making this quilt has brought me to tears

It's finally happened.....I'm crying over a quilt.. I finished the quilting
part and started the boarder. Everything seemed to be going smoothly,(to
smoothly) even the mitered corners. But when it came to folding the binding
over to the back there just wasn't enough binding to fold under and hem. I
used what they called for 21/2" then cut in half, the pictures showed to
keep it folded in half, and 1/4 seem. But the binding was to short to fold
over. Now what do I do?
I'm thinking maybe this is one craft that wasn't meant for me. I am sooo
blue..
Or do I chuck it up to a learning experience? Do you really think any one
can learn to quilt?
Blue in Florida,
Judy

Don't give up, Judy! Regard the first quilt as a learning experience and
soldier on with it. You will learn from those mistakes to make a better second
quilt!

LRM.
http://community.webshots.com/user/gothikka

Oh, (((((((((Judy)))))))),

I think you need some gentle hugs.

Did you cut the 2 1/2 inches in half or just fold it in half? The 2 1/2
inches should be folded in half, then stitched with 1/4 inch seam.

Yes, you can learn to quilt. Hang in there.

If I had your snail mail, I'd send you a squishee.

Tricia
http://photos.yahoo.com/momiixii


"Judy W" wrote in message
.net...
It's finally happened.....I'm crying over a quilt.. I finished the
quilting
part and started the boarder. Everything seemed to be going smoothly,(to
smoothly) even the mitered corners. But when it came to folding the
binding
over to the back there just wasn't enough binding to fold under and hem. I
used what they called for 21/2" then cut in half, the pictures showed to
keep it folded in half, and 1/4 seem. But the binding was to short to fold
over. Now what do I do?
I'm thinking maybe this is one craft that wasn't meant for me. I am sooo
blue..
Or do I chuck it up to a learning experience? Do you really think any one
can learn to quilt?
Blue in Florida,
Judy

Just remember Judy what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Is there any way
that you can trim down your edges and fudge your binding around. It may not
be perfect but it'll be done.

Hugs

--
Sharon from Melbourne Australia
Queen of Down Under
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/craft.html
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shazrules/my_photos
**********************
"Judy W" wrote in message
.net...
It's finally happened.....I'm crying over a quilt.. I finished the
quilting
part and started the boarder. Everything seemed to be going smoothly,(to
smoothly) even the mitered corners. But when it came to folding the
binding
over to the back there just wasn't enough binding to fold under and hem. I
used what they called for 21/2" then cut in half, the pictures showed to
keep it folded in half, and 1/4 seem. But the binding was to short to fold
over. Now what do I do?
I'm thinking maybe this is one craft that wasn't meant for me. I am sooo
blue..
Or do I chuck it up to a learning experience? Do you really think any one
can learn to quilt?
Blue in Florida,
Judy

Judy,
I started quilting 'exactly' one year ago today.
There were many times that I became SO frustrated that I too didn't know
If I would ever "get it".
You WILL do better as time goes on and EVERYTHING can be fixed somehow.
I'm sure there will be "PROS" here that can help with your actual question
but I just wanted to tell you that you are having a NORMAL experience
and YES by all means you are not only going to learn how to quilt BUT you
ARE A QUILTER NOW.
Hugs,
Susie in northern NY

Or do I chuck it up to a learning experience? Do you really think any
one
can learn to quilt?
Blue in Florida,
Judy

Judy, it sounds like you cut the 2-1/2" wide strip into two 1-1/4" pieces.
Is that right? For future quilts, you need to *fold* it in half, not *cut*
it in half. For this one, though, you may be able to save it -- but you'll
have to do some unsewing, and the binding won't be as sturdy as a double
binding. First, remove the binding from the quilt and press it flat. Then
turn under 1/4" (maybe a little less, if you can) along one edge. You should
now have a binding strip that's 1" wide (with 1/4" folded under). Sew the
raw edge of the binding to the front of the quilt using a 1/4" (or just a
little less) seam. At that point, you'll have a binding somewhere between
3/4" and 1" to turn to the back.

Another option is to turn the entire binding to the back of the quilt rather
than trying to fold it in half to make it reach around to the back (you
could do that without doing any unsewing). If you've done any clothing
sewing, it would be similar to turning a facing to the inside -- and the
seam line will be the edge of your quilt. You won't be able to see the
binding from the front at all.

