As part of the BlogHer shenanigans in New York City last weekend, the kind folks at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia held a cocktail reception for a few hundred bloggers and Martha fans. I piled into a taxi with my new pals Unlikely Mama and Working Mom Fence and headed off to the MSLO building.

Having just pressed a quilt top for one of my bee quilts, I know that this seam-flattening trick isn’t well-known. If you’ve ever sewn a four-patch and always pressed to the dark side in both steps, you know how quickly that seam gets bulky. The 5 layers of fabric can turn into a hard nub that will break needles when you try to quilt over it later. I had a look around online and while there’s one or two references to this trick, there are not many clear photos to show the beauty of it. This works for 4-patches, 9 patches and anywhere you’re joining a whack of squares where you don’t want a bulky seam allowance.)

A few weeks ago Bestitched mentioned an exchange she had with a coworker about a handknit skirt she was wearing. The coworker sneered something along the lines of, “aren’t you just the sweetest in your homemade clothes.”

You know how it seems like it’s been FOREVER since I posted about knitting? I mean, really really posted about knitting? Not just a swatch or a stash enhancement? Truth is, I’ve been knitting. A tonne. And I’ve been working with designers. And patterns. And tech editors. And the inimitable Stitchy McYarnpants.
Behold, Knitting it Old School!
It’s up for pre-order on Amazon now, so we can finally let the cat outta the bag. Lookit! Lookit!

Stitchy and I made a book! And it’s GORGEOUS.
I’ll end up gushing about it a lot over the …

And heaven was in Port Ludlow, WA.

You know how Stephanie and Tina have been organizing those knitting retreats in Port Ludlow? Ok, maybe you didn’t know, so I’ll tell you now. They planned an entire weekend for 45 of us to learn about silk. Knitting, dyeing and spinning with silk. Three glorious days on the Olympic Peninsula. We had the entire hotel to ourselves. It was ah-may-zing.

As if I didn’t have enough projects on the go for summer, I’ve jumped in feet first to one of JulieFrick’s crazy schemes. 60 Blocks of Summer. The basic idea is to sew 60 quilting blocks over the course of the next few months. Actually, that’s not just the basic idea, that IS the idea. Starting now, ending September 3rd.

As soon as I got back from Vegas, I had just enough time to finish all the laundry before I started packing again. This time off to Michigan. Middle of Nowhere, Michigan in fact. Well, technically we were in Grayling, but it’s mostly all farm and fishing country.

Remember how I went to Philly that time? And then the girls came to Boston? And then we went to DC? We did that, except we rented a giant fishing lodge for the Memorial Day weekend. Just three nights for 8 of us, …

It has been a busy month for travel around here. Last month I zipped out to Vegas for a couple days to loaf with The Husband after he finished up at a conference. In what is fast becoming tradition, we hit a few of our favourite spots.

For the basics of getting started and working out how to sew the strips on, Heather Bailey has a fantastic primer. She really nails it. What I’ve found though is that there aren’t many resources for how to hand sew and finish the binding. Most of the tutorials I’ve found simply say, “tack down the loose edge.” I wanted specifics! And I wanted them on a site that wasn’t all 90′s web design style with flashing clip art and calico prints (not to mention the animated cats.) So I made my own with photos and hopefully this helps somebody else out.