Learning something new

I really love our monthly "Sit & Sew" at tirane's house. A chance to get with my BFF's and sew and chat and get some sewing done. The last few months I'd been so tired by the time the Saturday would get here, I felt too tired to lug my sewing machine and stuff over that I just took some scraps and my cutting board and cut. (I still have those baggies organized and they are for projects later this summer.)

This past Saturday I conquered another fear. I learned how to bind by hand! I walked in carrying nothing but a couple of books I owed Beth and tirane wondered where my stuff was to work on. I said "Your gonna teach me how to bind". Several months ago I'd taken some ghastly fabric and made it into a charity quilt and she had quilted it and set it aside. We pulled it out and after a quick lesson I started sewing. Here is a picture of my chubby fingers working away...

When I first started the stitches looked awful, but by the time I got to the middle of the second side, you couldn't even see them. She had to show me how to do the first corner (the one in the picture) but after I did the 2nd corner by myself I sat there with a big smile on my face.

My hands were pretty sore and other things called my name the rest of the weekend, but I'll get that binding finished in the next day or 2 and show you the end result.

I'd been paying her to bind my stuff but now I can do it myself! Well, at least the stuff I can fold over and bind. A lesson on sewing on bindings is still to come.

Why was I so afraid of doing this? I think back to when I first started quilting. I was scared to death of paper piecing. It was several years before I was ready to try it and now I'm addicted to it.

I've been afraid of binding, curved piecing, and applique. I'm not going to let it take another couple of years to get over curved piecing cause there's a pattern I really want to try sometime later this year but I'm still not sure about applique. Maybe if the right pattern called to me.

Are there quilting techniques that you've been or are afraid of? What's stopping YOU?