Out With the Old: 2012 Finishes in Review

That's the motivation of an artist — to seek attention of some kind. –James Taylor

1. Phoenix Song Charity Quilt 2. Forever Sudoku Quilt 3. Seeing Spots Lap Quilt 4. Hexie Notebooks 5. More Hexie Notebooks 6. Felted Wool Christmas Ornaments 7. Blouse 8. Rooster Potholders 9. Holly Jolly Christmas 12" Table Topper 10. Poultry in Motion Table Runner 11. Pinkalicious Baby Quilt 12. In the Pink: A Study In Pinwheels Sampler Quilt

I kind of felt like I was moving in slow motion this year. I'm always looking for the balance between satisfying the everyday have-to's and still finding time for the the really, really want-to's. Looking back, I finished more than I thought. It is kind of nice to see a whole year's worth of work all in one spot.

Today's post brought to you by:

Winter Wedding: The Last Few Finishes of 2012

All marriages are made in heaven. But then, so are thunder and lightning. –Craig Clyde

My youngest brother got married a couple of weeks ago to a very lovely girl. I used my new iPhone to snap a few photos after the ceremony. Don't they make a beautiful couple?

As a side note, doesn't my new sister-in-law have the most beautifully perfect hourglass figure? I mean seriously. And that dress? Amazing.

When they got engaged, I started thinking of ideas for quilts. I wanted to use some Asian fabrics from my stash, but it just wasn't working, so I decided to make something using Ellen's favorite colors, pink and green. I wanted to have at least the quilt top finished for her first shower and then get it quilted for her second shower, which was a week later. We kind of got snowed in and I didn't make it to the first shower {never mind that the top wasn't finished} and I was out-of-town for the second shower {top still not finished}. Then my plan was to finish it in time for the wedding. That didn't happen either.

You see, my brother and his then fiancée wanted all of their family members to dress in their wedding colors, honeydew melon green, robin's egg blue and grey. I knew I would never be able to find such springy colors in the dead of winter without much difficulty. The easiest course, or so I thought, was to make skirts and blouses for LadyBug and me. As the wedding got closer, I realized that I wasn't going to have time to finish everything while still maintaining my sanity. I re-evaluated what I could do and I decided that I'd finish the quilt and just make blouses for LadyBug and me. We could wear black skirts we already had. They were close enough. And then, with only three days until the wedding, the borders to finish quilting, the binding to put on, and not even a start on the blouses, I decided that LadyBug could wear a dress that she already had {which she was totally OK with; she's not that into new clothes and especially not anything that is girly or fancy}, the quilt could wait and I was going to make a blouse for myself to wear to the wedding.

It was probably a little bit of a selfish decision to make myself a blouse and not finish the quilt for the bride and groom, but when my youngest sister got married, I made vests for all the little boys and dresses for my sister and sister-in-law, but not for myself because I ran out of time. I felt out of place and kind of bad that I wasn't wearing something fun and new in the right colors and I didn't want to feel that way again.

If the blouse {and my hair} looks like I had a nap in it, it was because I did. I was up until 3:30 am the night/morning before the wedding, and up by 5:00 am to make it there on time. Apparently, people took bets on whether I'd be late. In spite of the snow, I made it with plenty of time to spare and even a few minutes before one of my sisters. Between the wedding luncheon and call time for photos before the reception, I had a nap {and a migraine } on my mom's couch.

I used a blouse that I've had for several years as a pattern. I've always loved the fit of it, but not particularly the print, so when it frayed at a couple of the seams I decided I could live with cutting it up to make a pattern from it. I love how it turned out {I didn't even make a muslin; as a matter of fact, I'd never heard of making a muslin until I started blogging. I always just measure the person really carefully and then alter the pattern to fit the measurements} and plan on making at least one more top using this pattern.

More fun with the iPhone camera. I love those shoes I'm wearing. If you've ever read The Wizard of Oz, you'll know that Dorothy's shoes are silver {and not ruby}, and my silver shoes feel a little bit magical.

I finally finished the quilt for my brother and his wife last night. I love how it turned out. Please ignore the man behind the quilt. The snow was over a foot deep and I didn't really feel like trudging through it to get to my favorite fence for quilt photographing.

