Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly celebration of all hand stitched crafts! We hope you will join us in setting aside time each Sunday for some relaxing stitching on your favourite project. Pick up a needle and thread, breathe deeply, and enjoy a few moments of restful stitching.


This week I finished a quilt that was 5 years old (see the finished Tetris quilt here). I enjoyed stitching down the binding on my lunch hour, sitting on a bench at the park. So many employees will sit at a desk and stare at their phone screen for their lunch "break". That does not relax my body or brain. But hand stitching does! It is a meditative process that immediately calms me. I enjoyed sitting in the sun, breathing fresh air, and feeling renewed with creative energy. 

I also put in some binding stitches at my weekly date with my parents. It is our tradition to watch "Dancing With the Stars" together and I like to have a hand stitching project to work on during the commercials. 

Since that project is finished, today I'll be back to working on my Life is Beautiful blocks. Here are the quilted blocks on the design wall.

I have a few more alternate blocks prepped and ready to start stitching. When they are all quilted, I will join them together using the quilt-as-you-go technique.

What are you working on today? Link up your blog post below and tell us about your hand stitching progress so we can cheer you on! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching

Wow that past week just flew by and it's Sunday again already! 
Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching! I haven't even visited the 30 fabulous links from last week yet. Sometimes there is just not enough time to do all the fun things we want to do. But I always make the time on Sundays for a few relaxing moments with my needle and thread.

We have been enjoying such fabulous fall weather here that it has been hard to stay indoors and sew. I did buckle down and get the binding attached on my Berenstain Bears baby quilt. I was so happy I had enough of that great yellow with orange dots binding fabric to get all the way around the quilt. I enjoyed some hand stitching time while watching QuiltCam this week and got one side of the binding finished. It is looking good to hopefully finish the quilt this week!
What are you hand stitching today?

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the community of slow stitchers where we celebrate the art of creating things with our hands, where we connect to our ancestors by using time-honoured techniques to make things we could easily buy for a fraction of the cost, and where we recognize the value we add to our own lives by engaging in this restorative practice. 

This week I finished machine quilting my UFO of the month and am so happy that I get to hand stitch the binding today. Binding is one of my favourite things to do, and this is one of my favourite places to do it! You wouldn't know it looking at this photo, but this is right in the heart of the city where I live. There is a beautiful river and walking trails, and stitching benches. Well, maybe the benches were made for resting, but I often use them for stitching.

Did you know there is such a thing as "binding needles"? I did not know that until recently and so of course I bought a package to try them out. I will let you know if they are smoother and/or faster than using any other regular needle.

What are you hand stitching today? 
We encourage you to pick up a needle and thread, and join us as we make time in our busy lives to rest, to breathe, and to stitch. Link up your blog post below and share your hand stitching project with us.

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Slow Sunday Stitching - Binding

Can you believe that January 2016 is already over?!? I really cannot believe it! We are already one month into the new year... how are you doing with your resolutions? 
I am so happy with my progress so far this year. I have already managed to (almost) finish a UFO! It was one big challenge that I have been working on either in my mind, or in my hands since November. Once I got the border problem solved, and the quilting started, it practically finished itself! Well, not really but it was quite fun and I'm so thrilled.

Stay the course!

It's time to give myself a big pat on the back. We all know that it is so much easier to start new things that are fresh and enticing, with no challenges or problems to solve. But there is such a sense of growth and satisfaction to "stay the course", to solve the problems that arise, to push yourself in new directions, and to actually accomplish a huge task.

Today I get to enjoy the wonderful task of finishing a quilt that I started in 2013. Isn't that a great striped binding fabric?  Binding a quilt is one of my favourite hand stitching activities, so I am in for a very enjoyable afternoon of slow stitching.  

What are you hand stitching today? Are you able to stay the course, meet your goals, and finish projects to completion?
Link up your blog post below and share your progress with us.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Thanks for joining us for the first Slow Sunday Stitching of 2016, and welcome to a whole new year of celebrating the art of hand stitching!
For those that enjoy numbers, here are some statistics from the past year of Slow Sunday Stitching celebrations:

**Total # of 2015 Sunday link ups: 1,684 
**Busiest month: 193 links posted in November (5 Sundays)
**Second busiest month: 165 in March (also 5 Sundays)

That's a lot of projects that we enjoyed seeing, and a lot of hand stitches taken over the past year!! 

