Quilting and Embellishing the Christmas Tree Quilt

Start your engines – or, in our case, “Thread your machines”

Now that our quilt top is assembled and our quilt sandwich is layered, it's finally time to start quilting and embellishing the Christmas tree quilt.

The first thing we need to do is thread our machines with the Spotlite metallic thread on top and the Deco-Bob thread in the bobbin. Using the Deco-Bob will create high definition for the quilting stitches on the quilt top and it will blend nicely with the backing fabric. Check out the WonderFil website if you need more information about either of the threads.

Check out my blog post from Tuesday when I shared Lucy Garvin’s tips for success using metallic threads.

Start with the applique

Set your machine to a blanket stitch (or a satin stitch, whichever you prefer) and stitch around the outside edges of all of the applique shapes. I used my favorite blanket stitch on my project. Make sure that one side of your stitches goes onto the applique shape and the other side goes into the background fabric just beside the applique shape. I used green to outline the tree and silver to outline both the trunk and the star.

Blanket stitching the edges

Blanket stitching on star

Now practice your free motion quilting

Thread your machine with whichever color of Spotlite thread you want to use to quilt the background around the tree. I used the silver one on the white fabric. I did a meander all around the tree and randomly quilted a snowflake here and there.

I love the effect of the silver on white and I’m happy to announce that I haven’t had a broken thread yet! I think for my previous attempts at quilting with metallic threads I was obviously using the wrong brand of thread!

Close up of quilting stitches

Quilting the borders

I decided to use the red Spotlite thread to do the inner red border and the silver to do the outer border. I did a loop-de-loop design along the inner border and a meander on the outer border because my stitches were hardly noticeable on the busy fabric.

Close up of inner border

Break out your decorative stitches

Now set your machine to one of the decorative stitches that you practiced on Tuesday. Keep that Deco-Bob thread in your bobbin and use one of your colors of Spotlite metallic thread to do a decorative stitch along one of the seam lines on your tree.

I used the red thread to stitch all the seams going one direction, green for one direction and silver for the last. Since my fabrics didn’t have any yellows or golds, I decided to keep the gold Spotlite for another project. I tried to use a different decorative stitch for each seam but, since my machine doesn’t have many to choose from, I had to copy them a couple times. You can do the same or try a different stitch for every seam – you decide.

Decorative stitches on tree

Time for the binding

Once all your quilting and embellishing is done, take your quilt to your cutting table and trim the excess batting and backing from the quilt using your rotary cutter and ruler.

Trimming the quilt edges

You may have already set aside the fabric you want to use for your binding. But, if you're like me and haven’t decided yet, take the ones that are in the running and place them behind the edge of the quilt so you can see what they look like. I’m going with red!

Picking a binding fabric

Cut four strips 2½" x the width of your binding fabric and sew them end to end with a mitered join. I’ve explained this in previous QUILTsocial posts if you're unsure of how to do this.

In my previous blog posts, I’ve shown how to machine stitch down the binding. But, for this quilt I just used the Deco-Bob and hand stitched it down while watching a movie.

If you're planning to hang your quilt on the wall, make a hanging sleeve. There are lots of great tutorials on YouTube that explain different ways to do that. Here's one that I found:

Quilting Basics - Hanging A Quilt - YouTube

http://missouriquiltco.com -- Jenny Doan demonstrates how to hang a quilt by sewing a sleeve onto the back. It's an essential skill to know if you want to di...

via: www.youtube.com

Time to admire your finished project

Our masterpieces are complete and you now have a Christmas present ready to give or an addition to your Christmas decor. Mine is going to hang in my front hall and, now that it's up, I feel like breaking out all my other Christmas quilts and decorations.

I learned a lot this week and have finally conquered my fear of metallic thread! As a machine quilter, one thing that makes me very happy is quilting an entire quilt without having the threads break. So, quilting and embellishing this quilt with metallic thread and only having the threads break twice was awesome! I'm positive that it has everything to do with the quality of the thread.

I highly recommend trying out the Spotlite and Deco-bob threads in your next project!

I hope you had fun assembling, quilting and embellishing the Christmas tree quilt! Next month we'll experiment with Splendor rayon thread from WonderFil. Stay tuned!

