Piece, love and

summertime

By Jenny Morris

Summertime is piecing weather.

If I’m going to have a quilt to quilt this winter, the time to sew it together is now. By the end of the week I should have my Purple Psychosis — the pet name for the quilt I’m making for Son No. 4 — bound and finished.

I should have it completed, but we’ll see.

Curse the day I ever made a bias binding for a quilt. Ever since, the packaged bias tapes won’t do.

The material feels suspect. I’m limited to in-stock color choices and sizes. And after hand piecing whatever latest monstrosity my imagination dreamed up, finishing it off with fake binding seems like putting a plastic tablecloth on a mahogany table. (But I’m sure I’ve done that before, too.)

This afternoon found me crawling over the floor, measuring twice before cutting once. I need a 32-inch square of fabric to make 420 inches of binding. Actually, 32 inches will probably get me 480 inches, but the only thing worse than making bias tape for a quilt is making bias tape for the same quilt twice.

After machine attaching the binding to the top, I’ll hand sew it to the underside. And then I’ll get to experience the ultimate goal of every quilt-making project: that satisfying last stitch.

But summertime is piecing weather. And if I want a quilt to quilt this winter, I’ll have to start piecing soon.