Bindings Done

All of the quilts that needed bindings have them! Now I'm working on labels. After sorting through my quilts in preparation for some upcoming trunk shows, I was surprised to discover how many of my quilts are not labeled.
I'm just making labels from muslin and writing on them with Pigma pens--nothing fancy.
I cut freezer paper to the desired size of my label, draw guidelines on the dull side with a Sharpie marker, and iron the freezer paper to leftover pieces of muslin.
For variety, I have several colors of Pigma pens for the lettering. I include the name of the quilt, my name and city and state, and the name of the quilter.** After the lettering is done, I heat set the ink so that my message doesn't get washed away. (I learned that the hard way several years ago!)
The edges of the label are pressed under and the label is appliqued to the lower back corner of the quilt.
**I'm embarrassed to say that for some of the quilts, I do not remember when I made them, so I cannot always add a date to the label. A quilting friend has decided not to date her quilts so that she can gift them whenever she wants to without the recipient knowing whether the quilt is old or new. In the future, the fabrics might help date the quilt, but if the date is somewhere on it, there will be no mistaking when it was made. A good reason to include the date whenever possible! Maybe a date range is better than nothing???

"Lined" Binding

Not much sewing/quilting is getting done right now. I'm in the midst of teaching income tax to the local AARP Taxaide volunteers. That is my annual brain exercise. :)
Pictured is the quilt that needed binding, with very little fabric left to do so. As you can see, it is a 2-fabric quilt, so I didn't have many fabric choices for the binding. After measuring the fabric I had left from the quilt, I determined that I had enough to make a "lined" binding. This is a technique that I happened upon a number of years ago, and have used successfully.
For a 2-1/4" double binding: From your main fabric, cut strips 1-1/2" wide. From the lining fabric, cut strips 1-1/4" wide. Piece all strips as necessary to achieve desired length. Then seam the two strips together along the long edges. Press the seam allowance in the direction of the lining strip. Fold the binding in half and apply to the quilt in the usual manner.
For 2-1/2" binding, cut the main fabric strips 1-5/8" wide. Cut lining fabric strips 1-3/8" wide.
For 2-1/8" binding, cut the main fabric strips a SCANT 1-1/2" and the lining fabric strips a SCANT 1-1/4".
Try it...it works! Have fun with your bindings. (I've got the next one ready to hand-stitch, so I'm really making progress!)

New Year's Quilting Resolutions

A new year, and new resolutions! Of course I hope to finish some UFOs, but first I want to tackle those quilts that have been waiting for bindings and labels. A whole stack of them sits in my sewing room. I guess, as usually happens, I got interested in a new project before completely finishing an old one.
Some of these bindings are challenging--perhaps that is why they were put aside. I've already finished the scalloped one. Once I remembered the technique, it wasn't that bad. The next one is a bit more tricky. I have very little fabric left with which to make the binding. I'll let you know what I decide to do after I measure what I have.
Good luck with your new year's quilting resolutions!