Running With Donna, Part 3

I thought I'd share my quilting process with you today - and the machine part of the binding.  I'm slowly doing the hand work.  Actually, I've gotten as far as tossing the runner on my dining room table and grabbing one of my hand-sewing baskets to bring upstairs.  Hey, it's a start, right?

My first step was to quilt 1/4" inside the "peaks and valleys", or whatever you'd like to call them.

I used my walking foot for that. I'm in my comfort zone with the walking foot... and realized I need to break out of that habit and get some practice with my BSR, doing free-motion quilting.

Don't fear the BSR!

I can only improve through practice ... right?  I did some swirls in the Kansas fabric:

You know... like swirling Kansas winds! I think I should have made them larger or not as "tight". But it's practice.

I used a variegated King Tut thread -- Sands of Time. LOVE the King!

Here's what I made up for the background areas:

I like how that came out better than the swirls - but the outer areas are always easier for me than the middles. And it was WAY easier to see where I was going and had been!

I decided to use the Kansas fabric for the binding:

I've started winding my binding around one of my antique spools - just to keep it tidy. Of course, I usually knock it on the floor and it unwinds... but HA! I have a cool solution for that now! Check this out:

Yes, put it in a bowl/pan! But not just ANY bowl!  A MAGNETIC bowl!

It's from the auto parts department. I'd like a smaller bowl, but this is what I found; I knew I'd find a cool use for it! The spool has JUST enough nails in it to make it "stick" to the magnets, but it also just easily unwinds as I sew!!! VERY, VERY cool!!!

I'll be sharing pix of Donna's runner with you, too - I always love seeing different interpretations of a pattern and in different color ways!  As for now ... I need to get the hand part of the binding done!

Thanks for reading!