I was talking with Sandra from the Cresco Ladies group the other day and she said that she was working on binding a big pile of quilts. We got to talking and I asked her if she ever bound quilts by machine. She doesn’t. Then she went on to say that often tacking down the binding on a quilt might take 4-5 hours. Oh my. I heard that and then offered that I would finish a few for them.
Sandra said no…then her husband got sick and she gave in and said yes as the ladies are trying to reach a big goal to give away something crazy like 100 quilts.
What many of you don’t know is that besides all of the tops the Cresco ladies made donate here, they make and FINISH many more quilts. They have Donna that does a lot of the longarming for them to meet the local needs of the group. WOW right. If you are a long-term blog reader you know those ladies are cranking out quilt tops right and left…now imagine you’re only seeing a portion of what they are doing!!
Here are the quilts they made…my only contribution was to sew the binding down. I’m guessing this one is one of those 3-yard quilts. The premise of them is to take 3- 1 yard fabric cuts and make a top.
This one is so cute. Check out the puppy print.
Another cute dog print made the backing.
Next up…
A celebration of half square triangles…and a couple of four patches.
See the four patch sprinkled into the mix.
I’m not positive but I think this might have originated from a blog reader’s leftovers. Does anyone recognize the pieces?
This one was pretty…I love this block.
Here is the backing…
…and a close-up of the top.
This is a fun one…maybe from orphan blocks? Maybe not. It turned out cute!
They put a scrappy binding on this one.
Next is a cute heart-themed quilt. The gals love working with panels. I sure love how this came together. Sandra said that she is often the one that works with the panels.
Donna used a big heart motif on the quilting.
Here is a better look at that.
I wonder if this next one is a 3-yard quilt as well.
The interlocking blocks are fun.
The last of the bunch is this one. I got a lot of Asian-style fabrics come in and I passed them on to the girls. I wonder if that is what inspired this top.
This design is a great use of the panel…
It was fun to be a part of these tops. I told Sandra that from now on I’ll take a few of the quilts and finish the binding on them if she wanted me to. I can’t imagine sitting for 4-5 hours stitching the binding down on one quilt. Sandra stitched the binding down the first time so all I needed to do was tack it down. That is doable. I sewed the binding down on all of these in 2 1/2 hours and that was doing it at a very leisurely pace.
So there you have it…Again, can you believe the ladies make and finish more tops than the ones you regularly see?? They are busy ladies doing much good in the world! I am so glad I’ve gotten to know them.
Hooray for the Cresco ladies!
Yes those ladies need to learn how to do binding the sewing machine . That’s
How I do most of my throws, donation quilts , wall hanging, panels . They definitely need a lesson …it will turn their binding quilts to a quicker way .
That is fantastic! I doubt any of us knew the full extent of what they are accomplishing. Thanks for sharing such an encouraging post!
Wow, what an amazing group of ladies, wonderful quilts and such an inspiration.
I agree with you. They are working wonders.
They are quilting angels! Lots of work and love go into each quilt. Thanks for sharing.
Their output is Amazing!!
I went to putting binding on by machine and love it! I think I do it different than you do- I sew the binding onto the back then bring it over to the front and stitch next to the edge to sew it down. Yes it does make an extra line of stitching on the back but I figure that’s ok considering the time I’m saving! I’m not making heirlooms, either charity quilts or quilts made to be used.
I do the same thing Karen! Depending on the quilt I will sometimes use a fancier stitch for the final stitching!
I’m always amazed at their quilts and now to find out they make even more than what I thought is !!!!
Hooray for the Cresco Ladies.
Awesome batch of quilts from an AMAZING group of quilters, Jo! SEW sweet of you to finish up the binding for Sandra. Sending healing thoughts for her hubby!
I love your u tube binding video. I know it isn’t for everyone but with a little practice I am loving it. I love love the oriental top.
For that third one down. Take equal amount of two fabrics. (I’m always trying to make things easier). Cut ten” squares out of each fabric but also cut 1 1/2″ strips out of each fabric. Haven’t figure out how many yet so just go along a few at a time. Sew 1 1/2″ strips around each ten inch square. (start with two alternating).
Then cut each finished blocks into 4 sections. Alternate sewing them together!
These ladies are so creative in their use of blocks. I love the panel quilts. Just the inspiration I need to get going on some of mine.
Amazing output from the creative Cresco ladies! I love their use and placement of color–always attractive.
So lucky to have a longarmer like Donna, yeah!! Good luck meeting your goal–I know you ladies will make it happen.
The top with the interlocking blocks is indeed a 3 Yard quilt pattern. I just finished one myself.
I enjoy stitching the bindings down by hand. I do that in the evening when watching tv with my husband but have done them by machine when making kids quilts for community service knowing they will be laundered frequently, etc.
Those ladies are amazing in both their dedication and their huge number of completed quilts!
I enjoy finishing my quilts by hand, but for baby quilts, I use the flanged or piped binding method. I want them to stand up to weekly laundering. I cut one strip of binding at 1-1/4” and one of a coordinating fabric at 1-1/2”. Sew them along the long edges. Press in half. Sew on the back of the quilt with the narrower fabric against the back of the quilt. Flip to the front and stitch in the ditch of the seam of the two binding strips. Looks very tidy from both sides. A very sweet follow shopper taught me this on one of my very first quilts when I went in to search for backing and binding.
Someone else told me they learned it watching a Missouri Star Quilt Co video.
Thanks for sharing. I am going to try this method.
Beautiful quilts! Those ladies are whiz quilt makers. So glad you could help them and sorry her husband was sick.
Great projects ladies I. Cresco
Yes Donna your quilting is perfect
There is going to be many happy people receiving these lovely quilts.
What a generous bunch of women!!! WOW!
Absolute art
Are you ladies from Cresco,Iowa? :) My parents and 2 siblings were born there!! I have ALOT of happy memories of that town and still have relatives there as well as other towns in the state.
Yes, the Cresco Ladies are from Cresco Iowa.
Oops, I was so excited about Cresco that I forgot to mention how nice the quilts are!! It’s wonderful that you are giving them away!! GBU
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