A new week...

Mothers Day at home was lovely and relaxed. Blossom dropped over after lunch and stayed for the afternoon so her and I and Mr E kicked back on the couch to chat and watch some Midsomer with cool drinks and a delight in just being together. 

Look what she gave me. I've been waiting five years for a bottle of Vera Wang Princess, and aren't the earrings perfect too?!

Mr E also made a fuss by giving me a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers...

Monday morning came and as Mr E walked out the front door he made me promise to take things easy and continue allowing my sciatic nerve to heal. Truly, I never knew nerve pain could be so horrid. 

I've found that as well as sitting very straight in a firm supportive chair the pain is also eased by walking and periods of standing, so I did a lot of cooking through the day as kitchen time is happy time.

I roasted a pumpkin and its seeds in Morrocan spices for salads this week...

 Baked Mr E's favourite cake (Date, Ginger, Banana, Cacao and Pumpkin)...

...and made big pots of Chicken Korma and Spicy Lentil Dhal to serve on rice for dinner.

I made sure to cook enough for a couple of meals plus extra dhal to take to Blossom's later today...

Blossom is now in her third trimester and is following the doctor's orders and resting as much as possible. She still has some health issues which leave her exhausted and in a lot of pain much of the time, so being able to cook something extra for her and her DB once a week makes me feel as though I'm helping in some small way. Blossom is such a delight to my life and I know her own little girl will be just as precious to her.

The mailman arrived yesterday with my "A Year in the Garden" quilt back from Dawn who did the machine quilting for me. She's such a blessing! 

Originally I was going to finish this quilt top with ties and hand-quilting but now a few of my fingers are experiencing the effects of osteo-arthritis so large areas of hand quilting must be avoided.

The binding strips are ready to be folded, pressed and sewn down...

...so after I visit Blossom this morning and gather some fresh veggies from the grocer I'll finish the quilt, make a big pumpkin and haloumi salad to serve with some steak I'm marinating steak for dinner, and THEN I may just kick back and read one of my favourite English magazines with a big pot of Prince of Wales tea. The British mags arrive two months late in Australia but I don't mind...

Do you have something special to do this week?

I hope every day is simply wonderful for you!

hugs

Day 5 - Holiday Hostess Table Topper tutorial!

 Before we get into Day 5 of the tutorial I have Block 11 of the Shabby Roses Churn Dash Stitchalong to show you!
*smile*

If you haven't followed along with this 12-week project just go HERE and scroll through each block!
Only one more block to go and we're finished. I'll also have the free quilt assembly pattern to share with you next Friday when the final block is revealed.

 The pattern for *smile* is HERE in the shop today as a $2 instant pdf download.

 Are you ready to finish your "Holiday Hostess" project today?

Here's my completed duo...

Just a few more steps and you'll have a sweet table topper to decorate your Christmas table, or a pretty wall hanging to display!

The length of binding you will need to make is dependent on how large the project is that you need it for. The table topper as I have made it requires 80" of binding, and the easiest way to calculate this is to use the free online binding calculator shared HERE at Quilters Paradise.

Simply enter the width and length of the project you've made and how wide you need to cut the binding fabric. For mine I have cut the fabric 2½” wide...

If you're using yardage to make the binding for this project (to the size I have made it)  cut two, 2½” x 43 (width of fabric) lengths.

If you're using a fat quarter or different lengths of scrap fabric, just be sure that all your lengths join together after the next few steps to measure 80".

Lay one piece vertically on your cutting board, right side facing up.

Lay a second piece across the end of the first on a 90 degree angle (right angle)  but this time with the wrong side facing up. 

The selvedge on both strips will be removed in the next steps...

Use your quilting ruler to accurately line up your fabrics on the 90 degree line...

The bottom fabric edge should be ¼” inside the point of the ruler...

Use your rotary cutter to remove the corner of the fabrics, then pin the two ends together...

Machine the two pieces together with a ¼” seam...

Press the seams (or seams) open...

...and then fold the binding in half along its length and press flat.

You've made your binding!

Now we'll attach the binding to the table topper (or wall hanging).

For part of this next stage I actually forgot to take photos, but I have previously shared a binding tutorial and you can find it HERE...

Sew the binding around the outside of the quilt, mitring the corners as you go (here) ...

Join the two ends together when you have completed the four sides (here)...

 Cut away the excess wadding/batting and backing fabric...

Press the binding away from the top of your quilt...

HANGING SLEEVE:

For those who decided to make a wall hanging this is how to make a hanging sleeve which will house the wooden hanging rod.

Measure the width across the back of your wall hanging...

It's lovely if you can match the hanging sleeve with your backing fabric, but it's okay if you can't.

Cut a piece of fabric 4" x 2" narrower than the width of your wall hanging. 

This meant that my fabric measured 4" x 10½”.

Fold a ¾” hem down both ends and press them with your iron. Fold the hanging sleeve in half across the length and press again...

Pin it across the top centre of the back of your wall hanging...

Now turn the wall hanging right side facing up and with your machine's walking foot attached, sew the quilt and the hanging sleeve together along the same seam line that was made when you attached the binding...

The final step!

For both projects, fold the binding to the back of the quilt and pin in place. 

There are special little clips you can purchase to hold the binding down (or use children's hair clips), but I only pin the very first few inches along my binding then continue without them...

Using a thread the same colour as your binding fabric, slip stitch the binding to the quilt back. Catching the stitch in the seam line is a great guide!

Some people sew 'away' from themselves, but I like to sew 'towards' myself. Do what feels most comfortable for you...

When you get to the corner, make a little mitre and keep stitching...

Slip stitch the bottom of the hanging sleeve on the wall hanging, leaving a little 'pocket' of space for inserting the hanging rod later...

Congratulations! 

I hope you've enjoyed this 5-day marathon tutorial, and hopefully learned a few new things if you're just starting out with your sewing/stitching/quilting journey.

Remember, the techniques I have shared are *my* way of doing things, and not at all the only way. If something I have shared isn't working well for you, google (or pinterest!) for more ideas.

The most important thing to remember is that this is YOUR  craft experience and making it fun is what it's really all about.

TOMORROW... something new.
Be sure to drop by the blog to find out what it is, or you can keep up with Elefantz news by signing up to my free Friday newsletter HERE, and/or liking the Elefantz Facebook page HERE.

have a brilliant day,