Ready for the Hand Work

Here is the Mocha quilt just off the frame and trimmed. After I took the picture I sewed the binding on and now I only have a couple of miles of hand sewing to do. The meander goes really fast and would have gone faster if I hadn't threaded the machine wrong at one point (the thread was not between the two tension plates) and had to rip out half a row because it was all loopy on the back. I'm quite happy with how this has turned out. I'll be making a couple of pillow shams to go with it. I'll try to get a picture of it in it's new home when I deliver it.

I learned a couple of really useful things on this project. First, I learned a lot about arrangement. It was set up in a way that I have never done but might try again with ultra brights and blacks. Also, I never use bias bindings, thinking it's such a pain to cut. I used a hint from Happy Endings by Mimi Deitrich and found it really easy to cut. Then, as a bonus, the ends are already cut at the right angle so it's super easy to sew together. Also, since this binding is a stripe, it looks great on an angle.