Something in common

Know what these quilts have in common besides me making them? They all need binding! And actually, there's one more I forgot to include in the photo..sigh.

The top two on the quilt ladder actually have quarter inch steam 2 seam on them sticking them together in place of hand stitching thanks to my friend Trish - tradition dictates that she does this for me annually in the hotel prior to the Dallas show so they can hang in the A1 booth. What can I say, there's never enough time to get ready for a show! The S2S  really works in a pinch - you should try it - Trish uses this all the time...but I do want to eventually hand stitch them down anyway. The blue one was a couple of years ago, the black one this past year. 

The 3rd ad 4th quilts on the ladder technically aren't  quilts even though they are quilted... You see, I didn't use batting, only a fabulous fleece backing.."Technically" a quilt is three layers..ah, but they certainly cuddle like a quilt! So in my studio I call them quilts, and they too have the binding machine sewn on one side awaiting the hand sewing on the other. The top one of the two actually has about half of it's binding sewn down thanks to a recent road trip - nothing better to wile away the miles when a passenger on a long road trip...

The purple and green next to the last on the ladder just got the binding cut out tonight - the pieces aren't even sewn together yet - but its going to be a beauty! Striped bias!  The quilt was pieced in 2009 and finally quilted last month as part of my summer goal of taking time to catch up on personal quilts.

The bottom one on the ladder was made around Memorial Day of this year, and actually quilted the same week it was made! I took a holiday (grin) and quilted just for me. The binding was put on during that same time too, and it's actually half hand sewn down. A rarity for a quilt to be pieced, quilted and bound in the same year, well, almost bound. It has potential!

The midnight stars on the stool to the left was another 2013 creation - pieced and quilted this past week with the binding on one side to be hand sewn hopefully this week. It's a class sample. Yep, I'm teaching piecing classes in September - if you are local shoot me an email and I'll give you the details. "real" Leymone Stars without y-seams - the trick is in the ruler - and if you are like me, you can never have enough rulers!

The parrot has been waiting for years for me to finish coloring it  (inspired by a real parrot found on my studio window sill after hurricane Ike in '08 - you can read about him in the archives if interested). Anyway he isn't even close to getting a binding yet - but he's been brought out of hiding because I have a place in my living room I'd like to hang him so perhaps by being "in plain sight" he will be completed soon.  I have such lofty goals!

Actually that's the hope of all of these.  Goal is  to have them completely bound before the end of the year. Labels? That's a whole 'nuther story, that and all the "quilts in waiting" that have been personally pieced but waiting to be quilted... and we won't even mention how many project boxes with partially started piecing....

Is this something we have in common? Personal quilts needing to be finished? Either pieced, quilted, or bound.  Leave a comment and let me know if you are as bad about unfinished projects as I am....and do tell if you are faithful to label your labors of love, inquiring minds want to know - actually, I just want to feel 'normal' (grin).

karen