Finished Christmas tree wall hanging

Assembling the Christmas Tree Quilt

Doing things a little differently…

Usually when I make applique quilts I do the center applique stitching first, add the borders next, and then layer and quilt. This time, however, we’re going to do things a little differently. We'll be assembling the Christmas tree quilt by adding the borders first and then fusing the applique. We’re also going to layer everything before we do any applique stitching, so that that stitching also serves to quilt the wall hanging. But, I’m jumping ahead of myself, so let’s get back to today’s work.

Assembling the quilt

Your background fabric should be cut to 22" x 27".

Now, you need to cut the strips for your borders. From your inner border fabric, cut 3 or 4 strips that are 2" x the width of fabric (WOF). If your border fabric is more than 44" wide (like mine was), cut three strips and cut one of those in half. If it isn't that wide, cut four strips x WOF. From these, cut 2 borders that are 2" x 22" and sew them to the top and bottom of the background fabric rectangle. Cut two borders that are 2" x 30" and sew these to the remaining two sides.

For the outer borders, cut four strips that are 4½" x WOF. From these, cut two borders 4½" x 25" and sew them to the top and bottom of the quilt. Cut two borders 4½" x 38" and sew these to the sides of the quilt. Your quilt should now look something like this:

Adding the borders

Preparing your tree for fusible applique 

Press your tree shape very flat and then place right side down on your ironing board. Cut strips of fusible web that are 2" wide and place them along all of the outer edges of the tree shape. Iron in place. If you want to ensure your ironing board is protected, place a silicone pressing sheet under the tree before ironing.

Ironing the fusible web strips to the edge of the tree

Fusible web strips ironed to the back of the tree shape

Once the tree has cooled, move it to your cutting mat and trim the outer ¼" from all the edges of the tree, making sure to not cut off any of the points where the triangles join.

Trim the outside quarter inch from the tree

Peel the backing paper from the fusible web and place the tree, trunk and star (right sides up) onto the backing fabric. Move them around until you're happy with the placement and then iron in place following the fusible web manufacturer’s instructions.

Ironing the applique to the quilt top

Layering your quilt

The next job is to layer the quilt sandwich. Iron your backing and place it on a flat surface with wrong side up. Place your batting on next. Then, position your quilt top with right side up, centered on the backing and batting.

Use your favorite method to baste the quilt sandwich. I love to use 505™ spray when basting small projects like this. Here is a video that shows how to use basting spray:

505 Spray and Fix Baste Quilt Layers - YouTube

Use 505 Spray and Fix to baste your quilt layers. No more pinning or hand basting.

via: www.youtube.com

Layering the quilt #1

Layering the quilt #2

Tomorrow we quilt!

Now that we've finished assembling the Christmas tree quilt, the next step is to applique, embellish and quilt, which we'll be doing tomorrow with our Spotlite metallic threads from WonderFil – see you then!

Christmas Wall Hanging featuring Metallic Thread

The planning stage

Last year I picked up some super cute Christmas fabric from my local quilt shop, but never got around to using it. So, I got it out and spread them across my cutting table to see if any would work well to design a Christmas wall hanging featuring metallic thread from WonderFil.

Christmas fabrics for the wallhanging

Showcasing the metallic thread

I decided to make a scrappy Christmas tree so that I can embellish it with decorative stitches using the Spotlite threads. In order for the stitches to show up well, I want to use an assortment of green fabrics that are not too highly patterned. I love the lime green that is in the Christmas fabric, so I'm going to use an assortment of fabrics in that colour for my tree.

Picking fabrics for the Christmas tree

Supply list

If you would like to sew along with me to make your own wall hanging, here is a list of the supplies that you’ll need:

• Background (I’m going to use white) – 22" x 27"
• Inner border – 0.25m (¼ yd)
• Outer border – 0.5m (½ yd)
• Six to eight green fabrics – enough to cut 16 triangles from template
• Brown fabric (trunk) – 3" x 5"
• Star fabric - 5" x 5"
• Binding - 0.3m (1/3yd)
• Batting
• Backing
• Fusible web
• Freezer paper or other template material

Cutting the triangles

The first thing we need to do is to cut our triangles from the green fabric. Lucky for me, I have an Accuquilt die cutter with a triangle die, so I used it to cut all of my fabrics. If you have a die cutting machine as well, use an equilateral triangle die that makes a 5"-sided triangle.

Everyone else will need to make templates from either freezer paper or your favourite template material. If you are using freezer paper, you can print the triangle pattern onto paper and then trace it onto the freezer paper. Or, you can cut your freezer paper into 8½" x 11" sheets and print right onto the freezer paper.