Good luck.

--
Louise in Iowa
nieland4 at mchsi dot com
http://community.webshots.com/user/louiseiniowa

"Judy W" wrote in message
.net...
It's finally happened.....I'm crying over a quilt.. I finished the
quilting
part and started the boarder. Everything seemed to be going smoothly,(to
smoothly) even the mitered corners. But when it came to folding the
binding
over to the back there just wasn't enough binding to fold under and hem. I
used what they called for 21/2" then cut in half, the pictures showed to
keep it folded in half, and 1/4 seem. But the binding was to short to fold
over. Now what do I do?
I'm thinking maybe this is one craft that wasn't meant for me. I am sooo
blue..
Or do I chuck it up to a learning experience? Do you really think any one
can learn to quilt?
Blue in Florida,
Judy

Did you trim your batting & backing after you applied the binding? If you
did, can you trim it a little more, so it will reach around? If not, I
would just take the binding off & try again. Cut it 2 1/2" wide, FOLD it in
half & apply - that should give you enough to go around to the back.

I've only been quilting for a little less than 2 years - each quilt is a
learning experience. The quilt I pieced last summer, I thought would be my
favorite quilt, but I finally got around to quilting it a couple of months
ago & now I see how much better I am at piecing, so it's not my "favorite"
anymore. Hang in there - the fun is just beginning.

Pauline
"Judy W" wrote in message
.net...
It's finally happened.....I'm crying over a quilt.. I finished the
quilting
part and started the boarder. Everything seemed to be going smoothly,(to
smoothly) even the mitered corners. But when it came to folding the
binding
over to the back there just wasn't enough binding to fold under and hem. I
used what they called for 21/2" then cut in half, the pictures showed to
keep it folded in half, and 1/4 seem. But the binding was to short to fold
over. Now what do I do?
I'm thinking maybe this is one craft that wasn't meant for me. I am sooo
blue..
Or do I chuck it up to a learning experience? Do you really think any one
can learn to quilt?
Blue in Florida,
Judy

If you have enough fabric for another binding, you can start over.
Either "un-sew" the too-small binding, or cut it off (making your quilt
a bit smaller in the process). Cut the new binding 2-1/2" wide. Fold it
in half and press; the folded strip will be 1-1/4" wide. Sew it to the
quilt, stitching 1/4" from the edge. That should give you plenty to fold
over to the back to stitch down.

Julia in MN
--
This message has been scanned for viruses by Norton Anti-Virus

http://webpages.charter.net/jaccola/

over. Now what do I do?
I'm thinking maybe this is one craft that wasn't meant for me. I am sooo
blue..
Or do I chuck it up to a learning experience? Do you really think any one
can learn to quilt?

Yep, we can all learn to quilt. Be patient with yourself. It will get easier!
After you have a few quilts under your belt, go back and look at the older ones
compared to the newest. You will be amazed at the improvements! For now, keep
learning and have fun with it!

Pam

In article ,
"Judy W" wrote:

It's finally happened.....I'm crying over a quilt.. I finished the quilting
part and started the boarder. Everything seemed to be going smoothly,(to
smoothly) even the mitered corners. But when it came to folding the binding
over to the back there just wasn't enough binding to fold under and hem. I
used what they called for 21/2" then cut in half, the pictures showed to
keep it folded in half, and 1/4 seem. But the binding was to short to fold
over. Now what do I do?
I'm thinking maybe this is one craft that wasn't meant for me. I am sooo
blue..
Or do I chuck it up to a learning experience? Do you really think any one
can learn to quilt?
Blue in Florida,
Judy


Don't chuck it, Judy! We've all had things like this happen to us. As
several people have already suggested, the binding needs to be cut 2
1/2" wide and *folded* in half. Then, when you sew it to the quilt,
match the raw edges of the binding to the raw edges of the quilt so that
the folded edge is what will turn to the back of the quilt. You won't
need to turn anything under that way. BTW, before you stitch the binding
to the quilt, be sure to trim the quilt (including the backing and
batting) so that they're even; try not to cut off any points on the
front, if there are any, too. There's lots to remember, but you'll be
fine with a bit more practice and experience! Hang in there!
--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
my ISP is earthlink.net -- put sfoster1(at) in front
http://home.earthlink.net/~sfoster1