Here is one more statistic that I like to keep track of ... the number of inches I have sewn on bindings.

To the end of November, my total was 3,709", and added to December's only finish (Tucker) which was 52", makes a grand total for 2016 of 3,761"! That's a lot of stitches made by these little hands!

Today I plan to put a few stitches in my star quilt. I am stitching black thread on a black star block, so the photos are not worth sharing. But you can be sure that I will be slow stitching my way through the season premiere of Downton Abbey tonight! 
I hope you have something interesting to show us today. Do you keep track of any hand stitching statistics for your own entertainment? Link up your blog post below and tell us what your hands are stitching and what progress you are making on your projects.

October Binding Blitz

October has been a great month for finishing quilts! It must be the cooler weather motivating me to snuggle under a quilt to enjoy hand stitching.

I finished Cozy Afternoon which was 136" of binding. It was a little harder on my hands because of the flange in the binding on the front of the quilt. I should have cut the binding strips a bit wider to accommodate the flange, but I forgot, and had to really pull the binding to cover the stitching line on the back. 
A quick finish, was the Peaceful Country Roads quiltalong which was 21.25" square, so it only adds 85" to the monthly total, but I'll take it!
Then I finished a little hand quilted miniature block called Times Nine.  That added 48" to the total.

And the big finish was Easy Street, a Bonnie Hunter mystery from 2012. It finished at 88" square, which adds 352" to the tally.
October's total is 621".

And adding this number to September's total of 2,832" gives me a total of.... 3,453" of binding in 2015 so far! Woohoo!
PS.... I hope someone is checking my math :)

Linking up to Julie's binding blitz.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts! Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and join us to celebrate the experience of living life more deliberately and slowly.

I am so happy today to be hand stitching the binding on my October UFO. I cut these lime green scraps from the quilt top and backing to make up over 360" of binding.

It is now attached to the quilt and I'm plan to spend the better part of today hand stitching it to the back of the quilt.

Busy brain

Why do I stitch by hand when I can make a machine finished binding in a fraction of the time?  For me hand stitching is all about how it makes me feel. It forces me to slow down, calm down, power down. It's like yoga stitching. It brings me out of my head and into my body, into my hands, into the enjoyment of this moment. I breath deeper, and feel the relaxation increase as I take each stitch. 
How are you relaxing with hand stitching today?
Tell us about how you benefit from stitching slowly and link up your blog post below. 

September Binding Blitz

I have been keeping track of the number of inches stitched on quilt bindings this year. It's maybe a strange thing to do (one of many oddities I enjoy!) but it's kind of fun to know.

Ever wonder what a pile of 300" of prepared binding looks like?!?
Now you know!

This is the binding for the Confluence quilt, and it used up pieces leftover from the quilt front and the backing.






So let's see what the numbers are...
at the end of July, my total was 2,286".
I didn't do a binding update in August, but I did finish an old UFO which adds 258" to the tally.
And this month I finished my scrap squad quilt, adding another 288". 

So the 2015 tally so far is....
2832"!

Slow Sunday Stitching - Binding

It's Sunday... time for some relaxation and slow stitches.
At FNSI the binding was attached to my August UFO and today I will be hand stitching it to the back of the quilt. 
This is how I stitch a binding, with the edge of binding toward me, and stitching from right to left. I like to use lots of Clover clips to keep the binding snuggly in place as I stitch.

Just for fun, I took a poll of my quilting friends to see the variety in binding techniques.

These are the hands of the infamous Barb - she stitches her binding with the quilt towards her, the binding edge away from her, and stitching right to left. No pins.




These are the hands of Louise, and she stitches with the quilt on her right, the edge of the binding to her left, taking stitches away from herself. Lots of pins.




These are the hands of Deanna binding a quilt. 
Oh look, she stitches in the right way I mean the same way as I do! LOL!
But no pins or clips.

How do you hand stitch your bindings?  Do you use any of these techniques? Have you invented your own method?


We'd love to see what project you're working on today. Link up your blog post below and share what you are hand stitching today? 

July Binding Blitz

Can you believe I did not finish one single quilt in the month of June? However, I did make progress on many projects, which enabled me to finish 3 quilts in July.