Iron the freezer paper to the wrong side of your fabric and cut along the lines to make a total of 16 triangles.

Arrange the triangles into a pleasing tree shape.

Arrange the triangles into a Christmas tree shape

Sew the triangles into rows and press each seam to one side.

Sewing the triangles into rows

Sew the rows together to make your tree shape.

Fusible applique star

Pick a fabric to use for the star on the top of your tree. Since there are no golds/yellows in the fabric I picked for my outer border, I decided a gold star looked strange on my tree. I opted for a turquoise blue star instead! Hey, it’s your quilt, make it yours! And I love turquoise, so a blue star it is! Trace the star pattern onto the paper side of your fusible web and then iron the shape onto the back of your selected fabric.

For more detailed directions for fusible appliqué, refer to past posts on QUILTsocial.

Making the star applique

To make your trunk, fuse a 2½" x 4½" piece of fusible web to the back of your brown fabric and use your rotary cutter and ruler to cut a rectangle that is 2" x 4".

Pull the backing paper off the star and trunk shapes.

That’s it for today

Now we've most of the applique done for our Christmas wall hanging featuring metallic thread. Tomorrow we'll take all of these sections and assemble our wall hanging. Once all of that is done, we'll embellish the tree and quilt the wall hanging using those amazing Spotlite metallic threads!

WEEKLY GIVEAWAY! WonderFil Spotlite Metallic Thread

Enter our QUILTsocial free giveaway contest this week for your chance to win a set of WonderFIl Specialty Threads Spotlite Metallic Threads.

Spotlite: 40wt Metallic thread that is rayon based, not wiry, smooth running and soft to the touch. Runs at up to 800 spm with domestic & embroidery machines. 1093yd (100m) spools. Available in 40 colors. Applications: Machine embroidery, quilting, decorative stitches, hand needlework, thread painting, couching other threads and fibers.

Contest ends Tuesday December 2nd at 9AM. Go to the entry form below and get your entries in now!

Congratulations to Marion B, winner of last week's draw for a free Lunch Box Quilts - Picnic Time (with CD) applique designs for embroidery machines, sponsored by PFAFF Canada!

WonderFil Specialty Threads - Spotlite Metallic Thread

Working with Metallic Thread

Lucy’s tips

As I said yesterday, I’m not an expert in working with metallic thread, so I asked Lucy Garvin from WonderFil if she had any tips that I could share with you. Here's what she sent me:

 1) I find that with metallics, the problem most people have is a feeding issue - how the thread feeds off the spool on their machine. The small spools on a horizontal spool pin will always cause problems as the thread wants to 'jump' off the spool. Doesn't matter who makes it, it's the nature of the thread. Put it on an upright spool pin or even better, take it off the machine completely and put it on a thread stand.

2) If you find that the metallic is starting to twist, try flipping the thread spool over. Sometimes it's that simple. Other things you can try:

• move the thread stand away from the machine to give the thread room to relax
• Loosely wrap a WonderGuard around the spool. You want the thread to flow freely, not bind it with the wrap. When you put the wrap on, pull a bit of the thread and notice which direction it's coming off the spool. The first edge that you put down, needs to be facing the same direction that the thread is going.

3) Loosen the top tension. Depending on your machine, this may be a little or a lot.

4) Sew at a moderate speed.

5) Use a fine polyester, like DecoBob, in the bobbin

6) Use a 90/14 metallic or topstitch needle. (I prefer a topstitch)

7) On some machines, skipping the last thread guide before the needle helps to prevent shredding. (Having used many brands of machines, there are some machines that you just can't do this with.)

8) When quilting, use for wall quilts and art quilts.

9) Don’t use a horizontal spool pin. For optimum results with the 400m reels, use on a vertical spool pin or on the horizontal pin of a Thread Tamer™. For optimum results with the 2000m cones, use of a Thread Tamer™ and Wonder Guard™ - both by WonderFil is strongly recommended.

The Thread Tamer™

When Lucy mentioned the Thread Tamer™ in her email I had to check it out and it looks amazing! I have just a regular thread stand which works fine for general sewing and machine quilting. But, the Thread Tamer™ would have been awesome to use last month when I was couching with multiple threads – maybe I’ll have to ask for one for Christmas!

Thread Tamer by WonderFil Multi-task thread stand that holds spools for couching, cording, vertical and perpendicular drawing. Comes with an extension.

