My second flannel quilt is finished

I have worked on this quilt for a couple of days and have now finished it!!  I have given it a green polyester/cotton backing and used a white polyester/cotton fabric as batting on the inside.  Due to a flaw in the green fabric I was unable to use my usual binding method of self binding because there was no extra that could be left.  I trimmed my quilt, batting and backing to the edge of the quilt and then investigated the process of using a sewn on binding.  My sister uses this method all the time and has found a good tutorial for it which you can find here at Craftsy.  I cut my binding 2.5" wide from my backing fabric scrap and used a quarter inch seam to attach it to my quilt before folding it over and stitching it from the front using the "stitch in the ditch" method.  She indicates that meticulous pinning brings more success in capturing the edge of the binding on the back side of the quilt.  I certainly agree.  I had about 5-6 areas on the back of the quilt where I failed to secure the binding.  

I handstitched them using a needle and thread to ensure a continuous line of stitches on the binding.  I will have to consider my options for next time.  This method provides a double layer of fabric on the binding which was not a problem with this fabric as it was a bit on the light side.  I am wondering if only one layer of the binding could be stitched to the front and then folded over and then stitched in the same manner.  I am also considering stitching on the binding instead of in the ditch on the front which would likely gain me better capture of the binding edge on the back of the quilt.  
This method yields a much narrower binding but still very neat and acceptable. My finished quilt measures 36" x 45" and has been ironed and folded.  It has joined the other two in waiting to find its way to its final home through the Linus Project.                       Therese

Christmas cards featuring a large Merry Christmas greeting, ribbon and glittery gift wrap backgrounds

Another set of Christmas cards for my stash using the same glittery pine cone gift wrap as I used for my last set.  These ones feature a large greeting I downloaded from Mom Junction which I sized, laser printed onto white cardstock and added a black line all the way around to give it some depth.  I watercoloured the  greeting and holly and then added some clear glitter in the stars and dots around the top, on the berries and all the way around the edges.  I added a strip of double sided tape on the right hand side and added short lengths of  coordinating ribbon then flagging their ends.  I mounted the trimmed backgrounds - glittery pine cone gift wrap which came wrapped around one of our gifts this past season - to red card fronts and then mounted the greetings to them using 3D foam tape.  As you can see I made a few angled a bit and two square and even.  I did these cards more assembly line style.  I did each step for all of them one at a time.  Trimmed all the images, added a black line to all of them, watercoloured them and then added ribbon to all of the greetings.  I glued all the backgrounds to the front and then mounted all the greetings to them.  It was easier to make them all the same when using this method of assembly.  Happy with these and they are headed for the bucket when they are finished being pressed.        Therese