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Monday, August 31, 2015

Weekend Stitching - Finishing Touches

It's a good thing Saturday was such an excellent day in terms of sewing room time, Sunday was almost a complete wash out.  I had a bad case of insomnia Saturday night, which got me off to a late start on Sunday. Add in making the frosting for the cake that was going to the church picnic and my Sunday morning really got away from me.  Sunday afternoon was spent napping.  But I got in a bit of stitching Sunday evening.  Though what got done isn't up on the design wall.  The binding strips for Grand Illusion are all stitched together, pressed and wound onto a tube to keep it from tangling.

Now it's all ready to stitch on.  Hopefully I will get to that this week.

 In the background is my new cutting mat. Last week, I realized that I couldn't really see the lines on my old mat anymore. Plus it had developed lots of texture.  So it was definitely time to replace it.  It's so much easier to cut accurately when you don't have preexisting lines in the cutting mat.  The old mat is probably 3 or 4 years old.  Nothing lasts forever, especially things that see as much use as this one did.  


Nothing very exciting this week, though the new mat has made it easier to trim all the HSTs for the Back to Square One quilt.  And having the binding made means Grand Illusion is one step closer to completion.  

 Check out all the other project progress over at Patchwork Times, Making Monday, and Main Crush Monday.  
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9 comments:

  1. Vroomans' QuiltsAugust 31, 2015 at 7:03 AM

    The binding on the long tube made me giggle - looks like you are making a child's stuffy. Oh, I have a couple of matts that look that way - I use them for machine matts now.

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  2. Val's Quilting StudioAugust 31, 2015 at 7:29 AM

    Now THAT'S a lot of binding!!! Just got a new mat last month and it cuts like butter now!! My husband took my old one for his gargage workbench! LOL!!

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  3. Libby in TNAugust 31, 2015 at 7:48 AM

    It's amazing how those cuts in a "self-healing" mat can affect your cutting. Glad you got a new one.

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  4. BonnieAugust 31, 2015 at 9:56 AM

    You are a cutting maniac! If the mat was only a few years old you've done a lot of cutting in those years. I replaced mine in the last year or two and ended up with two different mats as I have two cutting stations. I opted for the Fiskar one which saved me money and then got a Martelli one that used up any saved money I had! I like both of them to tell the truth.

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  5. Barb HAugust 31, 2015 at 10:05 AM

    I don't use the lines on the mat when I cut fabric, so when the grid side gets all funky, I just turn it over and cut on the plain side. But now, both sides of my cutting mat are funky! Guess I'll be shopping for a new one pretty soon.

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  6. Beth @ Cooking Up QuiltsAugust 31, 2015 at 5:17 PM

    My mat is a mess too - one end of it is all warped from being stored wrong for about 9 years while I took a quilting hiatus. I'm waiting to get a new one - hoping to get a new cutting table first and then will get a mat that fits the new table.

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  7. The Colorful FabriholicSeptember 1, 2015 at 8:42 AM

    You certainly got some use out of your old mat! I think maybe Olfa has changed the composition of their mats over time. I have one from pre-2000 that I'm still using and it's hardly scarred up at all. I also have one that's new this year, and every cut has left a visible line in it, plus the fibers catch in the cut lines.

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  8. beth sSeptember 1, 2015 at 5:58 PM

    Glad you were able to get a new mat!

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  9. Gayle BongSeptember 1, 2015 at 7:17 PM

    o my goodness. 3 to 4 years old only? No wonder mine looks nearly as bad. Mine has to be 20 years old. but I do use several others besides. It's my traveling mat that is a mess. YES, I too think they don't make them the same anymore. Just think if they make it "disposable" they will have our money more often.

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