Online videos

Before I try using these new threads I always like to do some research to make sure that my experience (and yours) is a positive one. Lucy has produced many instructional videos for WonderFil threads. I suggest you check them out, especially the ones that deal with using the Spotlite threads and WonderGuard thread wraps.

Spotlite - Introduction - YouTube

Introduction to Spotlite - WonderFil's 40 wt metallic thread Website: www.wonderfil.net Facebook: www.facebook.com/wonderfil Twitter: @wonderfilthread

via: www.youtube.com

Spotlite - Decorative Stitching - YouTube

How to do decorative stitching with Spotlite: 40 wt metallic thread Website: www.wonderfil.net Facebook: www.facebook.com/wonderfil Twitter: @wonderfilthread

via: www.youtube.com

Time for some practice stitching

Now that we have researched and watched the videos, we need to try the metallic threads in our sewing machines. We need to make the necessary adjustments to the tension in order for the stitches to look their best. Follow Lucy’s tips to thread your machine and wrap your spool of thread. Then, use a scrap of fabric to test some different stitches. When I did a straight stitch, the tension looked fine, but once I tried something a little more complex, I could easily see that my top tension was too high as the DecoBob was being pulled through to the top.

Testing the tension

I adjusted the top tension down to “2” and this solved the problem.

 

adjusting the tension

Try some different stitches

The more complex the stitch, the more beautiful the Spotlite thread appeared as you can see in this picture. I rarely wish that I had a machine with a bigger selection of decorative stitches, but today is one of those days! I encourage you use the Spotlite thread to try a new stitch that you have never used before – I’m sure you will be amazed!

Decorative stitches using Spotlite thread

Even my free motion quilting looks awesome with this thread and so far I’ve not had the thread break even once! 

Free motion quilting with Spotlite

Decorative thread homework for tonight

Now that we have worked out the kinks when working with metallic thread, keep practicing with your Spotlite thread and try out a multitude of your decorative stitches. Tomorrow we're going to start working on our project for this week – a Christmas wall hanging featuring decorative stitching with Spotlite thread.

 

The Case of the Unraveling Thread

Several solutions

Ever since I posted last month about the case of the unraveling thread and my tangled mess of Razzle and Dazzle thread from WonderFil, I have been getting suggestions of different solutions. Lorrie T emailed me to say that she uses strips of Coban dressing (available at drug stores) around her spools. This dressing only sticks to itself so there is no residue left on the thread, but it's opaque so the colour of the thread would be hidden (depending on the size of the dressing and thread spool). Although this was a great suggestion, I was looking for something that I would be able to see through.

WonderGuard!

Then, last week an envelope arrived in the mail from WonderFil, and guess what it contained? Thread Wraps! WonderFil’s solution to my problem is called WonderGuard! They come in pre-cut strips, in packages of 10 and they have many other uses as well. 

WonderGuard thread wraps from WonderFil Wrapping around a loose spool creates a superior substitute for a thread net. Wonderguard keeps your thread clean, dust free, and prevents it from drying out. It also tidies loose, tangled threads and prevents unwinding.

Tidying up my threads

As you can see on the front of the WonderGuard package, you can use these thread guards to hold threads in without clipping or tying, tidy threads and prevent unwinding, keep your thread clean, prevent thread from drying out and to keep thread controlled when you are stitching with it. 

WonderGuard wraps

The WonderGuards were easy to roll around the spools of thread – stretching it a little as you roll makes them cling together really well. I’m pretty sure that these threads won’t be unwinding any time soon! I love these thread wraps – getting my unruly threads tamed has made me very happy!

Razzle and Dazzle with WonderGuard wraps

Now on to the “thread of the month”

The next thing that arrived in the mail was a tube of metallic threads from WonderFil. These metallic threads are called Spotlite and the tube is one of their theme packs – mine is a “Christmas Tube” – YAY! But, on the WonderFil website it looks like there are nine different theme tubes available, as well as individual colours.

Christmas tube from WonderFil

Spotlite thread

Now, I have to admit, when I opened the package and saw that the threads were metallic, I had a little shot of fear run through me. I DO NOT use metallic thread. Period. I tried using metallic threads many years ago and was so frustrated that I threw them away and have never used any since. When I teach machine quilting, I usually just avoid the topic all together, but I’ve had such success with my other threads from WonderFil, that I’m willing to give it a try.

