Finishing essentials and boxy pouches...again?

I spent yesterday sewing with friends and got some quilt essentials finished. We all love making the tops, but sometimes the finishing bogs us down. Piecing the backing, quilting them, making and attaching the binding...wears you out just thinking about it, doesn't it? It's not that I hate that part, I just like making the tops better. When I quilt something it takes time, as I can only do about 3 - 4 passes at a time. ( I have a fussy back!) My machine is a mid arm so I can quilt about 6" -7" wide at a time. So if I can, I will quilt for a bit, do something else for awhile and then back to quilt. I hope to get close to finishing the quilting on the new sampler today. 

I need to finish the Off the Beaten Path baby quilt as I'm making it for my sister to give as a gift. I pieced the cute orange and white polka dot fabric for the backing and made the binding out of the Eric Carle print I had used for a border on the quilt yesterday. Ready to finish....it's up next on the quilting machine. 

 I haven't always quilted the samplers right away as it was easier to hang them unfinished on the walls at the store. I could leave them up for the duration of the classes (6 months) and have that visual every month during class. At my new location, I can't leave them hanging up, so I really wanted to get this new sampler quilted so that as take it back and forth to class, it doesn't get stretched or become a wrinkled up mess.

I made the binding for the new sampler yesterday too so I can bind it as soon as I finish the quilting. I need to get some good pictures of the finished quilt to advertise the class.

 When I finished that, I worked on a few Quilted Boxy Cornered Pouches. I really like making them and this time used a prequilted fabric. It goes much faster! I made 2 with the stripe on the outside and 1 with the blue paisley on the outside. These are so much fun to make and it's nice to have a few on hand for gifts.

Better get busy with that quilting!