Here's a close-up of the quilting I did in the nine-patches. I used a design from the book 501 Quilting Motifs, which Mr. Bug got me for Christmas and which might have fallen open accidentally after it arrived in the mail and before it made it to the secret present stash.

I think my favorite part is the cat's eye pattern in the sashing. It came out rather nicely, if I do say so myself.

As usual, I did an embroidered tag, half of which I have to blank out so as not to give away too much information and get my identity stolen.

I'll drop this in the mail as soon as the post office opens on Wednesday. I'm so glad to have it finished and on its way.

Today's post brought to you by:

Random Bits: Christmas Wrap-Up Edition

The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can't do. For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that some day. And me, for example, I can let you drown, but I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesies, savvy? So, can you sail under the command of a pirate, or can you not? –Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

Calling this a wrap-up post isn't quite accurate since you get pretty much everything about Christmas this year in one post. But I love a good pun, so just go with it.

What I Can Do
In the past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about what I can't do. Perhaps there has been some tiny shift in the cosmos that has caused time to speed up, and therefore, I can't get as much done in one day as I used to. Quite possibly, my responsibilities at work have increased and I have 10 to 15 fewer hours each week to work with, depending on the week. Or maybe I just overestimate my abilities. Whatever the case, it seems like there is an awful lot of stuff that I can't do.

I just celebrated my 2-year anniversary at work. Since I started working, I've been struggling with finding the right balance. And I've never actually considered myself as "working." In my head, this has only been a temporary thing. Two years is less temporary than I'd hoped. We have a plan in place, which makes my employment status even more less temporary. But I'd still like to think of it as temporary. What's a couple more years, right?

In the meantime, I'll continue to work on balance. I've been finishing far fewer projects and blogging a lot less than I would like to. And it will probably have to stay that way for a while. LadyBug, Grasshopper and Mr. Bug are my top priority, and that is how it should be. In the mean time, I'm going to focus on what I can do, for and with my family as well as my personal pursuits.

Neighbor Gifts 2012: Felted Wool Ornaments
It is with the "what I can do" mindset that I approached my Christmas crafting this year. I love to give handmade gifts. But there just wasn't time to do something for everyone on my list. So, I focused on what I could do. In our neighborhood, we have a tradition of taking around a little something to each other. Over the years, I've done several different things, but my favorite thing, by far, is to make ornaments. I've been collecting ideas for handmade Christmas ornaments, and have decided that I'm never going to bake and decorate 42 dozen sugar cookies, or mix up 250 servings of minty hot cocoa mix ever again. Granted, making an ornament for each family on my list probably takes the same amount of time, but there are so many fewer dirty dishes that it is worth it.

This year, I didn't get started on my ornament making until the 20^th, but I was determined to get it done. My brother got married on the 15^th and I was trying to get a quilt done for him {still working on that}, as well as make skirts and blouses for LadyBug and me for the wedding. I also had work and laundry and snow shoveling and life to fit in there. And then there was the matter of finding the right felt for the job. I was inspired by the pretty red felted wool ornaments P. made and who graciously shared her pattern, but was going to make due with some cheap acrylic felt. After further consideration, I decided that felted wool was the only way to go, but wasn't sure if I'd be able to find the right wool item to thrift/get enough thrifted wool to make my ornaments so I bought a yard of winter white wool at JoAnn's {thank you 50% off coupon} and felted it. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I saved money by buying wool yardage and felting it myself vs. buying felted wool at a quilt shop.

This year, I had 55 families on my list. I know. I'm nuts. Once you make my list, the only way to get off is to move and not leave a forwarding address. As I assessed the situation, I realized that I could not get 55 ornaments done and delivered by the 24^th. A few cuts had to be made. Since our families have the gift of us, I crossed off members of both mine and Mr. Bug's families, reducing the number of ornaments to be made in 3½ days from 55 to 38. Here are 25 of the 36 I finished before Christmas. 11 had already either been hand delivered or mailed out when I took this and I still have two more to make and send out. Obviously, those are going to arrive after all the decorations have been put away. But it's the thought that counts, right?

Yes, I'm feeling the guilt for cutting our family members from the list. But it was what I could do. I'm starting next year's ornaments tomorrow so I don't have to leave anyone off the list.


