There was a minor disaster to overcome when pressing the binding prior to stitching it to the back of the quilt. I say minor now, but at the time it was catastrophic. You see, my iron sputted RUST onto the pristine white of the quilt. I kid you not. I was using the steam function and upon lifting the iron found not one, not two, but three rust spots. I was livid! I called my mom for advice and then headed to google for answers. Sir Google advised me to soak the fabric in lemon juice and then let it dry in the sun. I soaked it in lemon juice but I wasn't willing to wait 24 hours and hope for a sunny day (plus wouldn't it freeze on my balcony? It's winter!). After rinsing, the rust remained so I diluted some bleach, dabbed at the spots and I am happy to report success. Phew! I know the bleach degrades the fabric but what other option did I have?! Plus, this is a wall hanging and won't see a lot of wear and tear so I think it will be okay in the long run.
Needless to say, I bought a new iron today. It's a Rowenta travel iron that got excellent reviews from quilters online. So far, so good.
I also ran into trouble with the binding. I'm lazy and therefore have opted to sew the binding on my machine for both of the quilts I have made to date. I have decided that I will probably be happier with my end product if I stitch the back of my binding by hand going forward. I ended up having to do a bit of hand stitching on this quilt in places where stitching in the ditch on the front didn't catch the back binding and while it's onerous, it does look nice.
I am also unhappy with my mitered corners. I'm not exactly sure where I went wrong here, but they are not beautiful. I briefly considered redoing the binding entirely, but that feels like too much work, plus I'm don't have any leftover green fabric so if anything went awry when ripping it out I'd be toast. Besides, I'm probably the only person who will be bothered by the less than perfect corners (I hope!).
great quilt
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