A wreath for a friend.

A friend of mine is having a baby girl and I offered to make her a wreath for her hospital room door. At first I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew, but finally an idea came along and it was easy to do! I cannot wait to make more wreaths for different occasions.

The Big BIND Theory! Use Craft Ribbon for Binding!

Okay folks, so I love the design and I like the actual process of appliquéing my quilts, since we all know by now that I am NOT a traditional block quilter. There, of course, is nothing wrong with block quilts and I love to receive them in my swaps, but it's like putting a round peg in a square hole for me to create them. I dislike the rigidity and the whole patterness of it all for me to make them. Have I done it before- yes, once. Can I do some of the amazing complicated blocks that are out there? I have no idea, I've never tried and probably won't. It's the same reason why there are so many varieties of clothing and furniture in the world- we are all different and that's awesome.

But back to the original reason of this post, I have heard many a quilter groan about the binding. The blasted, final thing that requires the dexterity of a concerto pianist it sometimes "seams".  If I "cheat" and wrap around or get bias tape, I am really limited and can't get those awesome contrasting, bada bing finished edges. So I have been successfully playing with.....drumroll here..... RIBBON. It works PERFECTLY. It comes in unlimited colors and patterns that are perfectly proportioned for the width. (We have all been excited about a contrasting fabric for a binding, only to cut and iron and find out you can't tell what the pattern is cause it looks like a blob.) It takes a little bit of practice, but it is EASIER, CHEAPER, FASTER, and GREAT-LOOKING. What's not to like? You can pick up ribbon anywhere- Wal-Mart, Craft or Fabric Store, Dollar Tree, and you can find ANY COLOR, ANY STYLE, ANY WIDTH, and ANY PATTERN. I love it, and it is now a go to favorite. Give it s try on a practice piece and you won't be disappointed.

Here is an abandoned mug rug that I use as a threading scrap where I practiced using a pink 2" houndstooth ribbon as the binding.

Til Later, Keep Sewing and Crafting.

Tena