Christmas Greetings
Not everyone who gets a Christmas card gets an ornament, but everyone who gets an ornament also gets a card. Again, the only way to get off the list is to move and not leave a forwarding address. Even then, I may still track you down. We send out 108 cards this year. I've tried to cut my list, but it is pointless. I don't want anyone to feel left out. That includes you, so I hope you won't mind a virtual card.

The Great iOS Debate: Escalated
Ever since the iPhone came out {in 2007, I believe}, I've wanted one. The problem is, I think it is absolutely ridiculous to pay $80 a month for service. When the iPad came out, I kind of lost interest in the iPhone, because an iPad seemed much more useful. I discussed this at great length several months ago, when the iPhone became available through Virgin Mobile, but the debate was tabled because we needed a new oven.

After Thanksgiving, the prices of the iPhone 4S dropped and I decided that it was time. To tell you how truly busy things have been around here, I've had this awesome new piece of technology in my possession for 2½ weeks now and haven't blogged a peep about it.

As a matter of fact, I've already dropped it hard enough to break it, if it weren't for the OtterBox I got to go with it. You can see the divot on the bottom corner, there.

Apple iPhone 4S, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. OK. I won't. Because if I did, I'd go on and on and on for more than you all would care to read. I'm guessing that a lot of people have already lost interest in this extremely long post and quit reading two subtitles ago. So in the interest of keeping it interesting, or at least from getting more long winded and boring, I'll cut straight to the chase. I love my iPhone SO MUCH that I now want an iPad also. Or maybe an iPad Mini. Or maybe both. It is that awesome.

Christmas Joy
Christmas at Bug Cottage was pretty good this year. Mr. Bug and I had the shopping done by the 19^th and I have enjoyed watching everyone enjoy their presents. As for me, aside from the iPhone, which is part Christmas and part because it was time for a new phone, I think my favorite gift was a Gingher rotary cutter from my Mom. It was unexpected, unnecessary and extravagant. In other words, it was perfect.

I've already put it to use. About 2½ years ago, Shay and I did a fabric exchange. I sent her some random bits of brown and pink fabrics and she sent me a completely awesome layer cake of Sparkle All the Way. Since then, I've been on the look-out for the perfect quilt to put it to use in. I entertained several ideas, but nothing seemed just right. A couple of weeks ago, I was inspired by the Brights Christmas Quilt Amy over at Diary of A Quilter put together. I hopped on over to her Etsy shop to check out the pattern she used, and found an even better fit for the layer cake. I ordered some Remix dots, found a couple of the Sparkle All the Way prints, as well as some prints from a couple other Robert Kaufman Christmas lines, and voilá. I have a complete kit for one fantastic Christmas quilt. For sometime in the future. Don't mock. It's what I can do right now. And it's all cut out for when I finally get around to it.

We Three Kings
I know Christmas was yesterday, but The Piano Guys' awesomeness doesn't have an expiration date.

Holly Jolly Christmas

Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves. –Eric Sevareid

I think I mentioned that I joined a bowling league. It's been a lot of fun. Once a quarter, we have a little party. On Halloween, they put on quite a Witches' Feast. This week was the Christmas party. When they reminded us last week about the party and gift exchange {translated: I'd completely forgotten we were having a Christmas party, was surprised it was so early and wasn't even aware that there would be a gift exchange}, the wheels in my brain started turning. I always bring a little something to stitch on by hand between my turns at bowling. And the ladies are always curious. I figured that since I already have sixty-eleven other projects that need finishing ASAP, why not start something new to bring for my gift exchange?

Holly is one of my favorite Christmas images. I even have Christmas "china" with holly on it {and I use the word china lightly because I got them in a box set of 8 place settings at KMart}. Last week before bowling I'd been admiring Lane's appliquéd Christmas quilt. I loved the machine appliqué and the scrappy non-Christmas-print-fabrics-but-still-Christmas-y look. I was going for that same sort of feel and came up with a 12" table topper.

It was really fun to put together. There are eighty - 1" squares in the border. I used 34 different fabrics and three different colors of quilting thread. I tried a little McTavishing in the center. Maybe someday I'll get it right. And I'm not completely happy with how the holly puffed up. I think I maybe stitched too close to the edge of the appliqué and if I'd moved out a teeny bit, it would have looked a little nicer.

