There is only one part of quilting that I hate – and that is the binding. There is a reason I machine piece and quilt: it is fast. Hand sewing takes time and I am impatient and want instant gratification. Of course, when the border is finished, it really makes the quilt; that little contrasting edge that just makes the entire quilt pop.

I have always used a whip stitch when hand sewing my borders, which is relativelyfast.  For hand sewing at least.  But I saw a picture tutorial on a different way to stitch your quilt binding that makes the stitches invisible.  It is called the ladder stitch.

Maybe for my next quilt . . .

http://turningturning.com/tutorial-invisible-ladder-stitch-for-quilt-binding/

http://www.daystyledesigns.com/binding3.htm - a video on how to machine stitch your binding.

I’ve been thinking of making a tote bag.  I want one strong enough to carry files to and from work.

Maybe this one?  The pattern is free and there are nice color photo instructions from jcaroline creative!

Sometimes I look at all my “supplies” and I can’t figure out what I want to make.  And I end up on my computer, checking Facebook, and searching for patterns online, even though I have hundreds of patterns.  The thing about buying patterns is that art is always changing and growing and what I thought was cool a year ago, is kind of out of style.  So patterns online can be fresh and motivating.

I have a friend who really likes dress forms – you know the ones made out of wire.  She is also a sewer.  I wanted to make her something that  had a dress form on it.  It is hard to search for a dress form pattern without finding patterns for actual dress forms.

But I did find this cool dress form pattern, that is a dress form pin cushion.

So then I got sidetracked and found these cool videos on how to make pin cushions out of old wool sweaters into little coffee cups.

And well that little video landed me on Ebay where I searched for and purchased some old wool sweaters.  And saw that some people sell used socks on Ebay.  For real.

But now I think I am going to make these cute little square pin cushions.  Because I don’t have a dowel for the dress form pin cushion . . . yet.

Ok box-edged square pin cushions? Yeah, not so easy to make.  I did find a tutorial here that seems to explain it better than the link above.

box edged pillow

It is really hard to put the second side on (green part).  This is about 6×6 inches, but I tried to make one smaller – 3×3 – and got really frustrated and gave up.  It might be easier to hand stitch it – but who has time for that?

The very first quilt I made was for my mother-in-law.  Don’t ask.  It was a small lap quilt using Debbie Mumm fabric so I don’t feel bad that I gave it to her, since I would not be caught dead with Debbie Mumm fabric in my house at this point my life.

My second quilt was the one below.  It was not a uniform size – somewhere between a twin and a double.  The pattern was “Trip Around the World”, using some fabric that had azaleas on it.  Not being a “flower person” I never would have known that the flowers on the fabric were azaleas but for the fact that the fabric line had the word “azaleas” in it.

I did NOT have a walking foot to make this quilt and the amount of frustration that came with the quilting part almost made me give up quilting.  I had no idea what a walking foot was at the time, but I am so glad I later found out.  If you do any quilting at all – even just art quilts – a walking foot is a life saver.  It moves the fabric through the machine evenly – both the top and bottom – preventing any puckering on the back of the quilt.  It is also helpful when you are sewing really thick fabric – it helps the fabric move through your machine faster.  Unfortunately the thing is expensive!

I have a Bernina – it is my third sewing machine.  My first one was a Babylock that I purchased when I was about 20 years old.  I had that machine for about 15 years. I then upgraded to a Husqvarna – which I never really liked, but had that for about 4 years.  I finally purchased a Bernina and I really do love it. I have a dealer about 45 minutes away from where I live and I have had to bring it in a few times for servicing, but the warranty is for five years and I still have about a year left on it.

Did you ever wonder why sewing machine repair places also repair vacuum cleaners?  I have – and I tried Googling it but never found the answer.

I can’t tell you how many art quilt magazines I looked at, how many exhibits I went to, and how long I thought about making an art quilt, before I actually made one.  For some reason, I was intimidated. I think because of the word “art”.  For a long time I considered myself a “crafter”, but not an “artist”. I also had to get used to the rough edges so often seen in art quilts.  When I first started doing applique, I was obsessed with turning all my edges under and not having my stitches show.  Yeah, that’s a pain in the ass.  Art quilting is so much easier!

Here is my first art quilt attempt:

I took a photo I purchased from istockphoto.com and in Photoshop I used the Watercolor filter to make it look like a watercolor.  I then printed it on inkjet fabric, along with the quote.  I downloaded an old fashioned typewriter font (I like www.dafont.com for free fonts). I printed the quote on a dark gray background with white lettering. I tacked a skeleton key (not a real one; this is one I purchased in a craft store – it is flat on one side), and quilted swirls in the background.  I then sewed on some buttons and put it in a frame.

I have to say, the frame makes a big difference.  It makes it look like real art.

One of  my favorite quilts is one I made about 10 years ago.  I used purple and yellow bali print fabrics.  The pattern was: “Star in a Star”.  Even though this quilt is “old”,  I still like it.  I did some outline quilting and used stencils for some other quilting, as opposed to just stitching in the ditch.