Lone Star Revision Complete

I'm really pleased with the way the c. 1920 lone star in my previous post  (April 2) turned out. (photo is not good....see below for a better idea of the colors)

After getting all the faded wonky prairie points and old binding removed from the edges with my trusty ripper, I decided on a simple finish. I liked the points in some ways but it seemed like too much work for an old, rather worn out piece . . .and they may have stood out as 'new'.

So I squared up the piece and found a nice little printed check in my stash to use for the new binding.

I just love fabric printed on the diagonal...you get the look of a bias trim without having to cut bias strips.



I apply binding by machine on nearly all the quilts I make. I apply it to the back, fold and bring to the front and top-stitch. 

Many quilters I know are reluctant to machine bind. Some just like the process of doing it by hand but others seem to feel it's 'cheating'. 

My collection of vintage quilts indicates that as soon as women had machines, they began both machine quilting and binding by machine. I find it a strong method which looks perfectly fine and which save a LOT of time that can be used for more rewarding work.

I treated a couple of yellowed areas and washed the whole thing in the washer on hand-wash setting. I put it in the dryer on low with a few big terry towels for 10 minutes at a time, checking it and taking it out when still damp. 

Then I laid it out on a large sheet and did a bit of gentle shaping. I put a fan on the floor across the room to aid the finishing of the drying process.Voila!..I think it's adorable. So sweet and soft. 

P.S. I am on a roll!  I also finished #8 of my on-going "Bricks" series of mini-quilts. 

I'll post that in a day or two. Please check back.