Here is my final installment on my series of blog posts about my first Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop. Thanks to everyone that made it through the first four posts covering days one and two of my adventure to visit all 11 quilt shops so I could complete my “shop hop passport” and get my Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop commemorative pin:

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part I (DAY ONE)
Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part II (DAY ONE)
Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part III (DAY ONE)
Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part IV (DAY TWO)

On day three of the shop hop my partner John and Mike the Miniature Schnauzer joined me and we traveled to the last three shops I need to complete my passport Ruth’s Stitchery, Sew-Ciety, and Sew in Tune:

RUTH’S STITCHERY

Our first stop was Ruth’s Stitchery in Colorado Springs, the shop we attempted to visit on day one of shop hopping but they closed at 3:00 pm. This is also the shop that is next door to a woodworking shop:

So while my woodworking partner John, with Mike the Miniature Schnauzer in a backpack on his back, wandered about Woodcraft, I wandered inside Ruth’s Stitchery.

The shop was much larger than it looked from the outside. I thought it would be a quick “in and out” to get my passport stamped, collect the mini panel for the shop, but instead I wandered for quite a while and bought a couple items. Here are a couple photos from inside the shop (in the first photo you will see their interpretation of the completed shop hop quilt using all the mini panels and one of the large panels:

SEW IN TUNE

The next shop on our third day shop hop adventure was Sew in Tune in Monument, Colorado. Not only was the shop absolutely darling with it’s camping theme, but the town of Monument was so beautiful! John and I plan to do a day trip back there just to wander around.

Here are a couple images for Monument, CO (from TripAdvisor and from HomesOnlineToday):

Yes it is actually that beautiful and looks like what you think Colorado should look like (at least in my mind). John and I were having a fantasy of retiring there someday!

Okay so back to quilt shop hopping – here are some photos from inside the adorable quilt shop in Monument – Sew in Tune (oh and the staff were super friendly):

As you see in the photos above, they had two versions/interpretations of the shop hop quilt using each of the large panels. I ended up buying the patterns as I really liked their designs (each shop that created an interpretation/design of how the shop hop quilt should look, also sold the pattern).

SEW-CIETY

The last shop I needed to visit to complete my shop hop passport was Sew-Ciety in Castle Rock, CO. We did not watch our time very well (my fault for too much wandering) and we discovered the shop was closing at 3:00 pm! We arrived to the shop at 2:55 pm and all I had time to do was get my passport stamped before they closed.

I did not get to take any photos in that quilt shop but it looked like a nice shop and I will return at a later time to actually look around.

I did however get to turn in my completed stamped quilt shop hop passport to them (to be entered into the shop hop drawing); and I got my commemorative pin for completing the shop hop!

Yes it was a lot of work for a free pin but it was so fun to be introduced to a lot of quilt shops in Colorado.

Studio, tierneycreates

Seattle Scrappy is Done!

August 29, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I was going to give you the last post in the series of posts on my first Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop but I thought I would just do a quick post and tell you all that “Seattle Scrappy” is done!

If you are just joining us – “Seattle Scrappy” is a quilt I pieced from my friend Dana’s scraps at a quilt retreat in early 2020 (pre-Covid pandemic) in a free form log cabin quilt style. Then I took over a year to hand quilt it. After I finished hand quilting it, I had the tierneycreates blog readers help me select the binding.

If you happen to be curious on the full story on this quilt and its journey to completion, here are all the posts:

Of course you might be thinking: “Tierney maybe you would have had the quilt completed sooner if you weren’t blogging about it so much!” – ha!

So here is quilt with the binding on, fresh out of the dryer. I like to wash and dry utility quilts after I put the binding on (I do not wash art quilts):

I gave it little pressing and now it hung in our bedroom so I can look at it each morning when I wake up!

I better get another hand quilting project started before winter starts! I was definitely fun to sit under the quilt while I was hand quilting it in the colder months.

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part IV

August 23, 2021August 23, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am now on the 4th installment on my series of posts on the first Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop that I attended.

In my three previous posts (Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part I, Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part II, and Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part III) I was on the “Day One” road trip with my partner John and our Miniature Schnauzer Mike (who was working quilt shop staff for treats). For “Day Two”, over a week later (because I was out of town for a quilt retreat but that is another post) I continued the shop hop on my own.

I visited 4 shops, trying to knock out more on the 11 quilt shop visit requirement to complete my shop hop passport in order to be entered to win the grand prize (and get the lovely pin for completing the shop hop):

The 4 shops I visited on my own have red boxes around them in the graphic below:

Two of the shops really impressed me with their fabric selections, interiors and friendliness of staff. Those are the ones I took photos inside. I spent a very long time at Treelotta – the staff was wonderful, I chatted with other quilters and they had an AMAZING selection of fabrics!

The Creative Needle, Littleton, CO

Treelotta, Englewood, CO

I also have this photo but I am not sure which shop it is from! It might be from one of the other two I visited, but is it is a lovely interpretation of how to make a quilt from the mini panels you collect from each shop and one of the larger panels you can purchase during the shop hop:

So that was “Day Two” of the shop hop. I have one more post to share with you about the shop hop and John and Mike join me again for “Day Three”.

A Crafter's Life

Awesome Surprise Treats in the Mail!

August 21, 2021August 24, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Usually my blog post stories are running a couple weeks behind (at least) in what is currently going on in my life. My @tierneycreates Instagram is more up to date. Well this blog post is actually current with my life like my Instagram.

I returned home from nearly a week in Wilmington, North Carolina with my partner John (who was on a business trip) and guess what I had in the mail?

A YUMMY surprise all the way from South Africa!

My longtime blogging buddy Mariss (@fabrications) back in June sent me the goodies pictured above which included two of her handmade pin cushions, and 2 months later they arrived!

In addition to the pin cushions, I was surprised with some amazing Nelson Mandela fabric!

Bet you do not see this everyday!

Of course it is too precious to use, so maybe I will just frame it. Okay, okay, maybe I will use it in a project some day…maybe…

I’ve been blogging for nearly 8 years and I’ve met some pretty incredible and talented people from all over the world. Several of those people have been so generous in sending me treats in mail over the years. I’ve sent out treats also of course. You all know who you are and I so appreciate you!

And I am going to be putting together some special treats for Mariss in the near future (for their 2 months+ journey to South Africa)!

Postscripts

One of my blogging buddies @quiteayarnblog has an ongoing series called “Agriculture Report” whose title always cracks me up because it is an update of what is going on in her garden.

In the same vein, I thought I would share my own “Agriculture Report” and share what to me is some exciting news:

I was able to grow enough basil to make Pesto
I was able to grow enough tomatoes to make ONE dish

You might be wondering: “why is this exciting” or “why is this news”?!?!?

Well after living many years in places such as Seattle and Central Oregon where growing “crops” was not that challenging (especially not in Seattle where it seemed like you could just throw seeds on the ground in passing and you’d have a bumper crop of whatever), I’ve been living in Denver, Colorado where growing things is challenging. We have a short growing season.

Last year I tried my first patio garden on the upper deck with meager results. This year, and perhaps it was because we had an unseasonably large amount of rain, I had good (well for Denver) results!

Here is my “bumper crop” of basil (enough for ONE batch of Pesto):

And here is my “bumper crop” of Roma and Cherry tomatoes (enough to make ONE dish):

Now it could just be me because when I first moved to the Denver area I took Mike the Miniature Schnauzer to a groomer near Boulder, Colorado and she had an amazing garden. I might just need to learn how to garden here!

Then I can provide better “Agriculture Reports” in the future (smile).

A Crafter's Life

Thinking About Kindness

August 20, 2021August 20, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I’ve been thinking a lot about kindness lately and appreciate those moments of kindness I get to witness.

It seems I’ve been doing a ridiculous amount of travel lately within the U.S., and a couple weeks ago I witnessed kindness while sitting on an airplane.

Kindness on an Airplane

A man likely in his late 30s ended up sitting next to an elderly couple, perhaps in their 80s. The wife sat in the middle row and the husband sat on the aisle seat. The husband was VERY hard of hearing and his wife had to basically yell at him for him to hear anything that was said. The wife was very friendly and began engaging the man at the window seat in conversation. The husband wanted to be part of the conversation too so the wife had to yell into her husband’s ear any questions/responses/discussions so that her husband could feel part of the conversation.

I was sitting in the row behind these three thinking: “whew I am so glad I did not end up in that row”. All I could think is that I would have put my headphones on very quickly and stuck my nose in my book.

I thought the window seat man would grow weary from the convoluted conversation but instead he was warm and very engaged and when he asked the elderly man what he used to for a living before he retired, the husband lit up and began telling the younger man interesting stories from his previous work life. I could sense how much he appreciated being asked and being listened to even though he was so hard of hearing.

I was amazed at the kindness of the younger man in the window seat and the gift he gave the older man: the gift of respect, listening, and kindness.

Kindness in the Community

A week later I was walk my dog Mike through the park near my house and noticed a couple actively cleaning up the park with grabber devices and trash bags, which were very full. I walked over to them and thanked them for keeping our park clean. They responded: “We are retired and have the time, we feel the least we could do it keep our community clean”.

What kindness they showed to our community!

Kindness in the Neighborhood

That same day I returned home from my dog walk to find my partner John mowing the lawn of my next door neighbors who just had a baby. Usually the husband keeps his lawn looking lovely but he was very busy with working and the new baby.

John not only mowed their lawn and their curb lawn area, but he also edged and trimmed the neighbors’ property, leaving it looking spectacular. They of course were most appreciative.

It might have taken John and extra 30 minutes of lawn care time but I know he felt good after being so kind to the neighbors. Because kindness is rewarding to the receiver and the giver!

I keep looking out for opportunities to witness simple (or large) acts of kindness on a daily basis by my fellow humans; and I hope that no matter what I am going through in life I can demonstrate kindness on a daily basis.

Feel free in the comments below to share your musings on kindness or any recent acts of kindness you’ve witnessed.

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part III

August 19, 2021August 20, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am sitting my hotel room in Wilmington, North Carolina as I’ve joined my partner John for the week on his business trip. It’s been a surprisingly very busy summer of travel (and we’ve careful, safe and are vaccinated). I wonder if all this “make up” travel post 2020 pandemic is only a brief moment in time as things may return to 2020 lockdown levels. I am thinking of/sending good thoughts to my blogging buddies in NZ and AU and anywhere in our world else facing 2020ish lockdowns again. I do know how fortunate I am right now to be able to travel.

This post I am continuing my series of posts on my partner John, my Miniature Schnauzer Mike, and I attending our first Rocky Mountain Shop Hop (which included quilt shops from Englewood Colorado to Pueblo Colorado). If you are just joining us, here are the links to the two previous posts:

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part I

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part II

So in the previous post we had traveled to the wrong quilt shop (First Stitches in Canon City) which was not part of the Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop and returned to Pueblo, CO to stop at the correct shop:

Here was their version of the completed 2021 shop hop quilt using one of the large panels I mentioned in the first post on this series:

I do not remember if I mentioned it or not, but I did buy both the large panels from the 2021 shop hop – the “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” one; and the Colorado Map one.

Then it was off to lunch on the Pueblo Riverwalk, which according to puebloriverwalk.org:

The Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo (HARP) is a 32-acre urban waterfront experience open to the Public daily. The Riverwalk returned the Arkansas River to its historic location at the heart of downtown Pueblo, after being diverted in the 1920s due to a devastating flood that destroyed much of Pueblo. The Riverwalk’s current location serves the community by revitalizing a segment of the downtown area that was previously unsightly and unusable. This urban development transforms the community and has been vital in attracting new businesses, thereby helping to stabilize the economic base of the city. The Arkansas River has been the lifeblood of Pueblo for over 300 years. Native Americans followed the river for hunting and trapping. Early settlers came as sheepherders and cattlemen. Agriculture blossomed in Pueblo’s warmer climate and the steel industry used the bountiful water resources to build a massive manufacturing center.

Before eating lunch on the patio (so Mike the Miniature Schnauzer could join us) the Brues Alehouse Brewing Company, we went for a walk along the Riverwalk in Pueblo and were surprised how cool it was (I love the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas and I did not think it would be as cool as that one).

Here are some photos from our stroll on the Riverwalk in Pueblo:

We wander the Riverwalk while waiting for our table to become available at the Brewery and were sort of disappointed when we got the text that the table was ready sooner than they originally said. We wanted to explore the area a little longer.

We had a delicious lunch at Brues Alehouse Brewing Company, I had the vegan tacos with fried avocados and John had a local speciality called a “Slopper” which is an open faced hamburger smothered in green chili.

Mike had some doggy snacks were brought and glared at his imaginary nemesis – another dog dining outside on the patio (Mike I guess wanted to be the only dog on the patio).

It was a little warm in the shade of the patio so we put an ice cube on Mike’s head to help him cool down from walking the Riverwalk:

Here we are enjoying our craft beer at the brewery:

I know, I know, another masterfully snapped selfie by me (should find an online selfie snapping training program!)

After lunch we headed to Colorado Spring, CO to continue the shop hop and arrived at High Country Quilts, one of the friendliest quilt shops I’ve ever been to!

I had fun chatting with the staff at the shop as well as other quilters/shop hoppers. I spent much longer in this shop than I had anticipated (and bought more than I had anticipated, ha!)

Little did I know that the second shop in Colorado Springs, CO closed at 3 pm and I was about to miss out crossing it off my shop hop list because I spent too long at the first shop I went to in Colorado Springs!

When we arrived (too late but did not know it yet) to Ruth’s Stitchery in Colorado Springs, my partner John (whose hobby is woodworking) was greeted with a wonderful surprise: the quilt shop is next to Woodcraft a woodworking shop!

He and Mike the Miniature Schnauzer (in his backpack) headed into Woodcraft for a wander and I headed over to the quilt shop to discover it was closed. I was so disappointed as it meant we would have to drive 70+ minutes back to Colorado Springs before the shop hop ended on August 21; but I was able to entertain myself while John and Mike were wandering the woodworking shop – there was a large charity thrift shop in the same shopping center!

After Colorado Springs we headed home from day one of the 2021 Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop – we were tired and I had reached my limit (too many quilt shops in one day makes going into quilt shops less special).

However there are more quilt shops to come in the next post in the series as I was determined to visit all 11 and complete the shop hop!

Here are summary of Day One – 4 shops total (red stars):

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part II

August 18, 2021August 18, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Now it’s time for Part II on my 2021 Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop Adventures, which started with the post Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part I.

Our first Colorado Quilt Shop Hop adventure began in Fountain, CO and in this post we have made it to Pueblo, Colorado for the second leg of our adventure.

But first let’s talk about this:

This is Mike the Miniature Schnauzer working a quilt shop staff member at Stitcher’s Garden in Pueblo, CO for treats! Curiously they happen to have a bag of doggy treats in the back stockroom and Mike was fed many of them!

It was very warm during the shop hop and we wanted to bring Mike the Mini Schnauzer on the road trip but not leave him the car, so it was backpacking into the quilt shops for him!

All the shops were “dog-in-a-backpack-friendly” and I think he gained a couple pounds from treats during the shop hop!

Luckily there we some nice local town parks or scenic walks that my partner John could take him on if I needed some extended time in any quilt shop. Mike enjoyed riding around in the backseat of the car with this cozy blanket and the cooler filled with our sparkling waters, soda, and snacks for roadtripping. (He just wished he had opposable thumbs so he could open the cooler when he wanted and grab his own snack!)

The first quilt shop we visited in Pueblo was Stitcher’s Garden and here are some photos from that shop so you can have a virtual shop hop experience:

Did you see the Batik fabric cowboy boots in one of the above photos? Those made me laugh! They were not wearable but they would be a funny decorative/storage item for your quilting room! And did you notice the giant bag of treats the quilt shop staff member had in her hand while she was petting her new friend Mike?!?!?!

So far our quilt shop hop was going well until….

After our visit to that first quilt shop in Pueblo, CO, my understanding was that we had one more quilt shop in Pueblo on the 2021 Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop but when my partner John put the shop’s name “First Stitches” into his Google Maps the directions said the shop was in Canon City, CO. So we listened to Google Maps instead of our COMMON SENSE and headed out 41 miles to Canon City (do you see where this is headed…not in the right direction…).

The staff at the First Stitches quilt shop were warm and friendly and when I asked for them to punch my Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop ticket (which gives you credit for visiting each shop) they said: “Oh we are not participating in the shop hop, our ORIGINAL SHOP in PUEBLO is participating”.

Oh my.

So we drove back to Pueblo, tried Google Maps again and found the correct shop.

But, I had a lovely time at the wrong shop and here are photos from the First Stitches quilt shop in Canon City, CO:

I even bought some beautiful Ruby Star Society butterfly fabric at the unnecessary-stop-quilt-shop. John felt bad about the accidental side trip but it was just as much my fault as his for not using that thing called COMMON SENSE and double checking the Rocky Mountain Shop Hop quilt shop list!

After going to the correct shop which I quickly ran into, go my shop hop “passport” stamped and ran out because at this point we were so hungry, we went to the Riverwalk in Pueblo lunch, which was more beautiful than I anticipated.

I’ll save that and our next quilt shop adventure along the shop hop for my next post.

Quilt Shop Tours, tierneytravels

Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop 2021, Part I

August 13, 2021August 13, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I’ve lived in Colorado for over 2 years now but I’ve never been to a “Quilt Store Shop Hop” like those I used to attend when I lived in Seattle, WA (where I began quilting) and Bend, Oregon.

On August 6th my partner John, my Miniature Schnauzer Mike, and I attended our first Rocky Mountain Shop Hop which included quilt shops from Englewood Colorado to Pueblo Colorado.

To enter the big drawing you had to visit all 11 shops but they give you 17 days to do it (August 5th through August 21st). You also get a special Rocky Mountain Shop Hop completion pin unique for 2021.

The coolest thing is that each participating shop has a unique Colorado themed mini panel that you can collect (for $5) to create along with the major panels, a Colorado themed quilt.

Here are all the mini panels:

And here are the two larger panels which can be configured into many different quilt designs (each shop had their own sampler quilt, pattern and kit for a Colorado themed quilt.

This is the Colorado map large panel:

Here it is shown in a Colorado themed quilt at the first quilt shop we visited on the hop, Na-La’s Quilt Shop in Fountain, Colorado. (sorry that the photo is a little blurry)

The other large panel focused on the famous/iconic “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign located near the Utah and Colorado border:

Here are a couple quilts from different shops on the Rocky Mountain Shop Hop featuring that panel:

As I mentioned earlier in this post, the first shop we visited on the shop hop was ed quilt at the first quilt shop we visited on the hop, Na-La’s Quilt Shop in Fountain, Colorado.

It was a wonderful place to start our shop hop as the staff was so inviting and friendly and they provided yummy snacks!

So you can have a virtual shop hop experience, here are some photos of the shop I took as I wandered about.

The shop had a fabulous collection of antique sewing machines all around the shop, here are a few:

An interesting thing about the shop is that you did not enter via the front door. Instead you entered through this really cool side door. The shop was located in downtown Fountain, CO and the building where the shop was located was obviously historic.

I overheard while in the shop, when another customer asked, the reason for the side door entry was a leftover from having to control entry during COVID pandemic restrictions.

More to come on my first Rocky Mountain Quilt Shop Hop adventure but I thought I would get started sharing with this post.

tierneytravels

Weekend at The Broadmoor

August 7, 2021June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Back in May my partner John took me for a weekend at The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

It was absolutely amazing! Here is the image from the front page of the resort website:

And from their website:

We began welcoming guests in Colorado Springs in 1918 and have remained one of the most recognizable and celebrated hotels in the world. Our distinctive blend of history, luxury and genuine hospitality has made us the longest-running consecutive winner of both the AAA Five-Diamond and Forbes Five-Star awards. We continue that legacy with an unmatched selection of accommodations, activities, and experiences that invite guests to immerse themselves in the beauty and traditions of the American West.

I’ve never stayed at a place so luxurious!

Our hotel room had it’s own doorbell:

John got us a room overlooking the lake and I forgot to take photos inside the room but here is a YouTube video of some video footage I took:

Our hotel room was basically an apartment with a walk-in closet and a bathroom bigger than the room I rented when I was first in college! And we were in a “middle level” room as there were many more luxurious suites and cottages you could reserve (for high level prices!).

The hotel/resort is so beautiful and although it was overcast and a little rainy the weekend we visited I still got some lovely images to give you a feel for the place:

Throughout the hotel there was a historic and European vibe as well as endless places to sit and relax.

I brought my English Paper Piecing with me and we had a lovely time in the evenings sitting around crafting (me) and reading/playing on iPad (John). Although there were a lot of guests, there were lots of cozy nooks you could find to nest in at the hotel.

There was also a LIBRARY! The resort had an amazing library nook/room with delicious cozy places to nest and read their huge collection of books (which you could borrow and take to your room):

As you can imagine, I spent a bit of time in the library. John and I hung out there for quite a while and I snuck back on my own, ha!

We noticed people walking around the grounds in long bathrobes and wondered what was going on.

Well they were coming from the spa area. In our room we had a set of long bathrobes and decided “when in Rome…”, put them on and headed to the spa/pool area ourselves.

It was so fun to walk around the grounds in our robes – here is John walking about in his robe:

Notice in his hand is his poker themed tote bag that I made him (see post Ready for the Poker Tournament ), he takes it everywhere with him!

We enjoyed the indoor pool as well as the amazing outdoor jacuzzi which overlooked the golf course:

I did not want to leave the jacuzzi but I was getting waterlogged after a while!

And speaking the golf course, The Broadmoor has an amazing golf course. John and I both play golf (he is way better than I am) and next time we visit we plan to book a tee time.

Many celebrities, politicians, heads of state, authors, etc. have stayed at The Broadmoor over the years. The resort has a whole section in one of its hallways dedicated to photos of famous people who have stayed there:

I took of course a ridiculous amount of photos (there were endless photographic moments), but I will just share one more group of photos – The Broadmoor has an amazing “Prohibition” collection of “fine spirits” from the early 20th Century:

It was a memorable birthday celebration weekend and I look forward to returning someday (like when it is sunny!)

Studio

Are You a Peeker?

August 5, 2021August 6, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I know that sounds like a really personal question doesn’t it? (I am a proud “peeker” but we’ll get into that in a moment…)

I’m about to ask those of you who quilt/put bindings on projects some really deeply personal questions, are you ready?

Working on sewing on the quilt binding that won the votes (see posts Help Me Pick the Binding for Seattle Scrappy! and And the Winner of the Binding Fabric Poll is…) yesterday got me wondering what other crafters’ practices are related to sewing on a binding.

First a couple questions related to the initial sewing on of the binding to the quilt:

Are You a Peeker?

When you first sew the binding onto to the quilt (before you hand stitch or machine stitch it down), do you peek after your first couple inches or so to see how the binding is going to look finished?

I do! I am a proud peeker! As soon as I have enough binding sewn on to the quilt I flip the edge it over to the backside so I can see how it is going to look:

It is just so pleasing to me and like instant gratification to see a preview of how the finishing quilt binding will look!

Do You Measure or Eyeball?

When it comes to turning a corner on a quilt when initially sewing on the binding, do you eyeball the quarter inch (or whatever measurement you use), or do you whip out the ruler and measure?

I am an “eyeballer” and so far it has served me well (but I have screwed up a couple times). Occasionally, as you can see in the image above, I do also pin it in place before sewing down the next section after turning the corner.

Now a couple questions related to hand stitching the binding to the back of the quilt after you’ve initially sewn it on:

How Do You Do Your Corners?

After you finish initially sewing on the binding, do you sew all the corners of the binding first and then sew down the rest along the quilt; or do you just start at one section and work your way around the quilt?

What I do is preview the corners, that they are sitting correctly and sometimes leave some pins or some clips in the corner, and then I randomly select a place to start to sew down the binding and work my way around the quilt.

And the most private and personal question of all (smile):

How Do You Select Thread Color to Sew Down to Back?

I’ve always struggled with this – do you go with trying to match the color of the binding or the color of the backing/back of the quilt?

I went with what was in my sewing machine – a medium-ish gray and I hope it works between the medium-dark binding color and the light gray backing!

