happy binding

 it's the rare occasion that i try to make the pattern in my bindings match up. this was not one of those times. however, as i was ironing out the strips after joining them, i couldn't help be pleasantly pleased and just a little tickled when i noticed how perfectly some of the strips lined up. pretty, aren't they? hurray for happy sewing moments when something spontaneously goes right rather than awry!

 and now this adorable heather bailey "lottie dot" (which is really more like a concave square) is ready to bind up the florida baby quilt (as yet unnamed). i love this dot and was so disappointed that she didn't make it in the orange from this collection, too. "lottie dot" from "lottie dah" came in purple, olive, charcoal, and cream, but not that luscious tangerine orange. so sad. it would have made a great binding, too.

since this is a baby quilt, i went for machine binding again. following my last happy accident, i purposefully made this binding at 3" rather than 2.5", which works out beautifully for me for machine binding. previously, i used a piece of clear scotch tape to mark where i should be attaching the binding but somewhere along the way since then, someone else mentioned they use washi tape. (sure wish i could remember who to credit!) the washi is easier to see and a lot cuter, too.

 the one little mistake i did make this time around, besides wandering off course in a few places, is i attached the binding to the wrong side. i attached it to the back, which means i'm folding over and finishing off on the front. with handbinding, this doesn't make a difference to me. but when machine binding, the first side has more potential room for showing error, so i'd like the errors to be on the back, rather than the front. not too big a deal, but it's a "note to self" preference for next time.

actually, i probably should have used a thread that blended rather than contrasted. that was just laziness of not wanting to change threads. again, not that big a deal. just a "note to self."

 otherwise, this is a pretty, happy binding that makes me smile!

there is still a smidgen of quilting to go (backwards, i know), because i had to finish unpicking that ugly quilting on the pink strip. i got tired of waiting on the unpicking and completed the binding first. now to correct that quilting. when that's done, i'll have a finish on my hands! and a great story to share.