on my Bernina to piece them together. I'm very pleased with the result.

Quilting this (so far, unnamed project) on my Bernina 770QE, I used a combination of walking foot quilting, ruler quilting with a Sariditty Cinched Arc ruler, and free motion quilting. 

No Tails Binding: Mitered Corners by Machine is how I attach binding. 

I'll take several pictures of the finished quilt, write the foundation paper pieced pattern, and all will be revealed on Tuesday, July 21, the date I've been assigned for sharing on my blog and Instagram. I plan to make the pattern available as a free download.

A few more Prudence Quilt blocks have been pieced, and I'm cutting fabric to make more. I like the challenge of coming up with fussy-cut pieces from my stash, which does not include Tula Pink fabrics, the fabrics that seem to be most-favored by English paper-piecers. 

I'm curious... do you know anything about twining? (Pronounced twine-ing.) I saw Victoria Findlay Wolfe's Instagram picture of her twining loom project, and it captured my attention. 

After watching BluPrint videos about rigid heddle loom weaving - even entertaining the idea of trying it though I'd need to buy a loom AND yarn - now I wonder if twining might be more up my alley. I'd need only a loom (by Lilly Lula), and definitely would not need fabric.

Even though I am able to entertain myself at home, I miss interaction with my modern-making friends. So, when the South Florida MQG (Boca Raton) publicized their July through December schedule of online presenters and workshops, and pro-rated membership dues for anyone to join, I did! I'm now a member of South Florida MQG! The chapter sent a lovely welcome email with information about all their activities, and where to find information about their Beatles challenge and BOM.

I was also welcomed on Instagram!. 😊 

I am looking forward to the next six months of membership that includes program and workshop guests Amy Friend, Timna Tarr, Teresa Duryea Wong, and Malka Dubrawsky! 

Reading audiobooks continues to be my favorite multi-tasking activity when making. 

I'm so glad I picked Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. If you've read Unbroken, the true story of Olympic runner, pilot, and WWII P.O.W. Louis Zamperini, then you'll understand when I say that Boys in the Boat is a similar, true narrative. It's about the University of Washington nine-man rowing team, from 1933-1936 that overcame hardships (dust bowl, depression) to make it to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. I didn't think I'd care to read a sports story, particularly about rowing, since I know nothing about it. But after following the difficult childhood and endurance of rower Joe Rantz, I have much respect for the sport. It takes more than hard work and spirit to participate in such a precise and demanding competitive activity. Details about rowing events and strategies that I expected to be boring were completely captivating. Historical information about these times in the US, and economic challenges, were fascinating.

Linda's score: 4.7/5.0

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd (The Secret Life of Bees) was recommended to me by friend Deb, and I'm so glad she did! The premise is: What story might be told if Jesus had been married? I'd never given the possibility a thought, but the manner in which the author presents Jesus (before his ministry began), Mary, James and Simon... in the times, places, and circumstances he would have been in, and saying what we know from the Bible, makes the answer seem possible. The story follows Ana, a teen with scholarly aspirations not in line with Jewish culture, that dictates an arrange a marriage. Ana, who does not want to marry, then encounters the captivating 18 year-old Jesus. 

If you listen to this book, don't miss the author's own commentary at the end - about the four years she spent doing meticulous research to weave cultural norms into the narrative, including the demeaning of women.

This book is excellently read by Mozhan Marnò - though she pronounces locations and names differently than I learned in church. Examples: I learned: Ca-PER-num; she says: CAP-er-num. I learned: TAB-i-tha; she says Ta-BEE-tha. I remember Pastor Mike saying no one knows for sure how Biblical names were pronounced, so her pronunciation doesn't change the story. It's still great!

Linda's score: 4.8/5.0

Linda

Week Review

It's been a full week, but I don't have much to share from the sewing room. A return of my formerly dormant P.A.D., and a subsequent doctor visit has turned my focus away from sewing.

Still, I prepped 35 kits to take to Monday's Central Florida MQG meeting, cutting Essex linen, batting, and backing fabric to make small quilt sandwiches. And also cut lengths of six different brands and weights of pearl cotton. I did all this in anticipation of sharing a Big Stitch Quilting program with my chapter. However, due to P.A.D. and a needed procedure, I'll be unable to give the program. I'm bummed, but the good news is that I'll still give the program to our chapter in 2020.

