This week has somehow gone by without my doing much sewing.  Instead of sewing, I ended up crocheting an infant hat for the annual Mariners Stitch ‘n Pitch night.  I’m not much of a knitter (still learning and still very, very slow), but I can crochet fairly well, and I can certainly appreciate the time and effort and skill hand-knit items take.  I can also drool over super soft, awesome-colored yarn (if you ever touch baby alpaca yarn, you will feel like everything else is so ridiculously coarse!).  And it’s a great excuse to hang out with friends!

But today, I went back to a bit of sewing.  Actually, I finally ironed my binding for my linked chain quilt (and finished ironing the pile of clothes on the sofa that have been hiding under a quilt project for a few weeks…but I digress).  This binding is different from other bindings I have done.  Why?  It’s pieced.  Why?  Because I learned that Joann’s Fabrics carries some of their precut lines only for a limited time, and that seems to be the line I fall in love with, and I fall in love with it too late, so that I find myself scrounging for coordinating fabric to finish the project I started with the precuts!  Last year, it was the summer quilt.  Maybe next year, I’ll remember the lesson from the past two years and plan ahead?

At any rate, I couldn’t find any yardage of the fabric I originally wanted for the binding.  Instead, I ended up taking the fat eighths I had purchased (when I couldn’t find another jelly roll and needed just four more strips for the quilt front) and cutting strips from the fabrics for the binding.  I really hope it works!

As a roll, it looks pretty awesome!

Pieced, ironed in half, and ready to be rolled up.  I love how the patterns all blend together.

I also am nearly finished (as in I have maybe 2 feet left to stitch down) with the binding for my Berenstain Bears quilt!  I loved the look as I stitched it on, and I’m loving the look as I hand-stitch the back.

Loving the way the binding brings it all together!

My husband gave me a challenge for piecing that will let me try my hand at a bit of applique in quilting.  As soon as I manage to clean up my ridiculously messy sewing corner and unearth my sewing machine again, I’ll be back to cutting and piecing!  I’m excited for the next few projects I have up my sleeve!