I've been on a bit of a binding roll lately. On Saturday I went to the monthly Stitch In day organised by my quilt club. I always like to have some hand work ready to take along, as it is difficult these days for me to take my sewing machine along. Binding fits the bill quite nicely. So my dinosaur quilt came for a ride, the binding all clipped up, ready to hand stitch down. I haven't quite finished all the machine quilting yet, but that doesn't matter, I can catch up with that at home, during the week.
Stitching black binding
It was quite a chilly day, so the heat pumps were going, we certainly needed them to warm the small hall up. Our stitch in days are nice and friendly, although there was only a small group of us there. One of our ladies always brings a batch of freshly baked muffins to share for morning tea. Tea and coffee is available and we all bring a packed lunch along. Someone else had brought along some mandarins from their tree to share at lunch time, so that was nice.
There was plenty going on, sewing machines were whizzing along, and several quilts were pinned up. Other binding was being stitched as well as mine, and some pretty cream on cream embroidery happening. It is always a nice, friendly day, with plenty of chatter going on.
Today, Sunday, is still cold, one of those cloudy still days where the sun doesn't come out and the temperature stays quite low. Thank goodness for the heat pump to warm up my small home. It is also the birthday of my late friend Merilyn, who passed away last year. We had been best friends forever, from school days. I can remember us as two young girls, sitting on the garden swing at her house. Growing and climbing up on the trellis behind the swing was a huge passionfruit vine, and we enjoyed eating passionfruit in season. We chopped off the top of those wrinkly fruit eating the delicious flesh with a tea spoon each, while sitting side by side on the swing. So delicious, like nothing I'd ever tasted before.
We always had plenty to talk about, but being young, we never ever contemplated the future, it was just the here and now for us. We didn't know that our friendship would last forever, that our final telephone conversation would be about our upcoming 80th birthdays, or that Merilyn would pass away suddenly just a few days later. She died five weeks before her 80th birthday.
12 comments:
I like to do binding on those stitch in days too. Unless it is a multi-day retreat, taking a machine and all the stuff that you need is a bit much for me too.
I'm in binding mode today too. Hoping for rain here in Ohio as I watch out the window. You have so many beautiful memories of your friends in heaven.
It sounds like you have wonderful memories of your friend Merilyn.
it is sad loosing friends isn't it. That is a good photo of the two of you
Stitching the binding down is so enjoyable. I love the photo of you and your friend Merilyn.
Happy Birthday to your friend, such a wonderful photo of the two of you and of course wonderful memories as well.
God bless.
Beautiful picture of you two. I’m sure you have many fond memories of time spent together. I have been taking hand stitching to our guild sewing days too. I will be hand quilting tomorrow.
Such warm memories of Merilyn. How blessed to have had such a special friend since childhood. It sounds like you had a lovely time at the quilt meeting. Binding is a good take along project. Enjoy your week.
Passionfruit, they are like gold !!! My Dad had a huge vine at the bottom of the path from our home to the cowshed, and I could see the empty ones where he had a feast on the way to milking!!!Lovely to always have some hand stitching handy.A lovely memory of you both.
Great idea to take along the binding on your group sewing day. Sounds like a lovely outing.
Very smart to have your binding ready to take with you. Yes, I find it hard to sometimes take my machine with me.
I love passionfruit! What a lovely way to remember your friend.
You made me smile, Jenny, saying you're "on a roll" with binding. I know some quiltmakers who DO roll their binding onto a spool in readiness for sewing onto a quilt. So, "on a roll" is quite an appropriate way to state it. How nice it is to sew with friends. I get to do that at least twice a month, in the two quilting guilds I'm in. Those days are my favorite, when I can chat and ask questions about what's going on in others' lives. I am sure those opportunities are what you miss about Merilyn. My sympathies.
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