I finished quilting the Farmers Wife quilt the week before I went on the retreat. I had some time to square it up and bind it this past Saturday. First I needed to make 11 yards of binding, I thought I might go with scrappy, like the inner border. I still had a bunch of scraps left from piecing this top. But finally decided to use the left over backing scraps, which were already in long lengths and just needed to be cut into 2 1/4 inch widths. I usually machine sew my bindings, I think the last one I hand bound was the Hampton Ridge Sampler (pictured below, un-quilted) two years ago. Which also happens to be on my bed at the moment 🙂
Hampton Ridge Quilt
My method is to cut the strips 2 1/4 inches wide, fold them in half and press them well. Then I machine sew them to the back side with a 1/4 inch allowance. Then I wrap the binding to the front, clip it with the magic clover clips and sew it down with a straight stitch about 1/16 of an inch in. Neat and tidy, a bit faster too.
Getting back to the Farmer’s Wife quilt, I used apple green Kona to sash and border it. Tiny assorted squares break up the sashing and a border of 2 inch squares goes all around. Those details are here The Last Monday of March , funny that it’s almost a year ago, but things get done, eventually 🙂 . Pictured below are most of my individual blocks, I made one or two a week for a year. I quilted it with a pretty simple pantograph, leaves and loops. I couldn’t begin to think about individually quilting each block. Many of them have lots of seam lines and tiny pieces, plus after finishing RD&G, a simple computer design was in order. The quilt is so bright and cheery, I think I’m going to leave it on my bed for a while, especially as we have rain in our forecast for the rest of the week.
I’m steadily working on the Storm at Sea quilt made from assorted blue batiks. I’m paper foundation piecing it, so its slow going. My consolation will be at how perfectly all the points match up 😉
Linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for “Can I Get a Whoop Whoop” today.
Touch of Grey 
Your Hampton Ridge quilt is gorgeous! and I love your take on the Farmer’s Wife quilt. It’s so happy 🙂 I’ve got that one on my to-do list when I finally finish the LUS. I’m sure you’ll find a way to sort the storm at sea blocks too.