Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Binding Time

I am one of those crazy people who loves to sit and hand stitch the binding on my quilts.  I know many who dread the task, but it is such a relaxing part of quilting to me.  I had Mary at Quilt Hollow quilt a couple of my tops and they turned out beautifully.  She does such an awesome job and I am just thrilled with the results.  Mary is so helpful in selecting the perfect design and is such a dedicated longarm quilter.  I can now say they are officially FINISHED and crossed off of the to do list.  I have one more large one that I am currently working on the binding so it has been a binding week.


Great Granny QAL...I added a DS striped binding to this one since I did not have any extra fabrics.  I will link this finish up to Richard and Tanya's Friday finishes. 


This was a top that Melissa was getting rid of and I loved the colors.


The finishing directions for the Summer Star QAL came out this week.  It called for 8 stars, but I decided to add the ninth one and finish it off a little differently.  I like the way it turned out.   The colors are really off in the photo.  It must be our rainy day today.


The winner of my Blog Hop giveaway is Leslie.  Congratulations!  I have e-mailed you and will send the book off once I receive your address.  It is always such fun to meet so many new bloggers during the blog hops and I hope that anyone who gets a chance to join in on the fun will do so.  Welcome to all of my new followers. 



The week was a busy one with three little ones here while their mommy and daddy were vacationing in Hawaii.  The days started early and were busy until the wee ones were tucked in each night, but we enjoyed the activity and fun times.  I was a little busy to capture much of it on camera.  ;-(

3 years old with a wild imagination.

2 years old and full of mischief.



7 months old and an easy going, always smiling little guy.  It makes getting up at 5 a.m. worth every minute.


The days are getting shorter and the temperatures seem to be dropping for us.  Fall is in the air and will be in full swing in no time at all.  Our summer was so late in arriving and I would love to have a bit more of it.  I do look forward to the comfort food cooking that the cooler weather brings.   How about you?

54 comments:

  1. Love your Great Granny quilt! It is just gorgeous in blues & yellows!!! I hope you don't mind that I pinned it to Pinterest =^..^=

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  2. The quilts all look great, but I LOVE the great granny quilt! It's beautiful! :0)

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  3. Wow the granny quilt is lovely and the striped binding is perfect! It looks like you had a great response on your giveaway...286 comments! The Grands are a good looking bunch and I know you enjoyed their visit but are also enjoying your quilting time again. It is still hot here but cooling off some and promises that we will be seeing some 70's and 80's soon!

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  4. Both quilts are so pretty! I'm like you and love to sit and hand sew the binding. Your grandbabies are adorable and I'm sure kept you plenty busy. Are you ready for a vacation now? Do you receive the September Santa Ana's that so much of the LA area receives?

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  5. The kids are adorable. How lucky to be able to watch them!!! I'm wondering about the Great Granny QAL. I've been wanting to do that quilt forever but feel overwhelmed with matching everything up.
    I'm also doing the Just Take 2 (for me, it take FOREVER) and love the blocks and challenge.

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  6. That striped binding looks great as does the setting for your stars!

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  7. Love your great granny! Way to sew! I like the other one too. And your little stars sew along turned out very cute~ I'm a little behind. Adorable kiddo's! I'm looking fwd to autumn too. :-) Have a happy day!!

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  8. Personally, I love it when kids are full of mischief. You are a lucky grandma, they are lucky to have you too.

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  9. Hello dear Mary:-)

    I've been away from blogging for much too long but I'm back now!! I've so missed all of you.

    I see you continue on making such beautiful quilts:-) I love the colours on the second one, it looks so Fallish!! If that's a word! lol

    I bet you had a fun time babysitting those three grands, they're all so adorable and at an age where you can't help but be amazed by them.

    I look forward to catching up with all your news:-) xoxo

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  10. They are all beautiful, but the Summer Star is my absolute favorite!! Wow!!! What good grandparents to keep three under three! I'm wondering if you are/were exhausted!

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  11. I love the Summer Star QAL. I don't know what the original design looked like, but I love, love, love your take on it.

    I enjoy binding as well ... but then I hand quilt, so obviously I like working with my needle and thread. ;-)

    I've got my grands coming over for sleepovers Thursday night through Saturday afternoon. I won't get any quilting done during their visit, but that's ok ... I love my grands and wouldn't trade time with them for anything.

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  12. Wow the quilts are all beautiful!!! As are the grands!!

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  13. I must be crazy too because I love to get to the binding aswell. Love the granny square quilt....the colours are so soft and pretty.

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  14. Your great granny quilt looks amazing and the striped binding really works. Sounds like you have had fun with the grandkids. Interesting that your summer weather is ending. We are still in heat wave mode up hear but looks like things are finally going to cool off for the weekend.

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  15. I really enjoy sewing down my bindings, too. I LOVE your granny quilt!

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  16. Love all your quilts and the grandkids are cuties.

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  17. Thanks for a sweet shout out. You are a joy to quilt for. Sweet little people...someday my turn!

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  18. Wow you've been super busy! I have to admit I am a binding hater, but I sure love how it looks when they are done. hahaha Love all your beautiful quilts. HUGS!

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  19. What a beautiful stack of completions, don't you just love them?!? Your babies are the cutest too, g'ma, of course, you already know that ~
    :-}pokey

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  20. I quite like hand stitching the binding too - although sometimes it feels like I'm going nowhere fast!

    I also like sewing in the ends of my yarns when knitting, which isjust as well given that my intarsia blanket has hundreds of them!