The gift exchange was really fun. When you got a strike, you got to pick a gift out of the pile. I bowled a strike my first frame {which was a total fluke and the rest of my game was absolutely rubbish} and got the cutest little wooden nativity magnet set on a stable shaped magnet bard. As it turns out, the woman who brought the gift I got ended up getting my gift too. What funny coincidence .

While I was putting the mini together, I kept thinking of her and hoping she'd get it. She is the cutest lady and I just love her to pieces. She is always the first to come over and see what I'm doing that week and to admire my work. I almost put her name on the tag with the plan to hand it to her under the table and tell her to pretend she drew it out of the pile when she got her strike. But I left it up to chance. Mostly. I probably got us both on the naughty list because when I got there, I told her that she might want to pick what I brought. She winked and told me which one was hers. I'm glad it worked out because there were only a handful of gifts left, mine being one of them, when she got her strike. I'm sure that strategically unattractive gift wrapping had something to do with that. And since I had less than a week to put it all together, I just printed my label instead of doing an embroidered label.

Find tutorial and holly design here.

Today's post brought to you by:

In the Pink: A Study in Pinwheels — Finished {and it's about time, too!}

It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is best from the top. –Arnold Bennett

At long last, quilted, bound, washed, blocked and folded neatly waiting for the right occasion to be used.

I finished the quilting last Tuesday. I washed and blocked it on Wednesday. It wasn't dry until Friday. And there was finally good light to photograph it today.

I'm sort of at a loss for words. The only ones that come to mind are . . . terminus . . . finished . . . completed . . . finito . . . done. Those are happy words.

There's really not much more to say anyway. I've pretty much said it all in the 2¾ years it has taken me to make this quilt. If you've been following along, you're probably as sick of it as I am  glad to see the backside of it  cheering with me. But just in case, here are links to all the posts about this quilt.
Inspired
Block One
Block Two
Block Two, Take Two and Take Three
Block Three
Block Four
Block Four, Redux
Block Five
Block Six
Block Seven
Block Eight
Goal to Finish - 2011 Ph.D Challenge
Name, Label and Quilting Sketches
Getting Started with the Quilting
Quilting Update: still working on Stitching in the Ditch
Working on the Free-Motion Sections
Free-Motion Update
More quilting {and unpicking} a year later, with updated quilt label
Finished Quilting in Each of the Blocks
Quilting in the Sashings
Finished and Ready to be Blocked
Blocked but Not Dry

Yeah. It's been one epic quilt in the making.

Today's post brought to you by:

Pinkalicious: A Super Secret Project Revealed

Before you were born I carried you under my heart. From the moment you arrived in this world until the moment I leave it, I will always carry you in my heart. –Mandy Harrison

Remember my sister, Jill? She's the one who brought her own bowling ball to Grandma Week. That cute little bowling ball made her arrival into the world a mere 9 days after our game. In keeping with the bugs-and-critters theme for code names for my kids and their cousins {no real names are used for anyone under the age of 18}, I shall call her Cricket. Adorable, no? Maybe not so much. But trust me, her real name is very sweet.

{Lizard Boy, Jill, Mouse and introducing Baby Cricket}

I started thinking about quilt ideas in April. I happened to be rifling through my stash and found some pretty chocolate brown fabric with pink roses on it and the idea grew from there.

I had the blocks all cut by the end of June and I started piecing the quilt just a few days before baby Cricket was born. I was actually working on the quilt top when my dad called to tell me that she had been born. Since then, every spare minute has gone into getting this quilt finished. Either I don't have very many spare minutes, or I'm really, really slow. Perhaps both. There was some unpicking involved, which cost me two days' worth of sewing time.

I finished it up night-before-last, threw it in the wash, photographed it and sent it on its way yesterday. Today, I got the cutest note in the e-mail. Just reading it you can tell she's my sister. We're actually twins. We were separated by birth. Either I was born 10 years too early or she was born 10 years too late. It's sad when that happens. Anyway. Back to the quilt. And the e-mail.

a knock at the door . . .

Elizabeth,

I had just put Cricket down for her nap and was trying to decide how to get the laundry from the washer out to the clothes line (all the baskets are full) when a shadow crossed over the front door. As I could see no car in the driveway, I first thought it was just the mail man, but then there was a knock at the door. Surprised (although I have had a few visitors who have walked over), I tried to shush Lizzie [Editor's note: the dog] while I weaved around the laundry baskets to the door. I opened it in time to see the mail man traipsing across the lawn toward the neighbor's (those mail men never use the sidewalks). I saw a box on the porch and almost hollered "thank you" to the mail man, but didn't.

