Sunday, November 21, 2010

LETTING GO OF THE FAMILIAR

Ole Betsy (yes, I named her after the person who made it for me) has been hanging in my kitchen since I got her. Friends have walked by and commented, I have often stood and stared at her. Yes, I love neutral but with a splash of color and this was just the perfect splash....now she has to come down for now.



This quilt just needs a binding .....Monday's work.



I stepped out of my comfort zone (the familiar) and did this binding the traditional way and by hand. Now.....can you hear me screaming at some of you....here is comes...close your ears....

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THAT PUTTING A BINDING ON BY HAND WOULD TAKE SO STINKING LONG!!!!!!!


I thought maybe an hour...but this quilt is 102" by 85" and took me all morning....the whole time I was thinking that I have other things to be doing. Truly, I should have known better and calculated my time accordingly.

I think I will go back to my way of doing things...



Still had some time last night so I finished half of the quilt from the other post. Then started on row three and got three of that row done....and what did I see....

a big bunch in the back. "WHAT"!!!!!! I know I said no picking on this quilt but this has to come out...two blocks.....Sheweeeeeee....so I just went to bed...will deal with it on Monday.


Looking for a good read....this book is it!


25 comments:

Jocelyn said...

Barb, I'm with you. I do not like to do binding. It is the only part of quilting I really dislike. I try my hardest to do all the binding on the machine if possible. Life is just too short ;-)

Terry said...

Sorry about your quilting! Thanks for the book recommendation. I just requested it from the library. :0)

Yvette said...

You made me laugh out loud! I always do my bindings by hand. I would have planned on 4 evenings with that size of a quilt. LOL!!! I am still laughing. I can't believe you did that all in one morning.

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

You are starting to make me sad. Stop it!! As for the quilt, leave it alone. Once you start picking you cannot stop, it was madw with love, so leave it. Oh yes, hand quilting a big quilt takes me about 4 days, one side a day!!

Needled Mom said...

Oh grrr!!! What a bummer, Barb.

I can imagine how long it takes to do hand sewing on binding for a quilt that large. You must have thought there was no end in sight!!

PaTcHwOrK jEnN said...

I bind by hand yes but I make sure I am watching a good movie. Love the book!

Vicki ♥ said...

Hi Barb and its dissapointing to find a big bunch of fabric on the back thats for sure. I am picturing you undoing it all...bugga!!Hope its not too much for you. That book looks interesting and I am going to do a google on it. I love doing the binding by hand. I sit at night while watching the television and do any hand sewing. Machine sewing thru the day :) hugs Vicki

Regina said...

You're so funny! I think binding all depends on how friendly your thread is being. I swear I put my last binding on quickly but this time my thread keeps trying to knot up on me so it's taking DAYS.

I'll have to check out that book. I need a new book.

Joanna said...

Quilting only looks easy. That's what I've learned in my young life. But worth every stitch. I love your two quilts. They are beautiful.

SheilaC said...

Big moving day must be getting close?

SheilaC

Wacky Woman said...

What, nobody ever told you that before? Everyone knows and besides you need to experience it at least once. That books looks very familiar. I'll check it out on Amazon.

Robin (RsIslandCrafts) said...

I'm not a big fan of hand sewing the binding down. I have made entire quilts faster than it takes to hand sew the darn binding to the back. Of course they were simple designs but still. The binding should not take longer than the quilt.

Kim D. said...

Yes, hand binding takes a long time. It's usually fun to be sewing with a group of other quilters. The time goes by quicker that way and it doesn't seem to take forever. Looks like you got a lot accomplished.

lisa said...

I used to hate doing the binding by hand (I always stitch the front by machine aden hand stitch the back) but now I love it...I work on it when I am watchign a movie and if I have a deadline to meet then "honey, take the girls out for a while, I need to work on this..." and watch cheesey TV shows

Betsy said...

BARB, i ONLY KNOW HOW TO BIND BY HAND. i ACTUALLY ENJOY IT BECAUSE HUBBY WILL SAY, i SEE YOU ARE ALMOST DONE, SO IT IS MY LAST TIME WITH THE QUILT.

Gene Black said...

Thanks for the reminder that I don't really want to do the binding by hand. I was almost thinking about it. LOL

Mystica said...

Since I hand quilt as I do not know how to machine quilt the binding also gets done by hand!!! I really like the duck quilt.

IHaveANotion ~ Kelly Jackson said...

I'm sorry for laughing....but I could not help it. That is my favorite part...I love the hand stitching.

Sorry I did not tell you sooner...but I thought Ignorance was Bliss!!! It is for me anyway :)

Hugs,
Kelly

Cyndi said...

You truly amaze me, Barb! You are in the middle of getting ready to move, have at least two or three quilts on the go, and you can still hand bind a very large quilt in one morning! I think you have Super Powers! :o)

XOXO,

Cyndi

P.S. I love that ducky quilt!

Elizabeth said...

Dear Barb,

Binding a quilt by hand takes a while. I clock in at about 50 or 60 inches per hour. But I love the rhythm of it and don't mind the extra time it takes. That being said, each quilter can do it just how she likes because quilting is all about having fun.

xo -El

P.S. You might be able to get away with leaving that bunching on the back of the patriotic quilt -- when it washes it will all wrinkle up anyway. Just a suggestion.

Oh, and that Sisters of the Quilt trilogy looks interesting.

Katie :o) said...

Oh! Love the bit about the binding taking so long :o) I do bindings by hand, but not out of my quilting time. Bindings are "the rare moments that I actually sit still and watch television" time :o)

Pamela said...

Only all morning?? That was FAST to do a quilt that big! Yep, it takes a very long time to do binding by hand and I only do it on really nice quilts.

Kim said...

I'm checking this book out. That darn puckering on the back of the quilt is just a bugger! Oh, hand sewing down a binding is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyed as you anticipate the completion of your quilt - sort of like giving birth and takes nearly as long! Sorry! :-D

Rose Marie said...

My word, I wouldn't put a binding on by hand ... bravo to you for doing it!

The area that is all bunched up .... is a perfect place to place the label. That same thing happened to me on one quilt and I just slit through the backing and batting (very carefully) and trimmed away any excess so that the quilt would lie flat, did a bit of whip stitching and then put the label on top. Perfect solution and nobody knows about it ......

Unknown said...

Since I can't do ANYTHING re sewing of any sort, I get so tickled with you ladies that do ... The book looks interesting.

Have a beautiful & blessed Thanksgiving.
TTFN ~ Hugs, Marydon