In a Bind(ing)

So I did a bit of tidying in my sewing room today. Not a full out clean up, but some dust removal and rearranging of a few things. A bit of fabric folding. You know. And I ran across all my binding leftovers.  You know, the ones that are a bit too long to just throw out. Let me show you.

 Here they all are together. I think. I may have some stashed somewhere that I didn't find today.

                                     All jumbled up together.

 Some of them are on empty old thread spools: wooden spools and plastic, even Aurifil spools.

 Some are wound up and secured with a pin, some just wound up with the tail flapping loose...

 ...and a bunch just sort of wrapped, kinda flat and all smooshed together in a can that I spray painted red to keep stuff in in my sewing room. Stuff like this apparently.

                                I obviously like stripes quite a bit for binding.

                              And the occasional polka dot. This is some big dots.

And not to be left out, some checks. Now, my question to you is, what do YOU do with your leftover bindings? Sew them together? Maybe like colors? Keep saving them? Use them for tiny quilts? Let me know if you have any ideas on what I can do with these. I cannot throw them out. Obviously.

WIP Wednesday-Short and Sweet

I've been working on so many things over here the past couple of weeks. I am piecing some stuff and quilting some stuff and planning some stuff. So, lots of stuff. What is on my design wall this week is this:

 I am making 3 slabs. One red, one white and one blue, for a pair of baby quilts. I have a friend whose daughter is expecting twins.

They are identical twins, so twin quilts. Not identical. Because even identical twins have their differences. Have a lovely day. Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Sunday Stash #22

Another Sunday and another stash addition to share with you. Hope you are enjoying your weekend so far.  Here we go:

 First up, I have long wanted some of this, and I finally found some on Etsy. This is a long out of print Henna Garden by Sandi Henderson. This is from her Meadowsweet collection of about 4 years ago. I love this stuff!!

 Not a great picture, but this is Science Fair by Robert Kaufman. I have a grandson who LOVES science so much and this, paired with a couple of tone on tones I am planning to get, will make his newest bed size quilt. Not sure what quilt pattern I will use yet, but I want big enough pieces to show off these great prints. This one is available in another colorway also.

 And last, but not least, I bought two panels of this alphabet print from the Petit Fleurs collection by Carolyn Gaven.  I am thinking of ways to incorporate them into pillows and quilts.

 Each one is different and cut apart they would be very versatile. Not too expensive either, about $7 per panel at Hawthorne Threads where I bought mine.

                                      Here is a C for Charlotte.

And a G for Grammie. Linking up with the ever shiny Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash.

Friday Finish, Tour de France Edition

We have always loved watching the Tour de France in my house. Every July, for 3 weeks, we watch. We love all the beauty of the countryside that we get to see and we enjoy watching the cyclists work so hard and cringing at the crashes. When I saw an aerial shot as I was walking by the tv, I had a sudden inspiration.

This is the best shot I could find and even this is not what I saw. What I saw was the riders, from behind, all squeezed together on a narrow road.  And what my quilter's mind saw was this:

 A pixelated picture of the scene which I chose to surround with white to emphasize the scene.

 I found the grey scraps in my scrap bin, and they just looked like the road, so I included them around the colorful "riders"

 The quilting, of course had to be bicycle wheels. I only put spokes in some and I like that random look.

 I happened to find polka dots, so I included a polka dot "jersey" for the king of the mountains and a solid yellow for the tour leader. I know there are others, but that wasn't the point of this, so I did not include them.

And the back, which I think is way cool too. White binding to not distract the eye and I love it! All scraps and yardage I had on hand, and I have to admit, I dropped everything to make this over 2 days. Have you ever done that? Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts.

WIP Wednesday-Hot July Days

Well summer is truly here. I keep reminding myself it is July after all. Yesterday was so hot I stayed inside and sewed all day long. It was awesome. So, what am I working on? Well, I don't want to spoil my Friday finish, because I know I'll be done by then, but here is a sneak peek:

 These patchwork squares finish at just 1 inch. Wait until Friday and you will see the whole thing and I will explain my creative process. This is gonna be good!

My other WIP is this rug I am making with old t-shirts. I have lots of them and I wanted to re purpose them. I found a video on You Tube, actually two videos, about how to cut a t-shirt into one big long piece and make the "yarn" for this. It is so easy. Then you just crochet with it. This is the center of my first rug. I am working on a round rug here, but I have plans for an oval rug next. This is so cool! It is thick and sturdy. I highly rocommend it for anyone who has lots of old t-shirts.
Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Sunday Stash #21

Well, I have been trying really hard to not buy fabric. And while I am not totally successful at that, I am buying more relevant fabrics at least. What I mean is, good blenders and colors my stash is lacking. A few pieces to finish a quilt or two. That kind of stuff. Here's what I have purchased recently:

 These are bricks of American Made Brand Solids. I joined a swap and we each bought and cut two colors. I am now the proud owner of all the colors. I threw them up on my design wall just to look at them.

 This is Wyndham Fabrics 8 Days a Week. I have been wanting some of this forever. I bought two yards of it, more than I typically buy, but it is one I think I will really use.

 You can barely see this, but it is a white on white chevron from Riley Blake Designs. I am getting ready to start the last two baby quilts (out of 5) and I needed more white. I am using white on white and some low volume for a section of these.

 And here again, a couple more blues for the above mentioned baby quilts. The blue with the light blue crowns is from Let's Pretend by Sara Jane. The fun plaid is by P & B Textiles.

 While noodling around on Etsy the other day I found some out of print Bliss, by Bonnie and Camille that was crying out to me. So I bought a yard. I find I always need more reds in my stash, so this baby will not sit too long I hope.

And the reason I was on Etsy to begin with was to order more labels for my quilts. I bought this big roll, which should last me quite a while, from Inked Papers Etsy shop.  Have a great Sunday. Linking up with Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash.

Independence Day Friday Finish

Happy Independence day! While many of you will be celebrating with cookouts and fireworks, I will be working, but I'm okay with that. At least I make time and a half. lol But this week I do have a Friday finish to show for my week. I am loving this one.

 This is my Belle Waves Quilt top. This is made from a pattern by Faith at the Fresh Lemons blog. She developed this pattern for a specific fabric by Art Gallery, hence the name Belle Waves. It is a very easy pattern to assemble and best of all it's free.

I used two different Art Gallery fabrics for this one. I had bought the Squared Elements looking for the best way to show them off. When the Essentials line came out, I fell for those beautiful flower prints and together, they are just dreamy. This is going to be another favorite quilt. I may have to try this pattern again in another fabric combination just to see what it does.

Smart hubby turned the top sideways and look! A really cool pattern this way too. This is where I think different fabrics might be really cool. Have a great 4th. I'll be back later today to link up with all the Friday finish folks. Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts.