May Goal Post and Tutorial for Matching Stripes in Binding Strips

May First-of-Month WIPs 'n UFOs

This is my monthly planning link for these wonderful motivationals:

Carrie's NOTHING BUT UFOs 2013

A LOVELY YEAR OF FINISHES 2013

Lee's WIP Wed

~*~*~*~

May Goal Post:  

On the UFO front:

Dragonfly Party 1 (UFO) - Hand stitching station. Home from southern Utah - This will be my first time blocking a quilt before I bind it for the finish!! 

Dragonfly Party 2 (UFO) - Hand stitching station. This quilt got home from rural Scotland in an amazing 4 days - block and bind it for the finish!!

TUTORIAL FOR MATCHING STRIPES:

The binding for these finishes is a stripe, and since the quilts have enormous sentimental value and were quilted by master-longarmers Kay and Judi, I'm making sure those stripes line up perfectly on the diagonal joins of the strips. Here's how I do that:

Square off the selvage: 

Lay the square-off end perpendicular to the end you're joining, making sure it's perfectly lined up at the top:

Fold a diagonal this way, perfectly bisecting that top corner and carefully lining the left edges of the top strip up. Give it a good finger crease:

Normally I open it back up, pin it like the first picture below, and sew down the crease. BUT. . . This time, slide the folded end to the left until the stripes are matched perfectly and pin it like the second picture below:

Those actually match perfectly when you hold the top corner down. The metallic strips in this fabric fight the crease.

Now set your machine to the narrowest zigzag it will do:

And you will sew the folded edge down with a minute zigging. The right-fall of the needle should lie against the edge of the fold while the left-fall catches just the tiniest smidge of fabric (one thread's width):

I find it very helpful to use a pin to hold the fold steady. For this job, I want something even more precise than my Purple Thang. 

You can assembly line these, and you'll have this:

Open the fold and flatten it out without stretching the bias line:

Then close it back up so you can cut off the overhang:

And then the whole shebang is ready to go to the ironing station!

~~Back to my May goals~~

The next UFOs I want to work on this month:


Kelly's 1930s (UFO) - Hand stitching station. If the stitching on the two above is completed before month's end, start finishing Kelly's hand quilting for her. Learn to use that funky spoon thing.

Mermaid Fantasy for Heather (UFO) - Piecing station. Finish the borders and prep for quilting.

(There's more to it than this focal panel)

The NewFO NETY of the month: (Not Even Touched Yet) - Today I really don't feel like pulling the project I'd projected for May back at New Year's, which is Tuscany Terrace on the top of these photos. Instead, I might pull Valley of the Kings, or Simple Pleasures, or Spring Pillowcases. . . Or maybe I *will* do Tuscany Terrace. It would be nice some day to have more than one king size bed option. . . 

Who knows??

And I probably won't get past washing the fabrics, 

but the real point for this month's NewFO is to get a NETY out of Cold Storage and into the land of the living quilt lineup.

Now for the WIPs, which you've seen lately:

Run, Kitty, Run (Gift from stash) - FMQ station. finish the blue portion of the FMQ, and do at least the running on the cream. Really would like this completely finished.

BOMs (4 UFOs and the long-term WIP) - Piecing station. continue one morning's work each week with rotating focus on Kelly's Heritage quilts, Ruffled Roses, Block Swap Adventure, and Hello, Moon. 

Dear Jane - Piecing station. Catch up the remaining blocks. This was April's catch-up progress:

So - I'm hoping for two UFO completions and one WIP pretty darn close to being finished! The rest is just forward motion, and that's OK by me.