The first finish is a wallhanging called "Always Home" (pattern by Country Quilts and I bought my copy at Heart 'n Home). All the fabrics in this quilt are plaid homespuns which makes it a soft quilt. It was very relaxing to sew the 124" of plaid binding around this finished quilt. I wish I would've had enough fabric to cut a bias binding, which my favourite in plaids, but I didn't so it's a regular bifold binding.

The second July finish is my  Scrap Squad quilt made with Kansas Troubles fabrics, and the binding used up most of the leftover scraps. This photo shows the backing of the quilt.  The perimeter of this quilt is 268".

The third finish is a "Tiny Tumble" that was started and finished within the same month! That's about as rare as a unicorn - you've heard of them, but not seen one before! Here it is! It adds a whole 33" to my binding total for the month.

At the end of July, let's tally the binding stitched so far this year:
January - 586"
February - 326"
March - 564" 
April - 0"
May - 385" 
June - 0"
July - 425" 

Total = 2,286"

I'll link up to the Binding Blitz party over at Julie's at the end of the month.
I intend to just celebrate that binding total, and not even notice that my UFO of the month did not become one of the quilts that were finished this month. Sheesh. I wanted it to be, but it just didn't happen.

May Binding Blitz

I am happy to join in the May Binding Blitz over at Julie's. I didn't finish a single quilt in April, but in May I finished TWO quilts so I am doing the happy dance!
Earlier in the month I finished the binding on "Under The Sea" which is my second scrap squad quilt. It measured 45" x 47", for a total of 184" of hand stitching. 

And on the last day of May I managed to get the binding stitched onto Scrappy (Carolina) Chains. It measured 53" x 47.5" for a total of 201".
Which brings my 2015 binding total to ....  1,861" of hand stitching!

March Binding Blitz

Julie is hosting a March Binding Blitz linky party. This was a very busy month for binding quilts here at Kathy's Quilts, which makes me happy because a) I enjoy the binding process, and b) it means more quilts are being completed!

Here are the numbers:

*I finished my two challenge quilts (a miniature and a wallhanging) which added up to 111".

*Then I quilted and bound a comfort quilt to be donated, adding  231" to my binding total.




*And after a couple of months of constant distraction from other projects, I finished my Sweet Treats quilt (51" x 60") with 222" of binding. Here is Granddog Max cuddled up on the quilt while I was stitching the binding down. He is giving me "the look" because I need to disturb him again to turn the quilt to stitch the next side.




So the grand total for March is... 564" of binding stitched!
And the first quarter of 2015 totals are:
January - 586"
February - 326"
March - 564"

Wowzer... 1,476" so far this year! Every little bit adds up!

February Binding Blitz

Julie is hosting a Binding Blitz party for us to celebrate our completed quilt bindings in February. Stitching binding is a task that not everyone enjoys, so Julie is encouraging us to finish the job and link up our blog posts.
I have two completed bindings this month:
* a miniature quilt called Hugs and Kisses that measured about 10" x 13", for a total 46",
* and my Scrap Squad quilt (with a green backing, using green stitching tools!) with a whopping 280" to add to the total.

Drum roll please....

February's binding total is 326".
Not as fantastical as January's total of 586", but definitely enough to celebrate! Hop over to Julie's enjoy the link ups.

January Binding Blitz

This was a great month for binding quilts here at Kathy's Quilts. 2015 is starting off with three finished quilts!

First there was the New Years Day mystery tabletopper from Quilbug. It finished at 28" square for a total of 112"...just a small bit of binding, but enjoyable all the same.

Then I finished a hand quilted 56" x 71" sampler quilt.

This was my first "big stitched" quilt and I really enjoyed it. 

It was a very happy finish for me and adds 254" of binding to my total!

Yesterday I finished a machine quilted project called "One Stick at a Time".  It measures 53" x 57", and adds 220" to the binding numbers.
So that was three finished quilts, for a grand total of 586" of binding stitched in January! 
Julie is hosting a 2015 Binding Blitz to encourage us to complete those almost finished projects and I will link up when the linky party starts.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Ahh... it's Sunday! Take a deep breath and let the slow stitching commence.
If you are like me and have weeded the dandelions (no jelly this time!) and cut the lawn, washed mountains of dishes and one crazy dog, done laundry and groceries, and completed numerous other invisible tasks yesterday, then you are probably ready for a relaxing day full of resting and stitching!

