Oh, How I Love the Machine!

Instead of making stuffed animals with my remaining scraps, I decided to make a small wall-hanging and try out some new techniques at the same time. It was a good decision because I managed to use up just about every last scrap from the pink quilting project. It was if I had designed the project for that very purpose, but let me assure you that I did not. This was a pure make-it-up-as-you-go-along project and I was just very, very lucky.

This was my very first attempt at machine applique. Prior to this project, all of my applique has been done by hand because it looks that much better. I hate raw-edge applique and satin-stitch applique. So, I compromised and basted the flower by hand just as if I was going to also be sewing it on by hand. Then I attached it onto the fabric using some basting spray I got from a quilter on Freecycle (which is fabulous - go check it out!). Finally, I did some straightstitch machine applique along the edges and called it a day.

The other technique I wanted to try out was attaching the binding by machine. Binding is another part of the quilt I do at least partly by hand. Again, I do this because it looks better. However, since it is so very time consuming I thought I'd at least try to see what happens when I attach it by machine. Of course, I didn't bother to look up how you might do that and once more applied the make-it-up-as-you-go-along method. It actually came out looking not so bad - much better than I expected. Still, I'm not sure if I'm willing to switch over to the machine-binding side of the tracks. I suppose it will only get better with practice, though. Binding is the part of my quilts that is changing and improving the most as I continue to learn. And it's probably the part that people notice the least.

I thought it was interesting to note that the only parts of this quilt that are sewn by hand are on the back where, presumably, no one will see them. The hanging sleeve was tacked down by hand and the label is hand appliqued. If I really wanted to I could figure out a method for attaching those by machine too, but there is something nice about having a hand project to work on. I actually kind of missed working on the binding.