I finished quilting my selvages quilt, and sewed binding to it. It's been a while since I've shared steps for my favorite binding methods. 

As you can see, I do not cut away batting and backing before sewing binding to the quilt. The reason is that if I cut them away first, and allow only a quarter-inch for the binding seam, when I wrap the binding to the quilt back, the binding isn't "stuffed." Instead, leave the batting and backing attached until after sewing binding to the quilt. Then, lay the ruler on the machine-stitching line, trimming at 3/8". That way, the usual 1/4" and the extra 1/8" are just what's needed for a fully stuffed binding.

In this picture, I show how I sew binding to the quilt top along the line I've drawn around the perimeter of the quilt.

Also, you can see that as one step, I sew a strip of binding to one side of the quilt. Then, I sew a strip to the opposite side of the quilt. And lastly, separate strips are sewn to the remaining two sides.

By measuring one side of a quilt, and I can cut and measure a strip of binding that's exactly the same length as the quilt. They are equal, ensuring that my quilt remains square.

Here's how I handle each corner... The two ends of binding strips are machine sewn together at a 45-degree angle. 

I love that I never have to worry about hand-sewing closed each corner. All I do is poke it out!

The corner turns out beautifully.

If you've never seen this binding method, it's probably pretty intriguing. It sure was to me the first time I saw it, back in the 1990s when a Des Moines friend shared it. I've never sewn binding differently since then. 

If you'd like to try this binding method yourself, you can watch the webinar I did for the Modern Quilt Guild (if you're an MQG member). It was published September 29, 2016.

Otherwise, here's the link to my blog tutorial called No Tails Binding: Mitered Corners by Machine. Please let me know if you try it, and if you have questions! 

My hubs has the kitchen skills at our house, and here's the glorious pizza he made this past week. He calls it his "white pizza," because it doesn't have red sauce. It's technically a vegan pizza, though that doesn't have a thing to do with why we like it so much. Ingredients are: pesto, brie, monterey jack, fresh mushrooms, fresh zucchini, chopped red bell peppers, and fresh basil. 

His crust is homemade too. First thing in the morning, he makes the crust which is then refrigerated. I can tell you that he spends several hours in the kitchen when he makes this one. I'm usually in the sewing room - but I can attest that it's absolutely fantastic! 

I continue to listen to audiobooks, and for the past couple months, on and off, I've been listening to The Chronicles of Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. Seven titles are in the series. It's worth noting that though Mr. Lewis first wrote "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe," he later wrote a prequel called "The Magician's Nephew." I've been listening in sequential order.

1) The Magician's Nephew - Read by Kenneth Branagh. He was great! I wish he'd read them all.

2) The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

3) The Horse and His Boy

4) Prince Caspian - Read by Lynn Redgrave. She was excellent!

5) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

6) The Silver Chair 

7) The Last Battle

I've listened to the first five books (am into "The Silver Chair" right now), and I've enjoyed all of them, though a couple more than others. The first book was somewhat unsettling, as the witch really is nasty, and somewhat scary. Also, I've been a bit taken aback by the matter-of-factness about killing one's enemies. But considering that these stories were written in the 1950s, it wasn't uncommon to dispose of "bad guys." In their time, The Chronicles of Narnia are like our present-day Harry Potter series.

Of course the second book ("The Lion...") is good because it introduces the four children - Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, and the lion Aslan, most of whom appear in subsequent stories. The children get to become kings and queens of Narnia, and experience magical adventures. Thus far my favorite book has been "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" when a wall painting of a ship on the ocean becomes real. The children get wet from the ocean spray, and suddenly find themselves onboard the "Dawn Treader," where they sail away on adventures, including encountering a dragon. Loved this one!

I'm very glad I took time for these stories. When Mr. Lewis wrote them, he meant for Aslan (the lion) to be analogous to God. These stories contain many Christian messages, making them them worth book club discussion.

