Squares - Building Blocks Tuesday

Continuing my little experiment of creating minis inspired by some modern artists, this week I've been inspired by Josef Albers.  You can learn more about him HERE at the Metropolitan Museum of Art site.  While he had many different series of paintings, the one I concentrated on was the "Homage to the Square".  It seemed fitting for a modern quilt.

I first made this 20 x 20 mini, but I really wasn't sure if I liked the colors I chose.  Albers has a whole color theory that I almost completely disregarded, so I tried again with these blocks....

I think I may sash them in black.  What do you think?

What blocks have you been working on?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading!

Jen

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Inspirational Sunday (24) - via the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach

I have a few more flower inspired quilts to share today.  I know many of you are looking about searching for signs that spring is on its way.  Perhaps some of these quilts will lift your spirits.

First up, a quilt called "Ethereum Botanica: Bromeliads" by Deborah Beatty of San Jose, California.  It won 2nd place in the digital imagery category.  She digitally printed, machine and hand pieced, machine quilted, and hand painted this colorful quilt.  It is an original design based on her own photography.

She says, "My photography inspired this quilt.  The 730-plus pieces, as well as the borders and binding, were printed on cotton by computer and then embellished with paints.  Free-motion echo quilting followed color variances, with painted piping added to the borders and binding for a little panache."

It sounds like an interesting technique. Has anyone done anything similar?

Here is a quilt similar in look to the Dyer's Woad quilt last week.  It is called "Columbine" by Sue Reno of Columbia Pennsylvania.  It is a Cyanotype image on silk, pieced, couched, and machine quilted.  It is an original design.

She says, "This beautiful perennial plant has self-seeded in my garden and turns up in surprising new places each spring.  I am delighted by its tidy foliage, intricate blue flowers and interesting seed pods."

The columbine that I am used to seeing is a little different, but one of my favorite flowers.  I really found the border and sashing on this quilt interesting.

This fun quilt is called, "Sweet Blooms" by Pat Kroth of Verona, Wisconsin.  She used fused applique, collage, hand-dyed, and machine stitched this quilt.

She says, "There is nothing I enjoy more than the burst of new blooms in the spring after a long cold winter.  A few candy wrapper "petals" on Sweet Blooms makes it even sweeter."

I really like the mosaic effect she attained with the background.  And, she even used on of my favorite candies (well, the wrapper).

This quilt is called, "The Hummingbird" by Sue Bleiweiss of Upton, Massachusetts.  She used Raw-edge fusible applique, and machine quilted this scene.  Her design source was inspired by the colors of springtime in New England and the arrival of the first hummingbird.

Her statement, "Every year I eagerly await the sight of the first hummingbird in the garden.  It's always an exquisite moment that marks the official beginning of spring and the warm sunny days ahead."

I wish I could have gotten a little closer to this one.  I am wondering if the black outline of each applique piece is her stitching or something else.  I love the look.

Finally for today, "Weezie's Wildflowers #17" by Laura Wasilowski of Elgin, Illinois.  It won an honorable mention in the Art-Miniature category.  It uses fused applique, hand embroidery, and is machine quilted.  It is an original design.

Her artist's statement says simply, "This rare wildflower is only found in my backyard and in my imagination."

I wonder if by #17, she has made 17 little quilts in a series.

Because the quilt show had a "spring" themed exhibition, I have plenty of flower quilts to share.  BUT, I think I will take a little break from them for now and next week share some other colorful quilts that might still lift the spirits of those still surrounded by the gray and white of winter.

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

How to Make Straight-grain Continuous Binding - an "How I Do Tutorial"

Welcome to my first tutorial in my "How I Do It" series!

I've been making a lot of binding lately, so I thought I would snap a few pics while I did it and share it with you.

First things first.  I use the same cotton fabric I have used in my quilt.  Color and print are up to you and definitely a personal choice.

How much binding do you need?

You will need enough binding to go around the entire perimeter of your quilt plus about 10 inches (for mitering and joining the strips).  So if your quilt is 70 inches by 75 inches, you will need 300 inches of binding.  How did I get that?  70 + 70 + 75 + 75 + 10 = 300.

How wide should I cut my binding?

There are a couple of things to consider.

• How thick is the batting you are going to use?  - I have low loft batting, but sometimes I like to double it up.  In that case, I would want to be sure that my binding will be wide enough to cover the extra thickness of the batting, so I would use 2.5 inch binding.  I would assume the same would be true if I was using a thick backing fabric.  If I am making a quilt with just one layer of batting, I might opt for 2.25 inch wide binding.
• Do you mind if the binding showing on the back is slightly wider than what is showing on the front?  This really doesn't bother me, but some people are pickier than others.
• Also, are you planning on attaching your binding completely by machine (meaning both sides) or hand stitching the final side?  If I am going to use the machine to sew down both sides of the binding, I like to have a little extra width to make sure I am going to catch the fabric on the backside (This will make more sense when I show you my machine binding tutorial coming soon, or check out my old tutorial HERE to get the idea).  I would definitely want a 2.5 inch width for sure.  If I am hand sewing the binding down, I can maneuver the binding with my fingers to cover any stitching lines, etc., so I don't really need any extra width and 2.25 inches would be plenty. 