The WonderFil website says that Spotlite is a 40 wt metallic thread that is smooth running and soft to the touch. It runs at up to 1000 spm with domestic and embroidery machines. Spotlite is a brilliant and dynamic thread that's great for machine embroidery, quilting, decorative stitching, thread painting, and couching other threads and fibres. 

Product Details 40 wt metallic thread that is smooth running and soft to the touch. Runs at up to 1000 spm with domestic and embroidery machines. Spotlite is a brilliant and dynamic thread that's great for machine embroidery, quilting, decorative stitching, thread painting, and couching other threads and fibers. Available in 40 colors in 1093yd (1000m) spools. Use in: sewing machines, embroidery machines, quilting machines.

Time to put my thinking cap on 

Now that I have solved the case of the unraveling thread and received my new threads from WonderFil, it’s time to come up with this week's project. The view from my studio window has changed dramatically since last month, and I’m starting to feel a little Christmas Spirit. I think this tube of Christmas colored metallic thread has my creative juices flowing – come back tomorrow and I will get you started on our Christmas project.

The wintery scene from my studio window

Sewing Triangles Equals Sewing on the Bias

Yesterday, as you know, the quick and easy quilt blocks from strip piecing became binding, which, I must say, is pretty cool looking. I created a whole new fabric for the binding! It has been set aside and I'm back at the drawing board to create the center of this holiday runner and add another row or two. Sewing triangles equals sewing on the bias, but it also means an interesting border which looks like it is on point. 

First of all, for the center of the quilt, cut 1 - 3″ x WOF from the background fabric and sub cut into 6 - 3″ x 6 ½″ rectangles. 

Sew a rectangle to one side of each Star of Hope block. Press the seam towards the rectangle for a nice flat seam.

Star block with extra piece added

Sew the 6 star blocks together so they alternate within the center. There are no seams to match if done this way. Do be careful not to cut off the star points when you sew the blocks together. 

They will look like this and the piece should measure 9″ x 36½″ at this time.

Six stars sewn together to make center

From the second coordinating fabric - mine is the green with snowflakes - cut 2 - 1½″ strips. Measure the length of the center piece and cut the two strips to that length, which should be 36½″. It's important to cut the strip at the exact size to ensure the quilt remains square. Using a piece that's too long and gets trimmed off will not ensure a square quilt.

Pin and sew the strips to the long sides of the center piece. I sewed with the strip underneath with the quilt center on top so I could see all the previous seams and not clip off any of my star points.

Green border added to top and bottom

Triangles & on the Bias

On the bias means that the fabric has been cut on a 45 degree diagonal across the lengthwise and crosswise grains of the fabric.This results in very stretchy fabric, which is not so great for quilters. In quilting this stretch is not good when piecing blocks together as they can become misshapen and blocks or quilts won't be square.

It's important that the pieces cut on the bias are handled as little as possible and not stretched or pulled when sewn to other pieces. Pinning the pieces together does help them to keep their shape. Some people also use spray starch on the bias edge to stabilize it and prevent it from stretching. 

I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of sewing triangles on the bias and look for much easier ways to create triangles within my work. One way is by using half square triangles or quarter square triangles as we did for the Star of Hope block. 

I've decided to go with the surefire method of the quarter square triangles for this border and not have to worry about my pieces stretching and being out of shape. The only difference in the look of the two construction methods is there will be a seam in the feature fabric square with the QSTs, whereas, with the bias method, there would be no seam.

Another bonus of using QSTs is there are more layout options.

 

Making Half Square Triangles

This time we will make the HSTs with a different method than the grid method that was used at the beginning of the week. 

From the feature fabric and background fabric, cut 9 - 4″ squares. Draw a line from one corner to the opposite corner on the wrong side of the lightest fabric, which, in my case, is the background fabric. 

Place the background fabric on top of the feature fabric square with right sides together facing up. Sew a ¼″ seam on either side of the line. Chain sewing works great to get the job done faster.

Cut apart along the line. 

Cut apart along the line

Press open towards the darker fabric, which, for me, is the feature fabric. Make 18.

Red & white HST

Cut 18 - 3½″ squares from Fabric C (coordinating fabric). Use these squares to make quarter square triangles the same way as on Day 2. Make 36 in total and square off to 2½″.

Two 3-colored QSTs

Making the Border

There are 4 different layouts that these QSTs can create. Here's a sample of each. 

