Merry Christmas!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9:6-7

Wishing you a Blessed & Merry Christmas!

Oh, that Rascally Binding!

I have been busy sewing for Christmas like so many of you and here's a sneak peek. 

But I wanted to take a break and share a Tuesday Tip with you all that might take some of the #&%?!!! out of that final step in so many of our projects....Binding....

I've seen a number of clever tricks for keeping a length of binding neat while one is in the process of sewing it to a quilt. Some are quite attractive, like a vintage empty thread spool or an antique industrial spool.

Well, I've tried the empty spool and found it lacking.

I do not own an antique industrial spool but I do live in a community that has a substantial history in the weaving and cut-and-sew trades. I could probably find a fair number being offered in the various antique shops around the area.

I borrowed this photo from Vintage Chalet who borrowed it from MiaLucci and the original link is broken.

I think it would be a good solution if it sat on your right and you let the the binding unspool as you sew, but it also looks a bit pricey.

Here's my solution on the cheap.

I use a velcro cable tie that came with my Modem/Router. 

It keeps it neat from start to finish.

I wrap it with the soft side toward the fabric and I unwind sections and re-tighten as I go. One thing that makes a cable tie better than your standard velcro is that it tends to have a less aggressive hook and loop which is very gentle on the fabric.

I used to use a velcro cable tie that didn't have a ribbon tab and it worked quite well but this one is near perfection. Best of all it was sorta Free!

I know, there are probably a fair number of you who do the same thing, I just haven't ever seen it shared.

Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion on this solution. I'd love to hear if I've inspired you to try this, you've already been using it or if you have an even better technique.

Thanks for visiting!

Linking with:

Hope Studio"s Tutorial Tuesday.

Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday.

Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday. 

Sew Fresh Quilt's Let's Bee Social.

I have a Winner!

Announcing the winner of my first Giveaway:

Sam from Virginia!

She's a sews and reads.

A big THANKS to everyone who visited my little blog and left a message, followed me or shared my Giveaway with others. I really enjoyed reading about all the hobbies out there. By observation, it seemed like reading was number one and baking was a close second.  I also had a fair number of fellow bicyclist and runners. Then there were a number of interesting one-offs like fly fishing, sailing and horseback riding, to name a few. My heart is with the Mom's of young ones who are just lucky to squeeze in one pastime while they enjoy those special years with their little ones. I've been there.

Thank you to Sew Mama Sew for hosting the event.

On to my Christmas gift progress:

I finished the one quilt on my Christmas Gift list today. Here are some teaser photos to hold you over until I can get good photos. 

I will debut my new-to-me quilt stand with this photo shoot. My traditional guild purchased new stands and offered some of the old ones at $5.00 for a set of legs and $3 for a bar. I was an early taker because I am tired of the grime that always seems to get on my quilts when I use walls, fences and such. I usually do a heavily pieced back and it takes a full shot to show the detail of the larger scale piecing. I'm so excited to try it out.

Well, now that my big piece is done I am ready to get back to making the smaller presents on my list. I just downloaded a Noodlehead pattern today. 

Ya wanna guess which one?

Thanks for visiting!

PedalSewLightly's SewMamaSew Giveaway Day

Giveaway is now closed.

http://www.sewmamasew.com

I know I am a little late to the game but as a newbie on the blog circuit I didn't even know about the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day until yesterday.  I entered so many Giveaways yesterday that "I got blisters on my fingers!" Not really, but who can pass up the opportunity to use a good Beatles quote.

Well, I did some research on why there was so much bootie out there for grabs and found out that this was an open participation event. Even the little guys like me could join the fun!

So, here's my pile of goodies up for grabs:

1. A spool of Aurifil Mako 50wt in Light Beige.

2. A Charm Pack of RB Snapshots

3. A Charm Pack of RB La Creme Basics in Medium Creme Dots

4. A Fons & Porter 120" Quilter's Retractable Tape Measure

**Camera NOT included in Giveaway**

Entry Instructions:

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite non sewing or crafting hobby. (You may have noticed that mine is bicycling)

2. Follow PedalSewLightly on my Blog, IG or Pinterest and leave a comment telling me how you follow.

3. Share a link to my Giveaway by blog, tweet, IG, or FB and leave a comment telling me how you chose to share.

That gives you up to three entries.

Sorry, but this is a US-Shipping only offer.

This Giveaway will be open through Friday 12/12. The winner will be emailed by Sunday 12/14, and the package will be shipped by Tuesday 12/16.

Thanks for visiting!