Here are the highlights of our trip:
1) a visit to the Minnesota Zoo. It's undergoing some construction, but the exhibits that are open are great. Most of the animals were sleeping during the afternoon we were there, but I don't think Baby K noticed!
2) a baseball game...the Saint Paul Saints versus the Pensacola Pelicans. It was so much fun! Think "Bull Durham" - the between-inning games were hilarious. The Saints won, too.3) a trek up to the North Woods - Clear Lake, outside of Virginia, about 65 miles northwest of Duluth. The three days we were there it was rainy and cold, which actually was a pleasant respite from the 110+ desert heat at home. We stayed inside and curled up on the couch with a book.
4) a delightful surprise was the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary, where they have an observation deck and feed black bears every night. We saw 4 babies in a tree, and about 6 adults at the various feeding troughs.
5) Of course, I did feed my fiber habit too. I added some Christmas fabric and batiks to my collection from the Quilter's Courtyard, and the yarn is Yarni, handpainted in St. Paul, purchased at the Yarnery. Both stores were charming.
6) Uncle Ty and Aunt Jean gathered some entertainment for the baby. Their next-door neighbor had this train toy for her grandchildren. Baby K loved it, and it has really enhanced her walking skills.
Sock update tomorrow!
We couldn't let her play with it very long, because it is holding a silk bamboo shoot, which Baby K bit and started to shred. She does this with all her stuffed animals...takes a big bite and pulls off a mouthful of fuzz. I hope this phase ends soon! She is also chewing the bindings off most of her books :-(
MQS Report:
Next is "Northern Lights," by Janet Fogg, first place in the Theme category (theme was Timeless Stars, and the block patterns had to have been published in the Kansas City Star newspaper.) You can almost see the quilted snowflakes in the sky. The piecing to create the magnificent wolf was incredible.
Finally, here is the Viewer's Choice winner: "Turnabout" by Claudia Pfeil, a quilter from Germany. As you can see, many of the winners are quilting intricate feathers in metallic threads on black backgrounds. I love the color gradients in this piece!
Once the binding is attached to the front, I hand-stitch it to the back. If I were to attach the whole thing by machine, I would first attach it to the BACK of my quilt, then bring it to the front in order to cover the first seam. You can use a decorative stitch or a straight seam with matching/invisible thread for this option.
To make a mitered corner, fold the strip vertically to the top of the quilt:
Then bring it down, keeping the fold even with the edge of the quilt. You will have a little triangle "pocket" when you are done. Start sewing again using a quarter inch seam.
When you have turned the fourth corner, stop sewing, leaving a substantial gap, and bring your quilt to a cutting surface. Fold both tails so they meet somewhere in the middle. Cut the extra binding so that one inch remains on the left, and 1.25 inches remains on the right.
The points below the triangles show how I moved from one to the next as a continuous line.
Obsidian from Blue Moon Farm has a wonderful variety of rich browns, blacks and flecks of grey. Perfect for a man's sock!