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  21. Wow! What a busy week you had with those 3 gorgeous grandchildren. We love them but they are so exhausting when they need your care all day long. Makes us realize why we have our children when we're younger. I know mine wear me out but are so adorable. Your quilts are fantastic. What a great job you've done on those as well as with your family.

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  22. Nice things you have made and the grandchildren lovely.
    And growing fast..........
    the smile of the little one is beautfull

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  23. Your quilt us fabulous and your grandchildren are adorable.

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  24. Gasp! You finished your Granny Squares quilt - that's absolutely beautiful.

    Your other quilts are just as lovely.

    I always love seeing pictures of your family, the 7-month old looks so adorable!

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  25. Beautiful quilts and gorgeous grandchildren.

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  26. cute, cute, cute kiddos!!! You are right 5am would be okay if you get some time with that little smiling face!

    Great quilts too! Congrats on the finishes!

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  27. cute, cute, cute kiddos!!! You are right 5am would be okay if you get some time with that little smiling face!

    Great quilts too! Congrats on the finishes!

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  28. Three beautiful quilts...3 adorable grandchildren.

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  29. Many granny quilts I see are multi-colored, scrappy, and of course, just great. But your controlled color granny quilt is special! Love the look of it, and you can't go wrong with the striped binding.
    You've shared wonderful quilts today, and the grandkids are too cute for words. Their energy is just oozing from the photos. What joy to have them at your home for a visit.

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  30. Lovely quilts. Your GG is delightful in the blues and yellows! Sweet lil cuties! I bet they did keep you all hopping at those ages!Sure it was a joy to have them though!
    Hugs,
    Lola

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  31. Beautiful quilts and its always lovely to see the grandchildren!

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  32. I'm definitely with you on the binding - I love hand sewing it on. It's my favorite evening stitching. :) blessings, marlene

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  33. Lovely quilts you have finished... a Granny blocks one is in my wish list.... I also like the hand work on a binding ... it seems a nice peaceful way to end a quilt...
    Hugz

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  34. your Great Granny turned out wonderful! And I love to hand sew the bindings on too. I find it relaxing.

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  35. Those quilts are beautiful. I am not much for sewing bindings by hand. Grandkids are great and only little for a short time. I had one over the weekend and loved every minute.

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  36. Love the colors in the blue and yellow quilt.

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  37. All lovely quilts, but the gr.gran is a real keeper!!

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  38. love the quilt and the pictures of your grandchildren.

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  39. Your Granny Square quilt is beautiful! Is that the Summer Breeze fabrics? The quilting by Mary looks wonderful and enjoy your hand stitching of the bindings, nothing wrong with enjoying that process! Great photos of the grandchildren, you are such a super great grandma!!

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  40. Beautiful quilts and adorable grandchildren! I wish that we lived closer to our little grandbaby.
    Thank you so much for commenting on my bubble dress for our grandbaby and for taking the time to pop over to my blog and commenting too!!!

    Blessings & Aloha!

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  41. First things first! Your grandbabies are adorable...Being a Grandma is one of God's greatest blessings...

    Now--second of importance. Your quilts are awesome. I really like the colors in your Great Granny quilt. I agree the nine blocks look very nice..everything is super.

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  42. I like doing binding as well. Your quilts are fantastic. Mary is the best quilter.

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  43. Beautiful quilts..all of them. But I especially love the yellow and blue. My wedding colors!

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  44. Beautiful quilts..all of them. But I especially love the yellow and blue. My wedding colors!

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  45. Love the quilt finishes! That is a lot of binding to stitch. And your grandkids are soo adorable. Looks like you had lots of fun! xo

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  46. Wow, you sure do have a lot of followers! I am happy to be trying to get back into the swing - I've missed all my friends so much. I hope to have a bit of time now to think of what I need to say!

    Thanks for the encouragement!

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  47. I'm certainly ready for fall! It's my favorite season! I'm with you on the binding. I love to hand stitch it down. It's so relaxing to know the quilt is done and it's time to enjoy it. Looks like you had a fun and busy week!

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  48. Your quilts are beautiful. I also enjoy binding it is one of my favorite parts of quilting.
    Those grandbabies sure are cute. Looks like they had a good time with grandma and grandpa.

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  49. All the quilts are fabulous and what cuties you have there...

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  50. I love your granny quilt and the other holiday quilt you got back in your hands from Mary. They are beautiful. Looks like you are so busy with those little ones... they look like a bundle of energy! Your Summer Stars Quilt is really pretty too. I didn't see that QAL/must have missed it!

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  51. I love love love the great granny. The pattern has been on my ironing board for a few weeks now. Yours is so pretty.

    I bet you had fun with the kids.. they are too cute. And yes, I never minded getting up at 5am back when they were sweet either. Some of my favorite mornings were those days. Now they sleep in and I enjoy those mornings too come to think of it. LOL.It's my quiet time each day.

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  52. lets see...I want you to be happy so how bout I run all my bindings up to you!!!!!!!!lololololol........

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  53. Mary,

    I tried sending you an email, but it bounced back....

    Here is what I wrote:
    "I received the jelly in the mail. THANKS heaps for the sweet gift!!!! I can't wait to try it. The topper on the jar - did you make it? It is beautiful!!!!!

    Thanks again - you have been a sweet friend and blessings.

    Hugs,
    Wendy

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  54. Was exhausted having 2 to stay a couple of times during the Summer but 3 little ones and 5 I wonder if some were old enough to keep an eye on the youngest.

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