I started out cutting all my binding at 2.5 inches wide, and it has served me very well.  I would say I still cut my binding at 2.5 inches 90% of the time because I often don't know how I am going to sew down the final side until it is time to do so.  I do like the 2.25 inch strips for small quilts that will be wall hangings or placemats, etc.

So, how much fabric do I need?

If you use my example above of 300 inches of total binding needed, and assume that your width of fabric (WOF) is 42 inches.  Divide 300 by 42 to find out how many strips you need.  300/42 = 7.14.  So round UP to 8 strips, then multiply by the width you have chosen.  8 x 2.5 inches = 20 inches of fabric needed.  If you want your binding at 2.25 inches, you would only need 18 inches.

OK, so now you know how much binding you will need, and how much fabric you will need to make it.  So let's get to the making part already!

Step One:

Cut your strips in the width you have chosen.

Trim off the selvages too.

Step Two:

Take the end of one strip and lay it horizontally in front of you, right side up.  Then the end of another strip and lay it vertically, right side down, crossing the first strip.

Step Three (Optional):

I like to mark my sew line at this point.  I do this by lining up the 45 degree line of my small ruler along the left side of the vertically oriented binding piece and then drawing a line along the side of my ruler.  I use a Pilot Frixion pen for this, because it just irons right out.  In theory, you could use any marking utensil that you don't mind staying in your quilt.  Since it is on the wrong side, and on the sew line, you will never see it.  I don't recommend a Sharpie.

Now I align my line with the edges of the horizontal binding piece on the bottom.

Don't want to mark?  Alternatively, you could finger press a 45 degree line in your fabric.

But I have a hard time seeing it when I go to actually sew it, so I usually stick to marking it.  It only takes a second.

Step Four:

Now sew along that line.

Step Five:

Let's get ready to add the next piece!  Using the 2nd end of the strip that was just on top (the one that was vertical in front of you), flip the end over to be horizontal and right side up in front of you.  Guess what?  That is now your bottom strip.

Now grab a new strip and place it vertically, right sides down in front of you, and repeat steps two through five until you are all out of strips.  You can just chain piece them until you are done.

We aren't done yet though!

Step Six:

Before we complete this step.  I like to open up my seams just to make sure they are lined up.  Better to know now than later.

Using my ruler, I trim off the ends at a 1/4 inch from the stitching.

Make sure you trim the right side of the stitching!

WAIT, wait, wait!  What if my strips aren't lined up perfectly?

This is a judgement call.  If I am off more than 1/8 of an inch, I usually re-sew, but less than 1/8......repeat after me, "It's just binding".   After all, it will be folded and stitched down 1/4 of an inch from the edge.  It will be OK.

Step Seven:

Let's move over to the iron now.  Press your seams open.

Why open?  It will distribute the bulk of the seam in a more tidy way.  If you had just sewn straight seams (instead of the 45 degree angled ones), you would have all the bulk of the seam in one place along the edge of your quilt, and you will be folding it over on itself, twice.  It would feel like a big lump anywhere you have a seam.

Step Eight:

Now we need to get in the first fold of our "double fold".  Start at the end of your new super long continuous piece of binding strip.

Now simply fold your fabric so the long sides meet, right sides out!

And now let's press that fold with your hot iron. (It does work better with a hot iron!  Ask me how I noticed this to be true.)

I like to use my left hand to match the edges and smooth the fabric while my right hand irons the fold.  Yes, I said "iron".  I like to move my iron along the fabric instead of lifting it up and down and "pressing" it.  That's just me.  Remember, "It's just binding."

Continue folding and pressing/ironing until the whole long strip is complete.

Now what?

Step Nine:

Well, you could leave your binding as is, drape it over a chair and wait until you are ready to attach it to your quilt.  Or, you could roll it up and keep it tidy until you are ready.

I like to use a clothes pin for this step.  I clip the clothes pin to the end of the folded binding strip.

Then I hold the other end of the clothes pin and rotate my wrist, winding the binding on. (It was impossible for me to take a picture of myself doing this.  I don't have a 3rd hand.  Gosh wouldn't that be "handy" sometimes?)

When I am done winding, I just stick a pin in it and put it aside until I'm ready to attach it.

Step Ten:

Attach your binding.  Oh, that will have to wait until another tutorial.

****A quick note about packaged binding.  I recently tried out the packaged binding from the fabric store, and I was not impressed.  Even though it says "Extra Wide, Double Fold", it was only 2 inches wide and the fold is not in the same place.

If you have ever made a strap for something, it is folded similarly.  If you use this type of binding, you aren't getting a double thickness on the edge of your quilt where it will get the most wear and tear.  It is only a single thickness there, so it will wear faster than the double fold binding I made above.  I was also not impressed with the feel of the fabric.  It was a bit rough feeling - not something I would want to use on a quilt to be cuddled.  But hey, that's just me.

So that's how I make straight-grain binding.  How do you do it?  Link up your tutorials here (on this or any other quilting subject).

Rules:

1) NO QUILT POLICE ALLOWED! - if you are making a tutorial, keep it friendly, as if you were teaching your best friend.  If you are visiting a tutorial, please remember that the authors are simply sharing what they have found to work for them.

2) Please link up tutorial from 2014 only.  Feel free to point out any previous tutorial in your new post, but let's try to keep the links current.

3) Visit other linky participants to see how they do it.

4) Did I mention no quilt police allowed?

Thanks for joining me today!

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up