Hoo. Ray.

This morning I started hand-stitching the binding on the Two Grandmother's quilt, and taking just a few potty breaks and breakfast breaks and fill-my-coffee-cup breaks, I didn't stop stitching until it was finished.

There are few things in life more gratifying than a freshly-finished binding.  Don't you agree?

And I love how the binding fabric looks with the fabric I chose for the border and the back.  The colors blend perfectly.

Here's how it looks from the back.

I started restoring this quilt back on January 23, 2012.  (It seems like longer, but it's been just a little over a year.)  You can read the history of this project right here.  (And that will be the last time I link to this project, Regular Readers, I promise you.)  Here's how it looked when I started it last year:

When I sewed my mother's perfectly embroidered blocks together originally, I was not a quilter.  I simply sewed them together, gave it a plain aquamarine backing, tied it with Knit-Cro-Sheen, and bound it using double-fold bias tape.  I hope I've improved it in the time I've been working on it over the past year.  What do you think?

And this is the project I committed to finishing for these two challenges:

So I'll be heading there to link up eventually.  But here's a little quiz I created for you.  I think this question should be on the SAT next time around.  See if you agree:

Question:  It is not possible to finish the last few inches of a hand-sewing project without first having this happen:

A.  Your thread breaking

B.  Your thread inexplicably tying itself into a hopeless knot

C.  Both A and B

D.  A, B, and C.  (The SAT always has four answers, thus the need for "D".)

Today, I would have to choose the "C" option.  Oy.

So with that project finished, I'm feeling light as a feather.  Time to dig into the pile of projects and pull out another.  Speaking of feathers, I think next up will be to make a couple of more blocks for the Yard Art quilt.  Here's what it will look like when it's finished:

Looking for that post, I realized I haven't worked on this quilt since last November.  I think it's time, don't you?

After that, I'm going to do a "not quilting" project.  I'm going to try to make a genuine sock monkey.  I even shelled out for the genuine Red Heel socks for it.  If it turns out, I think I'll give it to my friend Lisa's cutie pie little grandson, Ezra.  Looking forward to that.  The sock monkey was my favorite toy growing up.  I don't know whatever happened to my sock money.  Being in a military family, some things tended to disappear from move to move.  I don't want to say my mother was chucking the ballast on our many moves, but I'm afraid sock monkey got thrown overboard at some point in time.  Hm.

How's your Sunday going?