Wednesday, December 2, 2015

No Surprise!

I love that all my friends (at least those who really know me) just assume that I am going to make this (SVBAQ)  quilt in the potholder method. Well, of course I am! This kind of quilt just screams “potholder” to me, so as not to disappoint anyone, here is my first quilted block.


Back


And special thanks to my friend Cyndi (Busy Thimble) for finding me extra yardage for the binding. I could have used another cheddar, but I don’t want this to look like a potholder quilt from the front, only from the back – which I promise will be interesting.

Many of my blogging friends have asked me to explain a little about my method and post some photos of the process, so here goes.


In making your potholder blocks it is extremely important that all of your blocks are the same size or they will NOT fit when you whip stitch them together. You must also have very crisp corners on your bindings or you will have little “see though” holes at your corners. I use single (not folded) straight (not bias) binding 1 ¼” wide. (I actually use single binding on all my quilts. I have always figured it is the first thing to have to be replaced so why make it more difficult and bulky?)




I miter all my corners and start and stop with a straight seam. I do sometimes get comments from judges about my “straight” binding, but I have learned to ignore them because I am not changing. I do however stitch down the little miter on the top and back. That is one concession I have made to the judges over the years. It doesn’t take very long and I like to please people when I can.





Now I have to get started on my December block – the Mountain Laurel. I don’t want to fall behind!

Please feel free to ask me any question about my potholder method. I try to get back to everyone who leaves a comment. Enjoy the day.

15 comments:

  1. SVBAQ is Greek to me.
    I have made myself a little 14 pound hand crank to take with us when Rob is fly fishing.It won't get out now until better weather, but my intent with my little kitted blocks is to do them potholder style. I was introduce to this finish via Georgia Bonesteel back in the mists of time :) Yours are exemplary. It would be nice if you could add assembling two blocks to this post. Being a lazy bum and forbid I should have to look in two places for information... thanks for sharing, Sharyn in Kalama

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  2. I wanted to know if you have a tutorial on your binding method? I always have trouble with my corners when binding.
    P.S. Your block and quilting are beautiful
    Lola

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  3. nice little blocks....i use single layer bindings also...no problems so far...

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  4. Your cheddar background for your block is awesome. Thanks for sharing your prize winning technique.

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  5. As you love your dear friends, I love your potholders !!
    They are sooooo beautiful, very equilibrated....and this cheddar...i love it too ! ^^
    And thank you for this tuto !

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  6. Oh, such a striking block with that cheddar background. I have never made a quilt using the potholder method. Fascinating!

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  7. Hello Wendy, thankyou for your kind comment on my blog post. I was so happy you visited because I was able to come and visit you back. I love what I found here, I was fascinated by your pot holders and look forward to reading more. I have heard of this method but never tried it.
    I see you are a hexy girl like me, I love the quilt in your header.
    I'm off to have a better look round your blog now. So nice to meet you!

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  8. Your cheddar potholder looks just wonderful - Thanks so much for showing your method! I am so tempted to give this a go too - as you say - the quilt is perfectly suited for this method. I am especially keen on the idea of doing manageable little bites of hand quilting - rather than the whole thing at the end. Great backing fabric too :)

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  9. A very interesting method. Do you just whip stitch them together? I haven't even started SVBQ but I did purchase some background fabric! LOL

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  10. What do you mean by straight binding?

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  11. What a wonderful tutorial, thank you for all the great pictures to illustrate your work!

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  12. I love all of your pot holder quilts. Thanks for sharing your approach, I have plans to give it a try. I too like straight grain single layer binding for most quilts. Your blocks are fantastic! I can hardly wait to see the quilt.

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  13. This is just the encouragement I need to bind my first few botanical blocks - thanks for sharing Wendy!

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  14. Once you have the binding sewn to the block, how do you prepare it for stitching? I've never made a single fold binding ...

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