I finished 300" of hand binding this week on my Angel Solstice and enjoyed every stitch - if you didn't see the finished quilt, click here. Today I hope to finish the binding on Nabby's Dowry and then I will have another quilt finished before the end of the month!
And if I get the binding finished, I will enjoy some applique on my green pumpkin seed blocks.
What kind of hand stitching are you enjoying today? We would love to see what you're working on, so please link up your blog post below and share your progress!

Slow Sunday Stitching - Take a Stitch!

From Dreamstime

Do you ever go into your sewing room and feel confused or overwhelmed?  
Do you wander around in all directions, move things around, and accomplish nothing? I hate it when that happens, but this was one of those weeks for me.
Here is a brief insight into how I looked in my quilting room this week without any sense of direction.




I had a stern talk with myself, which started with something like "Listen Ms Quilter, if you do nothing, you get nowhere". 
So I decided I had to do something - anything. 
And what's better than thinking about finishing a quilt?!? 
I started cutting binding strips in anticipation of finishing some quilts. I ended up with three bindings prepared, but only one quilt was even ready for the binding (just wait until you see it when it's done... it's amazing if I say so myself!).
The other two quilts are just at the quilt top ("flimsy") stage, but now they have a binding ready for them, and at least I had a direction in which to go. And I got one of the three bindings sewn on and ready for some wonderful Slow Sunday Stitching! The perimeter of this quilt is 300", so I have a lot of stitching ahead of me today.
If you don't have a direction, or you feel like you're going nowhere - in quilting or in life, just do something or go somewhere - anywhere! You don't have to have it all figured out. You just need to start with the next step/stitch that you already do know.
Pick up your needle and start stitching something! Then write a blog post about it and link up your stitching adventure below!

Slow Stitching Grunt Work

In slow stitching land, all stitching is not created equal :)
Some stitching is what you might call "grunt" work....work that is menial, thankless, repetitious, and boring. Grunt stitching (for me) is thread basting a quilt, or doing a lot of stitching that is boring (quilting with a dark thread on a dark fabric where you can't see your progress or the texture as easily), or searching for and measuring hunks of batting or adding boring borders. 

Attaching the binding on Journey of a Quilter

I know a lot of people who would say that finishing a binding is grunt work, but I love hand stitching a binding. And this week, I have done a lot of binding, without one bit of grunting! 

Binding ready for Celtic Solstice

Maybe preparing a binding might be considered grunt work - cutting strips, joining strips end to end, and pressing all the strips in half. Although it is sometimes boring, I don't mind this task either. I like to remind myself that a bad day spent grunt stitching is still better than almost any other day!! LOL

Since finishing my Journey of a Quilter last week, I had been trying to decide on another project to hand quilt. I finally decided on Always Home, and finished the pin basting with a little bit of grunting.



I plan to start the quilting today while watching the 59th Masters Golf Tournament. It's total enjoyment of the first signs of spring - all that green grass, and beautiful flowers, and birds singing. Oh yah, and the golf is enjoyable to watch too! 

What is grunt work for you? Do you dislike cutting, or basting, or tracing patterns, or binding? 
Link up your hand stitching blog post below and share your progress (or grunting) with us. 

Slow Sunday Stitching - Binding Update

Are you curious about how many inches of binding you sew each year? In 2013 I kept track of my completed binding totals just for fun. July's report indicated that I sewed 2,261" of binding in the first half of the year. 
Then I slacked off a bit :)

The second half of the year binding finishes are: 
*July UFO - 280"
*Hexie Hop - 39"
*October Pumpkin Seeds - 74" 
*My Peace - 104"
*November UFO 3 Sisters Grace - 228"
*The Accidental Quilt - 159"

Total for the second half of the year is 884".
So for 2013 my binding grand total is: 3,145"!


It's a good feeling to think about that accomplishment, so I think I will keep track of my binding totals again this year.
Plans for today include more hand quilting on my Journey of a Quilter... slow and enjoyable, just the way we like to stitch here at Slow Sunday Stitching!

What are you stitching by hand today? Link up your blog post below and share your progress, and your enjoyment with us!