Hand Stitching Retreat

Laura, from Black Sheep Handworx Studio, hosted a retreat today for hand stitchers.  We had a big group of hand stitchers and we got to work on our projects all day, without interruptions :) We had treats and catered lunch from Qdoba - it was great.  Look how many hand stitchers were there - awesome!

The best part was wandering around and seeing what everyone was working on - all so different and all so beautiful.  What a fun day! I was able to finally get all caught up on my Sue Spargo BOM.  Yeah!

I was asked to explain how Helen Butler's tip made my Woodland Whimsy quilt lay flat.  I attended a lecture by Helen in September and she said she pins her binding on to her quilt (rather than just sewing it on, like I've been doing).  So she pins one side, sews it on, pins the other side, sews etc.  This way, you're easing the binding in rather than stretching it as you sew, so the edges of your quilt lie flat instead of curling up, as mine sometimes do.  She lays her quilt flat on the floor to do the pinning.  The Woodland Whimsy quilt was the first time I tried it and it worked great!