So now he’s finished! Actually, I was so excited when I got the face done, that I took it right to my Handi Quilter Fusion and set up the backing and batting I had cut last November. For some reason, they were quite a bit larger than the front. Oh, well, numbers have always been my downfall. I probably just figured wrong! I tore into this poor project that had waited so long in pieces, for my return.
I do raw edge applique on my HQ – it’s so much easier than moving the fabric around under my regular machine. There was quite a bit of white, so I started with that. Instead of tying off at the end of each piece, I do tiny little stitches so the stitching won’t come out later, then move to the next piece and do tiny stitches to get it started. In the end, it’s faster just to cut the bridges all at one time.
Got it all done and hung it on the wall to admire before I cut the binding. That’s when it hit me! In all my excitement, I had forgotten to add the accent flange and the black border! Darn! What to do?! Too late now. You know that great feeling when you think you’re on the last leg of the project? I went from there to it being too hot in the room, and the panic in the pit of my stomach! OK, calm down, and look at this reasonably. Ah ha! I’ll just put a wide binding on it! That will frame it, like that forgotten border would have. So I went to my calculator. Let’s see, ½” for the seam allowance, some to frame the piece. That’s times two, and then it wraps around, and that’s times two. Got it! (Remember, I told you about me and numbers?)
I had help getting the binding on, as you can see.
Got the first side sewn easily. I got to the corner, and believe it or not, with all my brilliant figuring ahead, there wasn’t enough fabric to do the miter! So I invented these really cool corners! I won’t tell anyone it was either that, or take the binding off and go back to the calculator. So I decided these corners were really great. (Just don’t ask me how I did them!)
So here’s my guy! Regal and impressive, with custom-made corners. And done! (A13718)
I did the Giant Panda earlier, which enticed me to do the Bengal Tiger. (A13787) The Panda pattern is down a little from the tiger on the same pattern page, and my blog post is here. both are hanging in the back of the classroom now, and when you enter, you see them from a distance. I just love them! Since then, I’ve finished my first “modern quilt.” I’ll tell you about that one in a few weeks.
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