Quilts for Kids, and Mock Binding

I got my Project Linus Quilt finished yesterday!!  I try to make and donate at least a few quilts each year to a good cause. It's about 40 by 60 inches, and that center panel is simply a fat quarter of fabric that had a great print on it that I wanted to keep whole. 

I used a "railroad tracks" quilting that I found on Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting blog to quilt it.

Kate, over at Swim, Bike, Quilt!  Has a wonderful link-up, 100 quilts for kids that really helps motivate me.  It looks like she has already met her goal, but it's open until October 15th, so there's still time to add more!

For the binding I used a "mock binding", a technique I learned from my first quilting book,  "The Quilting Bible", by Singer.  I've rarely seen any blog posts about it, so I thought I'd show a few quick pictures of how I do it.  I've used it over the years for many quilts, and they're still holding up well.  In fact, I used it for my very first (finished) quilt, that I made for my toddler son, but when I proudly brought it to the local quilt shop to show it off, the owner told me that the binding "was done wrong", and that I'd have to cut it off and make a proper binding.  I was crushed, but chose to ignore her advice, and the quilt is still in use, 12+ years later!

The main "rule" is that you need a coordinating backing fabric that is also acceptable for a binding, since you'll be using the back fabric for the binding as well.

Cut the back fabric at least a few inches larger than the top, as most people do, then when it's all quilted, sew around the edge of the quilt top, trim the batting close to the very edge, and then cut the backing fabric off, leaving a 1 inch margin all the way around the quilt.

Now, all you do is fold the "binding" over (1/2 inch) to touch the batting and quilt edge, and fold again to cover the top, and top stitch.

When you get to a corner, fold the corner 45 degrees, and miter the ends.  You'll have a little "tail" that can then be carefully trimmed off.

Is it "perfect", no.  Is it "proper", maybe not.  Is it done?  YES!  In my opinion, there's never anything "wrong" about a handmade quilt, no matter how it's constructed, what fabrics are used, or how it's quilted, or bound.  There's lots of effort, time and love in each and every one of them.  I hope that this quilt will provide a little boy (or girl) with a little peace and love during a particularly stressful time...

A Few Friday Finishes

It's hard to write about anything other than the horrific shootings that took place early this morning in Colorado.  My heart goes out to those involved.  My mind, like so many others,  asks why.  As a mom of 2 soon-to-be young men, I have to speculate that there's something very broken with our society when so many young men act out in these violent ways.  It makes me scared for my kids.  It makes me so sad.

I've been spending almost as much time weeding as sewing lately, but I did want to make up a quilt for the 100 quilts for kids campaign that Katie, of Swim, Bike, Quilt is running yet again.  I had a fat quarter that I bought originally with the intention of using to make one of my Kindle covers, but the print was just too large-scale... one of those "can't cut it" prints.  So I decided to just make an incredibly easy simple one block small quilt with it.  Hopefully it'll help a troubled young boy in some way feel a little much-needed tenderness.

I also sewed up a similar easy, fast quilt top, using some stash fabric that I've been holding on to for a few years now.  I haven't yet decided if I want to keep it, or give it away.  I know that as big as it is, and as hot as it is, I probably won't be quilting it for a few more months, but hope to finish up the smaller quilt and get it to our local Project Linus soon!