You have done a great job. Congratulations on finishing this wonderful project

Kathy your quilt is beautiful!! Congrats on finishing!! I'd love to see some closeups of the quilting too!

Kathy, it is absolutely beautiful! Congratulations!

It looks beautiful, Kathy! Be sure to get the label on it!!

Big woo Hoo! I have done everything but put on a label, it's finished! I took a photo but since the quilt is so big, it's pretty distorted. I will post this one here and then take another photo for show and tell that is more square. My thanks to Sue Garman for the design and Margo for making the alternate colorway. Margo, you actually made two of these, you are a rock star!

Kathy

Kathy, I am delighted to say that I got the binding on last night. I did a 3/8" seam as well. I watched a Sharon Shambers youtube tutorial on binding a quilt where she spray-starched the back of the binding strips just before she ironed them in half and that kind of stuck the binding together. She also used glue to stick the binding to the quilt before sewing it down - but I didn't do that. I saw another useful tutorial somewhere else which suggested that when you get to the end and are joining the two strips together, turn the quilt over and sew the remaining 10" or whatever it is from the back and this stops it puckering on the binding itself. These ideas really helped with keeping the binding straight on the quilt. This is going to be a very narrow binding on such a big quilt but it can't be helped because the flowers in the outer appliqué corners are so close to the edge on mine that I have barely avoided covering them with the binding. Now I just have to hand sew the binding to the back, make a label and then I have to decide whether it is worth the trouble of making a hanging sleeve.

As for my bionic eye, to do close-up work I still need the other eye so I have my glasses with one lens out! Now that looks ridiculous, but needs must.

Rita, I just want to say that if you can make it through assembling this quilt, you can do the border easy peasy! I tried not to stretch the binding as I was putting it on, and it lays pretty flat. something I have had trouble with in the past is getting the seam allowance consistent. I made a 3/8 inch border and had a hard time keeping it even. So, I took the binding and marked with a sharp chalk pencil the 3/8 inch seamline all along the binding! That took about 45 minutes BUT I was able to sew it on evenly.

My prescription cheater glasses aren't as strong as they need to be anymore, so I put over them another pair of cheap drugstore magnifiers. I look silly but it works! I hope your new bionic eye will help you in sewing straight!

Kathy

Thanks Kathy. I had forgotten how big it is and how difficult it is to get a good photo of it. I have my binding ready to go now and I just have to make myself actually do it. I think I am procrastinating now because I am afraid that I will mess it up. I can't wait to see yours too.

Rita, definitely 495 inches would be more than enough to bind this baby! I used the Beloved Beauties kit with margo's instructions about setting aside a piece for the binding. I did use some of that for my long borders, so went into the leftovers and made a strip about 380 inches long. I did have plenty left over after sewing the binding on. Right now, I am almost 3/4 of the way around it! My quilt group was pretty wowed by the quilt, I imagine that yours is beautiful with your own color choices. I'm really looking forward to seeing yours finished.
Kathy

Thanks 2L!!

Thanks Michelle. Between you and Margo I am well on the way now. I will post photos when I am done.

Just FYI... here's how I use the formula that Margo outlined above:

Measure the length and width of the quilt.
Add those two measurements together and multiply by 2 (0r just measure all 4 sides and add together).
Then add 20" to that number (for the corners and ending seam).

Then that total number divided by 40" (I use 40" not 42" as a cushion because some fabrics are getting quite narrow!)
Round up that resulting number to give you the number of strips you need to cut.

Then multiply the number of strips you need by the width of your preferred binding (in your case 2 1/4") to get how much yardage you'll need.
Round that up also, to allow for edge straitening, mistake cuts, and leftovers.

This is really the same as Margo's except I like to add 20" rather than 10" and I use 40" rather than 42". I know it seems a bit complicated, but if you just do the three steps in order, it works every time!

Can't wait to see your Ruffled Roses Rita!!

Rita, it sounds like you have plenty of fabric for your binding.

And I luv the threat of using the nice plaids in a quilt!

Thanks Margo. I had set aside a piece of fabric for the binding which was 56" wide by 1 1/2yards. Then I forgot what I had set it aside for and used some of it as the border for a baby quilt. Fortunately I still have 22" left. It is pretty straight so I don't think that I will run out. I reckon I can get 9 strips out of that. So 9 x 55" = 495" - I think that should be enough? Thanks for your help.

My 'ruffled roses' quilt is a scrappy quilt - as are most of my quilts! I found myself yesterday unpicking the seams in a check shirt of my sons that doesn't fit him anymore. It was a nice purple and white check and it had lovely small purple buttons too! Nothing is safe - my daughter has learned to put her clothes away instead of leaving them lying on the floor, she went through a phase of buying plaid and check clothing. She has been warned that they would make very interesting quilt patches