I’m doing a double-fold mitred binding on the pink quilt, and sewed on the front almost a fortnight ago, the weekend before last, but have still not finished stitching it down at the back. This is because I’ve another Christmas project, which I started in November, and is much smaller, and I’ve been focusing on that. I know it would be better to finish one thing before starting the next, but it occurred to me that as this last part of the binding is all done by hand and doesn’t require any equipment apart from thread, needle, pins and scissors, I can take it with me when I go to stay with my parents for a few days next week. I’m taking it with me anyway, as they’ll see my aunt before Christmas so will be kind enough to deliver it for me, and I think I should be able to finish it in the time I’m there – well, I’ll have to now!

I only had one error when I was sewing on the binding, when I only realised after the fact that a few inches of the front hadn’t actually gone under the needle (!) but I rectified that by hand. More difficult was dealing with the ends of the binding, which I’d forgotten I’d never quite sorted out in my previous attempts to do this binding. I’d seen one book which talks of cutting a straight edge, folding it over, and somehow inserting one end into the next, but the one time I tried that it looked really clumsy and messy. I then read about it in Linda Clements’ book, where she does a mitred join, and it looks much neater, but I simply couldn’t fathom it. In the end, getting desperate due to lack of time, I cut both ends on the bias (is that the right phrase? at a 45 degree angle anyway), slipped one inside the other, and sewed over both near the edge. I know that’s not right, but fortunately the ditsy pattern on the fabric makes it not too noticeable, though it’s bound to fray a bit.

I will have to sit, when I’ve more leisure, and use scrap fabric to work out how to do that properly, because it’s one of those details that makes all the difference.

In the meantime, I’ve finished doing the patchwork of the cushion front of the ‘new’ project and have just started quilting it. This weekend, along with everything else I want to do before going away, I need to finish the whole cushion cover! However, more on that in the next post. (And I haven’t forgotten the autumn quilt which started this blog! It’s just another one that’s on hold, but normal service will resume after Christmas, which will I think be nice).