My First Project is Finished!

I finished up the quilting stitches without any problems. My favorite part was trimming the extra batting and the bottom sheet. It just looked so much closer to being done! 

I was finally on the last step, the binding. I will admit I've been really nervous about this since I read through the instructions. I did not understand what they were telling me to do. Thankfully my Mom was here for a visit this last weekend and was able to explain to me what it was saying. 

Creating the binding strip was easy enough. I had three lengths of fabric that I needed to combine into one long strip.

Yes, I took a picture of one of the seams. I did not, however, take a picture after I pressed it folded in half. I thought that might be a little overkill. 

It was then time to attach the binding to the quilt. This ended up being so much easier than I expected it to be. Especially since I used my Ideal Seam Guide again so I could get the perfect 1/4" seam. I did have to fight gravity a bit to keep the quilt lined up with the binding. I have a portable extension table coming, but it's taking a little longer than normal because I have a new model sewing machine so they don't have the dimensions set for it yet. I'm really looking forward to having my table though. 

The corners were a little tricky, but I took my time and made sure they were lined up properly before I continued. It was worth the extra time to have it lay properly.

The flip of the binding went extremely smoothly because everything was lined up correctly. 

I know it's possible to sew the back with a machine, but I decided to hand stitch it. I just know that if I had used the machine the seam would be showing or I'd miss a portion of the binding so it wouldn't be secure. That would drive me nuts. 

It actually didn't take that long to sew by hand. My almost two year old son kept trying to take it off of my lap as I sewed. I think he liked the quilt and wanted to snuggle with it. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

The back is my favorite part. I honestly don't have any frustrations with how the binding turned out. The only thing I'm wondering is if it is better to finish it with the machine. This small 17 1/2" x 17 1/2" quilt took just under two hours to hand stitch. I was careful to make sure the stitches couldn't be seen but I don't feel like I was sewing at a slow pace. I can't imagine how long it would take to hand stitch a twin sized quilt or something even larger. 

Do you have any tips on binding? Will it always be a slow process or are there faster ways to get it done? Are there any sure ways to use the machine without showing a bunch of stitches? 

I've really loved working on this quilt. I've always had a feeling I would enjoy sewing but I never wanted to invest in a hobby I wasn't sure I'd enjoy. And as you all know quilting in particular is not cheap. I'm so grateful I've taken this leap and started learning. It's been everything I'd hoped it would be. It's even helped me out in my roll as a mom.

This week is Red Ribbon week at my daughter's school. Each day this week has had a theme that the students are supposed to follow in how they dress. Today the theme is Super Heroes. The kids are allowed to wear capes and masks and any other super hero clothing they have. We had two capes that would fit my oldest and youngest daughters, but my poor middle daughter didn't have a cape to wear. I didn't think it was a big deal because she is the only one with an actual superhero shirt to wear, but I was wrong. She told me in near tears that she really wanted to wear a cape too. 

I'll admit it, when it comes to my kids I'm a bit of a sucker. I looked at my sewing machine sitting on my desk and I thought, "I can make a cape." So I did. 

I spent almost four hours last night figuring it out, but I did it. Thankfully I had enough material on hand to throw it together. I didn't take pictures along the way because I wasn't thinking about it as a blog entry, it was just something I was doing for my daughter, but I do want to show the final product because I'm pretty proud of it. 

The heart patches are because I accidentally cut holes in the material as I was cutting out the cape, but I think they're cute. It is also lined with white to give it a little thickness. It's not perfect. There are so many mistakes that scream at me, but my daughter was tickled to wake up this morning to find she had her very own cape. It made it all worth it. Isn't she an adorable superhero?