The Tennesse Waltz.

This bed doesn't have a skirt, it will be much nicer with a skirt.

The view from the back.

A better border stitching view. All pictures can be enlarged by clicking on the picture.

WONDERFUL bias binding.

I learned an easy, FAST, way to cut bias binding and I thought I would share. The way the fabric is lined up here, it is open, with the selvage hanging down. You can do this on any size you have or need, the folding instructions are the same. You can even use fabric that doesn't have the selvage, just square it with the grain.

The FIRST FOLD is taking the selvage and folding it to the left hand edge of the fabric.

The SECOND FOLD is the opposite selvage meeting up with the first selvage edge you folded.

The THIRD FOLD is taking the fabric and folding it in half, edge to edge.

Move the fabric into a straight line.

The FOURTH FOLD, and last, is folding it in half again, end to end.

I love this particular cutting ruler, because it has slits to put your rotary cutter in, spaced every 1/2 inch. It makes it possible to cut multiple narrow strips without moving the ruler all the time, keeps the fabric flat and even.

Cut the folded edge off at the right hand side. Then cut the bias strips the width you like/need them. A lot of patterns call for a 3" bias for the binding. I like a 2 1/2" width better. This way of cutting bias is so quick and easy and uniform!

Ding, dong the wedding bells will ring...........

The week before Christmas I had the amazing opportunity of having my youngest daughter with me for the WHOLE week. That hasn't happened in a LOOOONG time. She was on her break from school, and I was starting my son's wedding quilt. She enjoys sewing with me, so it was perfect! Above is the table with all of our strips neatly cut out and ready to 'rock and roll'.

Rachel thought that I HAD to take a picture of the back of the 4 patch. You unstitch 3 stitches and it opens to a very mini 4 patch, which allows you to iron everything so nicely flat. Better for piecing and quilting!

These are my star points, un-squared.

Squared!

The 3 sections that make up the 'star' square.

Getting the star points to match up to the diagonal line on the 'snowball' square (doesn't look like a snowball to me, but that's what they call it), was quite a process.

Rachel wanted me to post pictures that showed how we did it. First, we measured down 1/4 inch and marked it with pencil.

We poked the pins through to match things up, harder than you would think because it was off centered about 1/16 of an inch (or so), then pinned it horizontally, pulled the fabric to make sure the points matched, then put in 3 pins to anchor the fabric so it wouldn't move. It's not hard for fabric to slip 1/16 of an inch, or more. This method was the one that worked after much unpicking and frustration.

Christmas afternoon, we had finally gotten all of the squares matched and put together. I love how this looks like a circular quilt, but it is put together with squares and triangles!

I was able to get it on the machine for quilting. You can see my chalk lines here, but they brush off pretty easily. I DON'T have a computerized machine, so everything is free hand. This border I chalked to help me out.

The center of the 'snowball' I followed a pattern with my laser light.

The 'star' is a stitch in the ditch, then little free hand 4 petals in the 4 patches.
This is my most favorite pattern that I've pieced. It's called the Tennessee Waltz. It took 10 hours to quilt with all the detail. It is a queen size quilt 87" x 105". My husband has ordered one for us! It has been so much fun to put together. I'll post a picture of it on the bed when I get it bound!