Quote from "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe":

“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.""Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr. Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”

Linda

Doing, and Blogging Hesitantly

Since posting to this blog eight days ago, I've been keeping busy in the sewing room. Though I have some things to share, I have been reluctant to write a blog post due to the problem Blogger/blogspot.com has been having. The issue began May 23.

Blogspot blog authors, worldwide, have not been receiving comments. Though readers comment on blog posts, the blog post author is not receiving notification of comments.

For me that means the only way I know if my post has received a comment is to actually go to the blog post to check. I can certainly do that, but if you've commented and I don't know you, I won't have your email address to reply to you.

Blogger is owned by Google, so I've been following the Google Forum discussions about this. Google acknowledged a problem on May 30 (a week after people began complaining), and said the problem would be fixed "soon," as far as I can tell, nothing has changed.

This has prompted some bloggers, including me, to consider switching from Blogspot to WordPress. It's a change that needs to be understood though, before taking a leap. I have more than nine years of blog posts and photos that I don't want to lose.

In the meantime, hoping that a Blogspot fix is in sight, here's some of what I've been up to.

#ComfortQuiltQAL
For the past six weeks I've been keeping up with making the large and small blocks for AmysCreativeSide quilt along. These are the 20 large and 25 small blocks for week 6.  During the hours of machine time spent piecing those 3-1/2" X 3-1/2" small blocks, I was glad to finally introduce orange-colored pluses to the aqua and green pluses.

Amy suggested we have a little play with all the blocks we'd made so far and this is what mine look like on my design wall. In the blank rows, during week 8, I'll be adding strips of low volume fabrics.

I've been working ahead, and made all the blocks - 20 large and 30 small - for week 7 which begins this coming Monday. All the blocks I made, including those hidden in the piles, are orange.  

Binding
Two quilts have binding sewn to them and are ready for hand sewing! Yay! These are: a quilt I'm pattern-testing for a friend; and "Roulette." I enjoy adding binding, perhaps because it signifies a near-finish. Happily, I have lots of Wonder Clips!

Curated Quilts Mini Challenge

Every issue of Curated Quilts magazine (a friend calls it a "journal" since it has no advertising) is designed with a theme that's also a challenge. For issue 5 the challenge is improv, using "connections," as the theme. 

As with every Curated Quilts Mini Challenge, the quilt can use some or all of the colors, and must be 10" to 16" square. I'm learning that's this challenge is a good exercise of my design skills. (My triangle quilt was accepted into issue 4 that comes out in July.)

This is the improv I started a few days ago... as I beat my head against the wall and wondered what in the world I was doing! Improvisational piecing is not my gift. It's so un-fun for me that I decided I'd rather do laundry. Or clean toilets! Or. Or. I was looking for excuses to not work on it because I didn't know what I wanted to do. 

Yet, I persisted, cutting apart sections - using only my rotary cutter (no ruler) - piecing fabric insertions, cutting again, and repeating. Every action meant trying to figure out where "connection" fit into the piece. This is what I ended up with.  

It didn't take much backing (navy-colored pearl bracelets) or batting (an old hunk of Warm 'n Natural), nor many safety pins, to put the sandwich together.

And quilting was almost a snap - lots of walking foot quilting on the Bernina, and a little free motion quilting through the middle. Then big stitch hand-quilting to accent the "Splices." Yep, that's what I named it. The deadline for submissions is June 15, so I'm happy to submit it to the website a little early. I've never been much of a last-minute person. Only 25 mini quilts are accepted for publication, so it remains to be seen whether this will appear in the magazine or not. Here are the submissions thus far.

Splices, 14-1/2" X 14-1/2"

How do I feel about improv now that this is done? Well, it's still very much a challenge for me. And I can't say I enjoy the process - it's really work - but I am more than pleased with how this one turned out. I will do improv again, and continue to hope that with practice, this design style eventually becomes a little easier.

I'm ending this post with a picture of our sweet old boy. Hogan is now 14 years and 8 months old, and doesn't show too many signs of slowing down. Though his walks are sometimes more like meanders, and he occasionally gets up stiffly from the floor, he can still jump up on his window bench in my sewing room, and he still likes to go and do and even play with toys in the evening. Like his human counterparts, in his head he thinks he's still young. Linda