Holden’s quilt went home with him today.
He assured me that every morning, before he went to school, he would pull it up over his bed and fluff up his pillow and the matching pillowcase. His mother is planning to paint his room a bright white quite soon and so he will have many reasons to feel that he is in a bright and happy place.
Now that I have learned a few tricks for making the points of squares match, I have shed all of my shyness about trying other kinds of quilts. Instead of pins, I dab a tiny bit of Elmer’s Purple Glue Stick to hold the points in place before I sew each block to the next. I have found that the pins slip but the tiny spot of glue does not. Once I have sewn four blocks together I open the new square up and gently wipe away the glue with a baby wipe.
(Elmer’s Purple Glue Sticks go on purple but become clear as the glue dries)
There is one area of these little quilts where I make extra work for myself. I like to bind quilts entirely by hand. Sewing the bias-binding to the top of the quilt takes longer than sewing it to the back of the quilt. I love to do it this way because I use a blind stitch on both sides and everything turns out straight and smooth.
Oh, it is so fun !
Here are some of the most important things I have learned about making quilts and sewing in general:
Iron constantly. Square things up using a straight-edge and a rotary cutter. Keep ironing and keep squaring things up all through the process. I do not iron seams open but to one side or the other. No reason but I like it better. Use a dab of purple glue from an Elmer’s Glue Stick instead of a pin to match points. I like rounded corners better than square corners but they do require a little extra binding so that you can gather as you sew around them. Iron the binding when you are finished. Buy one extra yard of one of the fabrics in the quilt to make a simple pillowcase. These are my helpful hints.
“No one can resist a warm and comfy quilt.”
-Grandma-