Border Option #1

Ribbon-like border

Border Option #2

Red squares with white mountain peaks

Border Option #3

White squares with red mountain peaks

Border Option #4

This border option has red squares flanked by white triangles between green parallelograms and if you were to turn the HSTs around 180 degrees there would be white squares flanked by red triangles. 

Red squares with green parallelograms

Choose the layout you would like to use and sew the squares together into a long strip of 18 QSTs. Make 2. 

Depending which border you choose, you may need to create another 18 QSTs since they are not all oriented the same way, which we learned when making the Star of Hope block.

Sewing triangles equals sewing on the bias and, boy, wasn't making the quarter square triangles so much easier than sewing on the bias for this border?

I'll give you some time to finish the border and catch up with the rest of the project, if needed. Next month we'll sew the borders in place, sandwich, quilt, and use that cool binding we made this week to finish off the holiday table runner in time for the holidays.

Happy Quilting

Sewing Quilt Blocks with Strip Piecing

Are you ready to continue with this holiday table runner? I know that I am. Today, we're going to make easy quilt blocks with strip piecing. Strip piecing is a very fast and efficient way to sew multiple strips of different fabrics together to create blocks, sashing or borders. 

Let's get started. 

First of all, you'll need to cut some strips. 

From Fabric A (feature fabric) cut 

• 2 - 1½″ x WOF strips

From Fabric B (background fabric) cut 

• 2 - 2″ x WOF strips 
• 1 - 1½″ x WOF strip

Lay out the strips on the table in the order they are to be sewn starting with the 2″ background, 1½″ feature fabric, 1½″ back ground, 1½″ feature fabric and finally the last 2″ background. 

Sewing the Strip Set

Sew the strips together to create a strip set. You may want to sew each seam in the opposite direction to help keep everything square. This is done by starting at the top of the strip and sewing to the bottom. When the next strip is put on, start at the bottom of the strip and sew towards the top. Keep alternating until the strips are all sewn together.

Having the IDT system engaged on the Pfaff Ambition 1.0 makes for nice even feed and straight seams. 

Press the seam to the dark feature fabric for this piece since the other strips are white. Some hints when pressing are to use a dry iron to prevent any warping or misshaping of fabric. Steam causes cotton to change shape very quickly.

Another good tip when pressing WOF strips is to set the seam (which means to iron the seam the full length before moving to the next step). Then, press the seam to one side from the middle of the strip to one end, go back to the middle again and press to the other end. This will ensure the strip stays square and straight with no wavy bits in the seam.

Strip set of feature and background fabrics

Adding More Strips

I decided that I didn't like just the white and red so I added in a green strip on either side of the strip set. The green strips were cut at 2″ x WOF. This fabric is different from the green in the star. The strip set will be 9″ x WOF. 

 

Green strips added to the strip set

Easy Quilt Blocks from the Strip Set

Now that the strip set is done, you can square it off and cut the blocks out of the strip set. To square off a strip set, line up the ruler at one end on the seam line - you can see where the 4 inch line is lined up on the green and white seam in the photo below - and trim off the excess selvage ends. Strip sets are never even on the ends as fabric is never the same width - it can range from 40″ - 44″ with the average being 42″.

Squaring off one end of strip set

Cut the blocks from the squared off end of the strip set. Cut 8 - 4 ½″ x 9″ blocks which are rectangles.

Easy quilt block rectangles cut from strip set

My plan was to lay out the stars so that the feature fabric from the strip set looked like it was running through them and the stars were staggered as in the following picture.

Star blocks on top of strip set

In reality it didn't look as good as I imagined, and so I tried another layout like the one below. I was not happy with this one either and so I decided to repurpose these easy quilt blocks elsewhere.

Rectangle blocks amongst star blocks

Re-Purposing the Blocks

The blocks were cut at 4½″ wide and my binding is cut at 2¼″ wide strips so I thought...why not cut each block in half?

Rectangles cut in half

Sew all the pieces end to end.

Sewing smaller rectangles end to end

Finally, you'll end up with a pieced binding pressed in half with wrong sides together all ready for the final phase of the quilt. I'm not quite there yet, so will set it aside for now.

Striped binding re-purposed from rectangle blocks

Using strip piecing to create easy quilt blocks, resulted in a very interesting binding for this quilt. The center of the quilt, however, is still lacking a plan. I guess I'll be back at the design wall tomorrow - creating. 

Happy Quilting