Wednesday, December 9, 2009

I started a binding

I decided to hand stitch the back of the binding on this table runner so I am about 2/3 done with it. I had planned on using the same fabric as the border and backing but when I measured it out, I didn't have quite enough. I pulled this other smaller print that was from the same year and used it instead. I could have just pieced in the small print with the other print too, but didn't.
I wanted to explain why I used the zig zag stitch on the flannel quilt in yesterday's post. If you do a straight stitch to finish the binding it makes the edge rather stiff. Using a zig zag keeps it soft and flexible.




I spent a large part of the afternoon yesterday dismantling my childhood photo album. Both covers had broken loose and the black pages shredded every time I touched them. They left little crumbs of black lint all over the table. I sorted the pictures into piles which I will now put in labeled expandable folders. The pile below is all of my pen pals' pictures, more than 40 of them. I don't know whether to throw them away or put them in a folder. I wrote to them when I was 10-16 years old and there is only one of them that I remember enough about that I could actually contact her. The pictures certainly won't mean anything to my kids when I'm gone.
We were only on the edge of the storm yesterday so we only had about an inch of snow in the morning. We had rain/sleet mixture late in the afternoon and the rest of the storm is supposed to hit today.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Love the binding, just perfect! I think it is kind of neat that you still have your pen pals pictures. I bet that you had fun going through them. Right now we are getting pounded with snow. They are calling for almost 7 inches.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

Amazing how we all recognize fabric that others use :) - I was just looking at the close ups on your fabric and was thinking - I have that fabric on my shelf someplace!
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/

Sue said...

Thanks for your tip on zig-zagging when top-stitching binding down. I'll be using that idea.

I have 25" more binding to whip down by hand on a Sampler Quilt I began 19 years ago. Woo-hoo! Will have it on my king-size bed before Christmas, bringing it in under 20 years!

I have a pen pal in a suburb of Buffalo, NY with whom I've been in correspondence/communication for the past 53 years. Six years ago her husband encouraged her to actually come to OK to visit me. And she worried, "What if we don't LIKE each other?" Thankfully, her husband came with her for a 5-day visit to our farm. She has been back twice on her own, and I have been to visit her. Such a blessing.

Needled Mom said...

I love the pretty batiks. That will be an awesome runner. I think hand sewing the binding is one of my favorite parts of the quilt.

We had to recently go through a bunch of photos from my in-laws and had no idea who people were. We ended up throwing a lot of them away.

Wanda said...

Keep the photos...let the kids throw them away when you are gone. They could bring smiles just for the fact that no one will know who they are and yet...you have pictures of them. I still write letters to 4 very dear people in my life. I've been writing letters to a couple of them since I was very young. There's nothing like getting a letter in the mail....

Browndirtcottage said...

WOW....pen pal photos...now I thought 'I' kept everything!!!

I like your reasoning on the zig
zag for the binding too!!

beth said...

I hope you can stay in and avoid that bad weather. Looks like you have things there to keep you busy! I also like your reasoning for zigzag on the flannel binding...so true!

Cathi said...

I have so many old photos that my mother handed down to me and I haven't a clue who some of the people in them are. There's something so intriguing about old photos. I'd say keep them!
We have had part of the storm hit us, although they say the worst part is yet to hit. Hope you don't get a migraine from this one.

Elsie Montgomery said...

Thanks for explaining the zig-zag on the binding. Makes perfect sense.
I had two penpals when I was a teen and still am in touch with both of them. Our lives have gone different directions though, so we don't have the same things in common anymore and have to make an effort to write or call. You are right, your family will not be able to relate to the photos. It's still hard to part with some things.

Deborah said...

Gorgeous fabric. I'd say keep the photos.

Joyce said...

I'd probably toss the photos. I'm getting to the stage that I want to get rid of stuff that has no meaning for me or anyone else any more. I have a lot of old books from my mother's family given to each other as Christmas or birthday gifts in the 20's and 30's. I don't think they are valuable in any way but I can't throw them out in spite of DH's encouragement. He thinks they are just dust collectors and he's probably right.

quiltmom anna said...

Ah those lovely batiks again Wanda- they always bring a smile to my face when I look at them.

I had a number of pen pals when I was a girl- I loved writing letters and wished that I had kept some of those letters- perhaps they still exist in my mother's house - I am not sure.
Its funny the things we remember and the things we forget over our lifetime. I have been a pitching kind of way this fall because that is what we were doing to get the basement cleaned up some. If you have no sentimental attachment to them and they have no meaning to you or your children I would get rid of them.
My dad's aunt had family photos that were of relatives in the States. After my great grandmother died,she got rid of lots of them.She wasn't a sentiment sort and wasn't interested in being the caretaker of the photos.We were sorry that she had, as my mother and I both got the genealogy bug and would have really enjoyed having some of the family photos. I realize what you are talking about is different.
The bottom line is whether they are meaningful to you or to others after you are gone - and whether you have room to store them.
I sometimes feel like blogging is like having pen pals all over the world without having to put a letter in the mailbox- and the response time is much quicker.VBG
Stay warm.
Regards,
Anna

Jean said...

We had a doozy of a storm that day, 12"...3 days of not school and lots of quilting...and it is still with us, only has a layer of ice on top now from last night....ugh!