Sunday 13 July 2008

Facing the quilt

I saw a quilt at Malvern Quilts UK which was also a modern take on a strippy. It was a great quilt but the same binding all the way round really detracted from the lovely work in the middle.When I bought these fabrics last year from Heide Stoll Weber and told her what I had planned, she thought I should bind it with each colour matching round the binding. I wasn't too happy with this idea for three reasons. One was getting each fabric to match exactly at the right place, two was it would mean straight seams on the binding which would be directly over the seams in the quilt and make it bulky, and three, it would mean using fabric cut on the straight.
So I decided to face it like I did the miniature. Because of the size I couldn't place a whole piece of fabric over the top in the same way but I still didn't want joins right on the corners. So I hit on this. I cut the two lengthways facings wide at about 4" and the top and bottom facings at about 2". I pinned them in place with the quilt lying flat and marked the corners on the wider strips.

Then I stitched round the edge at a 1/4"
I pressed the facing over to the back using a lot of steam and am now in the process of stitching it ot the back just outside the 1/4" to hold that edge in place.

Meanwhile Sinclair jumped on the quilt on the bed. (are cat hairs a legitimate embellishment?)



Just a little thing I've noticed about Bottomline thread. They have improved the spool. It's a very springy thread and prone to unwind itself when not in use. Superior threads have now improved the spool. See how the one on the right has an extra little layer? This enables you to wind the end into it. Not life changing, but if you have the choice when buying your thread buy the newer version.

And my baby again at a street party in Rio. Apparently the party was an all nighter and spread over ten streets. Have fun Fliss! Next week they are flying to Mexico city via Lima and then straight on to Guatemala, she can catch up on sleep on the flights.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Sally
    What an amazing quilt, there is such a lot to this process, I've just been reading your blog and am staggered by the complexity of it's production. I think I must have lost the will to do such things as I've got older. I used to do very fine tailoring years ago and would adhere to just such attention to detail, but now I seem to have lost patience and look for an easier option!!
    It was lovely to see you on my blog, thanks for leaving you comments, much appreciated.

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