Plans for a Relaxing Sunday Evening

Like Kathy, I added the binding to a recently quilted project and plan to spend the evening stitching it down while I curl up in the den and watch some television.

I usually use my walking foot and almost never pin or clip the binding in place.

Look close and you can tell that I washed the Holiday Baskets quilt before binding it.  I knew that my backing fabric (muslin that was not pre-washed) and batting (Mountain Mist Cream Rose) choices were going to result in a lot of lovely crinkle and wanted to make sure that my quilting design choices would result in a flat square quilt after it was washed.

I left it to dry flat on a worktable in the studio ... and only found a few hairs on it this morning–evidence that one of the cats was curled up on it, claiming it, last night.

I had put aside the green stripe fabric with an idea to use it for binding.  I was a little surprised how little of it there turned out to be, when I pulled it out to cut it.

That 1/2-inch wide string was all that was left when the binding strips were cut. I'm not sure if that's an indication that it was meant to be the binding or I was just lucky.

Here's a photo of the quilted, washed quilt on my design wall before the binding was added.

I think the symmetry in the quilt and quilting design gives these whimsical baskets a bit of a more formal traditional air.   Outlining the baskets, boxes and (marked) rings was good FMQ practice for me, and fun to try.

In case you're wondering, yes, there was some more feline supervision today.

Johnny Be Good stretched out on the table I had set up adjacent to the sewing machine table and watched for a while, before moving back to his preferred napping spot in the sun, on the chaise.