Making binding...

First a little video from youtube showing someone using a rotary cutter and how you use an acrylic ruler to cut the fabric.



There was no way for me to photograph myself using the rotary cutter and I did not even think to take a photo of the rotary cutter itself.  This video is only 42 seconds long so it won't take long to watch.  The rotary blade is very sharp and will cut you in a heartbeat if you do not keep your fingers out of the way.  And it is very important to "close' the rotary cutter when not in use.  Mine have a guard that I slide into place.  Some automatically close.  A self healing mat is needed because it would destroy the top of your table if you didn't use one. 
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So last night I got to thinking about the binding I had just made.  I thought about it and things did not add up....and I realized I had made enough for three sides of the quilt...not the 400+ inches that I needed, so today I cut three more strips and got them added to what I already had made.  I took the opportunity to take a few photos.

Above is just a portion the my acrylic ruler.  To being I place post-it notes on the underside at the exact desired width.  I usually use about 3 post-it notes per stack, and this is a 24 inch ruler so I have 4 stacks placed 4 or 5 inches apart.  I don't put right at the edge of either end.  I just leave my fabric folded in half like it comes off the bolt.  I use lines that also go across the width of the fabric to line up on the fold and then cut the end off enough to make sure the end is even.  From there, I can just measure so easily and cut my strips.

I am floundering here...probably trying to tell you too much, and making everything about as clear as mud.  If you ever want to make something, be sure and watch some youtube videos, because there is more to this than what I have told.

Anyway, I cut my strips...and next I get ready to sew them together.

Batiks do not really have a wrong side....they are dyed, not printed.  But if these were printed, the right sides or pretty sides as some people call them would be facing each other.  Notice that one edge of each strip is lined up on one of the mats lines. forming a 90º angle.

Next I use a ruler to draw a line across the strips. 

This is my sewing line...

I put my needle right in the very corner and sew across to the other corner...

It then looks like the above before pressing and before trimming off the ends.

Here it is trimmed and pressed open and then pressed in half...you have to look close to see the seam.

I like to connect the pieces this way rather than just sewing straight across the ends...it just means less bulk in one spot  when sewing to the quilt.

That is it for now...I am very weary and want to sit back and relax. 

Fabric

First I have to show you this Moda fabric I got the other day...it was the end of the bolt so got a bit over two yards for a pretty good price.  BTW, for those that don't know, Moda is a a brand of fabric....you know how jeans have makers such as Levi's, Wranglers, Lee Riders....you would not believe all the brands of fabric.  But Moda is one of my favorite brands...along with all the rest of them.  LOL

Giving the second view to give you scale...the cutting mat it is laying on has lines every inch....but that first photo gives the real feel of the fabric.  I had gotten some of this in a bag of scraps and hated to even use it  I like it so well....and my daughter likes it, so one of us will find a use for it.  Right now, I just like admiring it.  LOL

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I got the binding made for my daughter's Lotus Quilt...she had the top quilted by a shop with a long arm quilting machine.

I just love the fabric daughter chose.  This is over 400 inches of binding.

I wanted to show this view.  First I cut strips of fabric the width of the fabric.  In this case the strips are 2 1/4 inches wide, and sew them together--end to end.  If I had thought I would have taken pics to show how I do that.   But maybe you are not interested in that anyway.  Then I fold the fabric in half  and press, and fanfold it as I get enough pressed.  That way I can put it down by my right side and it does not become a tangled mess as I sew it to the quilt.

Hope everyone is having a good week. 

A peek at life

This is a scene from yesterday as we drove to Arthur, Illinois...

I put other, different photos of these over on my other blog...this Amish buggy is heavily cropped.

Someone I know is expecting a baby and I was hoping to get ideas for a baby quilt but had no success.   I was hoping to find a fabric to build one around.  The quilt shop I go to is for sale and though they get in  new fabrics they have a lot of empty spaces that used to be filled with fabric.  I so wish someone would buy it and keep it going strong.

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I made a few more 4-patches day before yesterday...I keep thinking I am going to get back to sewing a little bit every day but it just does not happen.

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I went out this afternoon and planted some bulbs I had picked up a few weeks ago...I took time to photograph a couple cottonwood leaves.

I hope the bulbs live...I could not decide where to plant them so just found some space and stuck them in the ground.  I did use a shovel some and was able to handle it fine.  I had not used one since I broke my leg...it felt completely normal.  In fact, I think it would probably be good for me to use one a lot.

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On the reading front, I just finished listening to my one book, A Land More Kind than Home this evening while fixing supper and started listening to the Wesley the Owl one...I did not get to listen very long, but have done learned one fact.  It said that Barn owls are monogomous, and sometimes when their mate dies, they sort of lose the will to live and will die of grief.

I also started reading All-American Murder:  The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murders' Row by James Patterson.  I tend to read true crime books every now and then.  I have no idea why.  I don't want a steady diet of them...just one or two here and there.