I think that is enough probing questions.

Okay, so in the comments below feel free to share your most personal binding related secrets – it’s OK you’re among friends (smile)!

Postscript

I was also going to ask how do you initially measure how much binding you need to bind a quilt? I eyeball it by holding up my fabrics strips, that will be made into the binding, up to the quilt. But many times I end up with this situation: too much leftover binding…

Studio

And the Winner of the Binding Fabric Poll is…

August 3, 2021August 3, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Okay we are doing this in sort of “real time” as I have not looked at the final poll results yet, and I am going to do it while I type this post!

Wait to back up in case you are just joining us – in my July 30, 2021 post Help Me Pick the Binding for Seattle Scrappy! I asked for my blogging buddies to vote on which binding fabric I should use for the quilt Seattle Scrappy which I recently finished hand quilting.

Thanks so much to those of you who voted, and the winner is (drumroll as I am about to peek at the results myself)…

A TIE BETWEEN FABRIC B AND FABRIC D!

Okay it is up to me to break the tie.

As much as I love fabric D, I have thought about several of the comments that were left on the post about framing the quilt in a darker fabric and I am going to go with Fabric B for the binding.

So I will start assembling the Fabric B binding and share photos when I get the quilt binded…bound…when I finish attaching the binding (smile).

Feature image Photo by Case Hubbart on Unsplash

What's on the Design Wall

Creating a back for a “Legendary” quilt

August 1, 2021 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I’ve been doing a lot of “tierneycreate-ing” since returning from a visit with my brother and his family on the East Coast. As you saw in my previous post Help Me Pick the Binding for Seattle Scrappy!, I recently finished hand quilting a quilt (see Postscript section for an update on the poll/vote on which binding I should select); and yesterday I finished making a backing for my Sasquatch/Yeti quilt (the pattern by Elizabeth Hartman is called Legendary) that I most recently discussed in the post What’s On the Design Wall: Sasquatch Quilt Top Completed .

For the backing I wanted to use some scraps of the fabrics used to make the trees, but not go crazy on making a scrappy back. I also wanted to use a pieced tree that my friend Kathy gave to me when she gave me most of the fabric/scraps to make this quilt (which she had also inherited from our friend Dana when she made hers).

So I pieced around the tree block I had from Kathy and used larger scraps to frame it:

I am pretty pleased with the pieced quilting backing – it provides some visual interest to the back of the quilt and it honors the gift that Kathy gave me.

Recently I was talking to Dana and discovered she wants to. make another one (you can see her first one in this post Sasquatch Sightings), and so I am going to give her all the remaining scraps (which I am sure include scraps/fabric she originally gave to Kathy) from making this quilt.

Talk about “circle of life”, well I should say “circle of quilt“!

Oh and here is Dana’s completed quilt which started it all (I’ve seen it in person and wanted to take a nap under it when visiting her home…my understanding is her husband takes naps under it all the time during the colder seasons):

“Legendary” pieced by Dana and quilted by Krista

Now I am deciding whether to machine quilt it myself on my sewing machine or send it to a long-arm quilter. Krista Moser, longarm quilter extraordinaire, in the Seattle area did the quilting on Dana’s quilt. I am thinking about sending it to her as I’ve used her before on several quilts and she does an amazing job. The only challenge is she is super backlogged because she is so good!

Postscript

Thanks so much to so many of you that weighed in with your suggestion of which binding I should use for my Seattle Scrappy quilt that I discussed most recently on my previous post Help Me Pick the Binding for Seattle Scrappy!.

I tried inserting a poll into my post for the first time in the new WordPress Editor (that many of us have groaned about) and it seemed to be working. I had to navigate within My Sites > Feedback to locate the link Crowdsignal, which appears to power the polls, in order to look at the results, but here are the results so far if you are curious:

So far it looks like Fabric D is the winner but Fabric B is close behind. I am going to wait until Monday evening to see which fabric wins and gets to be making into the binding. Again – thanks for everyone’s input – its been fun to “crowdsource” my binding decision (smile)!

There still is time to vote and it appears you can only vote on my actual webpage, not the WP Reader.