Then as I bent to pick it up, I saw this cute little name on the top of the box. It was for Cricket! At first, I thought that The Dad had secretly ordered me a nursing cape from the "Udder Covers" web-site (clever and almost offensive? name)—we had received a coupon for a free cape when shipping was paid for. I told The Dad I wasn't sure if I was getting one, and the coupon has since mysteriously disappeared.

I was so dazzled by the name on the address label (same thing happened when I picked up Cricket's eye ointment (blocked tear duct) from the pharmacy and when her Social Security card came in the mail), that I didn't notice the return address (it's just so fun to see her name printed on stuff!). But then I saw the postage was from Springville. Oh! I looked again at the address label and saw that it could, of course, only be from Aunty 'Lizabeth! I waltzed into my room and said in a sing-song voice, "Cricket, you got mail today!" [Editor's note: I can totally hear it in my head. So cute!] Then I went for the scissors. As I was cutting the tape, I then worried that you didn't know that Mom made me a car seat drape (complete with loops on the inside to hang toys from). But then I read the card. Silly me. The quilting Aunt could not have sent anything, but, of course, a quilt!

SO BEAUTIFUL! I love all the different fabrics [Editor's note: 32 different pinks], and I really love the browns in it (brown just really goes so nicely with pink. I think, really my new favorite color is a lovely brown). [Editor's note: this is the aforementioned fabric that sparked the idea for this quilt.] Then, I saw the label on the back. It made me a little teary. It's just perfect and her name is so adorable all hand stitched on. [Editor's note: Jill is quite right; the baby's name really is adorable on the label. You'll just have to take our word for it.]

Thank you, so very much. We love it. It will certainly get used. I may just have to put it on my lap when I get up with her in the wee hours. That seems like the perfect way to start using it.

I can't wait until The Dad comes home, so I can show him. After he oohs, I'm sure he'll say "So much pink!" (Well, what does he expect? Cricket is a girl!)

Thank you a million. It is beautiful.
Love, Jill and Cricket

post script . . .

P.S. How did you resist blogging about such a lovely pink quilt? [Editor's note: It was really, really hard. I'm glad it got there a day earlier than I expect it to, because I was planning on posting it today anyway and hoping that you wouldn't have time to read my blog before it got there.] I love the super soft and fuzzy backing (is that called minky?) [Editor's Note: it's called Ultra Cuddle. Minky is only fuzzy on one side and this is fuzzy on both sides (which you wouldn't be able to tell anyway) which is why the quilt is super puffy without batting in it and also what caused all the unpicking.] and the satin binding [Editor's note: I love satin binding too!]. Plus, I love the roses quilted in all the blocks. So fun! Super fantastic! thanks again, Jill

Jill, I hope you don't mind that I shared your e-mail {and your hospital photo} with the world. Your narration made this post so much more fun than what I had planned. I can't wait to come give Cricket a squeeze and look at her tiny baby fingers and toes.

xo -E

Today's post brought to you by:

NICU Buntings: A Finish From My Mom

If you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble. –Bob Hope

Today I'm sharing a finish for my mom, Peggy, so she can join this month's linky party.

Here's what she had to say:

I have a finish! They are NICU buntings for a young man's Eagle project.

I line quilted the pieces and stitched them together, added ties and bias binding. You can see the ties better in this picture.

Today's post brought to you by:

{More} Black & Red Hexie Notebooks

Success begets success. –Unknown

It has been a really slow year for finishes for me. Before this week, March was the last time I finished anything. I got my Phoenix quilt done on Monday and yesterday I finished four Hexie notebooks, showing here:

I love that apple batik. Very Twilight-y. Two of them are already in the mail to their recipients, although that's not really a huge accomplishment since one of them is for a birthday that was in May and the other is for a birthday that was two weeks ago. On the upside, the other two will arrive on time for the birthdays they are meant for in August and September, provided I remember to put them in the mail .

