Spring Ahead - the Finish!
Wow – we started on March 24th and here we are May 12th – with our finished quilt! Sew exciting!
My quilt was quilted by Mary Kendall, of Aunt Mary’s Quilting in Derry, NH. I wanted edge to edge “curly” quilting to add curves to the straight lines of the quilt. In addition, I wanted the appliques quilted right over for durability.
After looking at the design and the fabrics used, Mary thought that Anapos pantograph would complement the polka dots and create the curvy flow that I wanted – I love the result!
Here are some closeups:
I chose to use green for the binding; in the end it looked the best! Sometimes I refer to green as my other neutral. It just works!
Binding at the Poorhouse
I just wanted to share with you how I do binding. It is not new – just my way!
I cut my binding at 2-12” for this quilt; I just wanted the binding to pop! I joined my binding diagonally with ½” seams – I like ½” so that I don’t have to worry about skimpy seams. So far so good, right?
Next, I apply my binding to my quilt leaving at 12” ends and about 12” open between the beginning and the end. I lay the ends, one over the other and use a width of binding to create the correct overlap. In other words, I cut the top binding end so that it is now within the opening, then place the width of the binding over the bottom end and cut that so that they overlap by the width of the binding.
Now the fun begins: with quilt in front of you, open the left side binding end to reveal the wrong side. Lay a ruler across the bottom corner and draw a line.
Now bring the right side end, right sides together with left and pin. I always put a pin arcoss and check to make sure that I haven’t twisted one end of the binding.
If its’s not twisted, then sew! Check again, press and trim! Now you can stitch the binding down the rest of the way – no bulky overlap!
There is still time to join the Spring Ahead Quilt Along group! Our group is open until May 28, 2020. All printable instructions/guides and videos are located in the group. After the group closes, the pattern will be made available for purchase.
Spring Ahead Quilt Along Schedule
I hope you have enjoyed this process! I used Michael Miller’s Hash Dots, That’s It Dot and Cotton Couture for this quilt - I love the colors! Feel free to go back and see how this quilt came together!
Week 1 (3/24/20): Intro and Supplies
Week 2 (4/2/20): Cutting & Sewing the Block
Week 3 (4/7/20): Progress Check - where am I now?
Week 4 (4/14/20): Sashing and Borders
Week 5 (4/24/20): Applique Borders
Week 6 (5/5/20): Time out for a Pillow
Week 7 (5/12/20): Quilting and Finishing
Follow us on instagram @poorhousequilt and use the hashtag #springaheadqal to show your progress!
Next blog post – we will be on to something new!
-Kris