Sunday, September 19, 2010

A question for all my smart quilting buddies

Today was a fun day of putting up the Spring decorations and getting out the Fall.  There was an issue with some missing pilgrims and indians, but we found them hiding in the closet - not where they were supposed to be!  Now how did that happen???

A quilt to hang in the dining room in fall colors was definitely needed, but the only one I have that fits is not quite quilted....I have about 1/3 done.  You see, I started quilting it, and then decided I did not like the quilting pattern I came up with so I just packed it away - lets see......at least 5 years ago.  So I got it out, pinned a sleeve on it and hung it up.  Think anyone will notice?

This is  a BOM I did that was originally published in McCall's Quilting magazine and is the one and only BOM kit I have bought.  I hand pieced many of the blocks and all the applique is hand turned, so naturally I decided to hand quilt it.

Here is a close up of the quilting - I was trying to accomplish a "brick" pattern but it really is a nuisance to quilt.  I took this picture at an angle hoping the pattern would show up better.

Now for the BIG question.  Will you quilt it for me??????   Just kidding, I'll finish it one of these days.  The real question involves the bottom right corner and this seems to happen on many of my quilts.  The corner turns up, like the quilt is curving back on itself.  I tried to get a picture of this and I hope you can see what I am talking about.  I have wondered if I am pulling the binding too tight and that is what makes it curve.  Yes, I did put the binding on this before I had it quilted, but I basted it really close and I did not want the raw edges getting more raw as I worked with it.  Maybe when it is fully quilted, or the basting threads out, or I steam it like crazy, it will lay flat.  But do you ladies know what I might be doing wrong?

This weekend I went on a trip to Ashville, NC to watch my daughter run her first half marathon  - WAY TO GO ELLEN!  The weather was fabulous, and she sure made me proud.  I will close with a few pictures from the race.  For those of you who are novices to Marathons like me, a half marathon is 13 miles and she ran it in 2 hours 35 minutes, or thereabouts.  Now this run was up some very steep and long hills, as Ashville is in the mountains.  I am so proud of her!

Before the race - and yes, we got there BEFORE the sun was up.  We wanted to be on time, lol.  The race began at 7:30am.

Here she is sprinting for the finish line.  (I would be crawling by now - oh who am I kidding - I would still be sitting drinking water at the first water station!)
And here she is with her medal.  Can you believe she is still smiling?   She could even still talk when it was over.              

Happy stitching,
Teresa
21432


10 comments:

Leeanne said...

Hi there Teresa, not sure how i found your blog, but here I am.I thought you might like to pop over to my blog to see the quilt you have just posted as I have a photo of this very quilt! Click on May, scroll down a wee way and you will see your quilt, well not yours, but the same.I finished quilting it a while ago for a customer.As for you question? All I could think of is you have slightly stretch the binding when attaching it.It will be interesting to see what others say

Floss said...

I think it looks great, good luck on the quilting. Sorry I can't help with your question.

Julie Fukuda said...

I don't make many quilts for hanging but when I do I put a sleeve on the bottom edge and a wooden dowel to give it a little weight and stability. Japanese hanging scrolls have ceramic weights with silk tassles on each end of the dowel which looks cool.

Anne Ida said...

Teresa, your quilt is beautiful! I too have experienced the problem you describe, and yes it might have to do with inconsistent tention on the binding. Usually the problem is solved for me when I wash my quilt and dry it flat on the floor, but if you don't want to wash your quilt there might be a few other things you can try on that corner;

1) Press the h... out of it with a steam iron - this is the least effort solution, and might not work...
2) You might try stuffing it with some yarn - have a look at this post at Rosemary's blog: http://appliqueandpatches.blogspot.com/2007/08/binding-fix.html. I have never tried this, but Rosemary swears by it :o)
3) Stitch a support to the backing - i.e. a folded triangle in each of the bottom corners to support a bamboo rod you lay along the bottom edge of the quilt.

Best of luck to you!
Hugs and stitches

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

I love your quilt, I do remember when that one was offered through McCall's. I agree that the problem might just be the binding, typically I bind mine with strips cut on the straight grain (parallel with the selvage)making sure not to pull too tight. If you don't relish the idea of re-binding you might want to dampen the whole quilt and block it with a carpenter's square and T-pins and letting it dry undisturbed. Best wishes; it is a beauty.

Quilt crazy said...

I've never put the binding on before finishing the quilting...so this is just a random thought. Could it be that by that uou have bias triangles that are getting stretched when putting the binding on or quilting? I always recheck my quilts after quilting to be sure they are still square. My blog is located at oregonquilt.blogspot.com

StitchinByTheLake said...

I've had this same problem. I usually just steam it to death. :) But my friend puts a sleeve on the bottom with a dowel in it like someone earlier mentioned. blessings, marlene

julieQ said...

A marathoner! I am so proud of her too, wow! I love your Robert Callahan quilt...I made one block, then put it aside...wonder where that block went to? Love yours, your hand work is fabulous.

Ellen J said...

Thanks for being there for my run, Momma!! I love you so much!

Marilyn Robertson said...

What a beautiful quilt! I don't blame you for hanging it before the quilting was finished - why wait? :)