These little notebooks are so fun to make. I think I've done about 20 of them now. I used a 5" x 5" Chipboard Art Journal {Stampin' Up!® item #108495} for the notebook. I discarded the front cover, substituted Pellon Peltex 72F II and a rough approximation of this fabric postcard tutorial for the front cover and fused fabric to the chipboard back cover with Heat 'n Bond Lite. To put the Hexies together I cut the fabric, a layer of Mistyfuse and bit of batting using the largest {5”} Go! Hexagon. I trimmed the batting Hexagon down by ⅜” all the way around and used Mistyfuse to hold it in place on the back of the fabric while I quilted it {I placed the Hexie batting side down and put parchment paper on the ironing board to keep the allowance of Mistyfuse around the outer edge of the batting from fusing where I didn't want it}. After I'd finished quilting, I pressed the edges over and sewed it onto the notebook cover.

LadyBug, smart girl that she is, asked me recently why I don't just stick with one project until it is finished. I didn't really have an answer for her. Obsessive Creative Disorder, I suppose. Sometimes I stick with a project from start to finish, but cranking out a quilt in two weeks is a rare occurrence for me. Even the Phoenix quilt took more time than that and the disappearing nine-patch blocks were already finished. All I had to do was sash and quilt it.

I stuck with the Sesame Street quilt. Sort of. It was fun and challenging enough to hold my interest and I worked on block after block. But when I saw I wasn't going to make the quilt show deadlines, I put it on hold and pulled out the Pinwheel Sampler hoping I might finish it in time. I spent too much time ripping out quilting and trying again and I didn't get that done either.

Finishing the Phoenix quilt and these four little notebooks {which were great FMQ practice} just feels good. I sometimes get in my own way . Starting the Sesame Street quilt in mid-April, while fun, took up a lot of time and kept me from finishing anything else on my quilting to-do list for this year. I plan on finishing the Sesame Street quilt within a year of starting it; I think for me the year mark is when a project becomes a Project Half-Done. And I have plenty of those I need to finish up in the next little while {as well as a few new projects; if only I could quilt full-time}.

I think I'm past the half-way mark on the quilting on the Pinwheel Sampler so I'm going to take LadyBug's advice and stick with it until it is done. You can hold me to it . If I even hint at working on something else before it's done, refer me to this post.

Phoenix Song

Somewhere out in the darkness, a phoenix was singing in a way Harry had never heard before: a stricken lament of terrible beauty. And Harry felt, as he had felt about phoenix song before, that the music was inside him, not without: It was his own grief turned magically to song that echoed across the grounds and through the castle windows.

How long they stood there, listening, he did not know, nor why it seemed to ease their pain a little to listen to the sound of their mourning, but it felt like a long time.
–J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, page 614-615


I've finished the quilt I'm going to donate to Phoenix Quilts.

Julie, a woman who lives near the Wood Hollow fire put out the call for quilts to be donated to families who had lost their homes in that fire. She called it Operation Wood Hollow.

After a good response, she decided to expand the donation area and asked for suggestions for a new name for her organization. In the meantime, I tossed ideas around for a name for my quilt. I thought of "Out of the Ashes," and then about "Phoenix." Both of those seemed a little too dramatic and I didn't want the recipient to be reminded of something that was probably very traumatic. I Googled synonyms for phoenix, but there are none. Then I remembered that phoenix song has a healing quality {at least in Harry Potter's world} and decided that would be the name for my quilt, in the hopes that it will be part of the healing for the family who receives it. I also thought of suggesting "Operation Phoenix" as a new name for Julie's non-profit, but somebody beat me to it.

I tried a new FMQ pattern on this quilt. I kind of dragged my feet on getting started and was frustrated at first because it wasn't coming out how I pictured it in my head. In the end it turned out pretty OK and I like it quite a bit. Some parts of it look better than others, some areas have smoother, more even stitches than others, but all in all, I think it was a success.

And I used the constructive remarks the judges gave me at HMQS to improve my binding. I cut it at 2¼" rather than 2½", sewed it on to the quilt before I trimmed away the extra back and batting and I made smaller stitches to sew it to the back. I did not, however, sew the miters closed. I like them open and will only do that for quilts that are for shows. Overall, it was definite improvement on my binding, I think.

In just three short weeks, Utah has gone from more than a dozen wildfires to just one, which is now 95% contained. At last count, 849 homes have been lost in Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Utah, so there is still a great need for donations. Julie will be delivering quilts in Idaho and Colorado shortly. I'll be putting my quilt in the mail to Julie tomorrow.