Custom Quilting Progress on the 1984 Sampler Quilt

Good morning and Happy Thursday!  I've been making progress with the custom quilting on my friend's circa 1984 sampler quilt.  There are certain editing tools and features in Q-Matic (the computer robotics package that enables me to quilt digitally with my Bernina Q24 long arm machine) that don't get used in edge-to-edge quilting, and I'm learning more about how to use them to size and skew digital quilting designs to fit inside the imperfect shapes of patchwork pieced by humans.  My friend Marybeth is being extremely patient; I think I've had this quilt in my possession for six months at least, and most of that time I've been procrastinating and agonizing and catastrophizing about all of the ways I might mess it up...  But I'm feeling better about it now and I think it's going to look pretty good when it comes off the frame and I can see it as a whole instead of zooming in on every little imperfection.

Digital Block Design with Digital Sashing Design

I'm trying to balance out the different types of quilting throughout the quilt.  I think I have maybe three blocks like the one above where I've stitched one digital design across the entire block.  That can be quite lovely when it's a good pairing between the quilting design and the patchwork.  I did stitch in the ditch quilting in the patchwork seams prior to stitching the block design but some quilters would choose to just do the block design to save time (and to save money, if someone was paying for the custom quilting).

P2P Triangle Design with Separate Digital Motif in Block Center

In the block above, I quilted a P2P (Point to Point) digital design one at a time in each of the red print triangles.  Then I quilted a separate digital design in the center of the block.  I'll go back later and quilt the red and blue solid patches, probably straight line quilting with rulers.  I'm learning (belatedly!) that it's more efficient to do all of one type of quilting throughout the quilt before moving on to a different type of quilting.  When I started working on this quilt I knew enough to do all of my basting and SID (Stitch In the Ditch quilting along all the seam lines) throughout the entire quilt before rolling back up to the top of the quilt to start on the fun quilting that actually shows, but then I tried to quilt one row completely (digital designs, ruler work, free motion quilting, multiple thread color changes etc) before moving on to the next row.  

FrankenWhiggish Setting Options: To Further Complicate, Or To Finish In This Lifetime?

Hello, Quilting Friends, and Happy Thanksgiving weekend to those of you in the United States!  In between the cooking and the baking and the holiday decorating of the past few days, I've been spending an inordinate amount of time in my EQ8 quilting design software, exploring my options for the Frankenwhiggish Rose hand stitched needle turn appliqué blocks that I started in March of 2014 (you'll find that post from nearly a decade ago here).  

At this point, all that stands between me and the end of making the nine identical Whig Rose appliqué blocks is 48 broderie perse rosebuds and 96 fussy-cut stuffed berries.  However, I remain undecided about what I'm going to do with those nine blocks once they are finished.  I have tried out so many options in EQ8, each one more complicated than the last:

70 x 70 On-Point with Mariner's Compass and Pieced Setting Triangles

In the EQ8 rendering above, I've just duplicated a photo of one finished appliqué block and the EQ8 software lets me see how all nine appliqué blocks will look together when they are finished, combined with any combination of thousands of other blocks, borders, sashings, etc.  It's one of my favorite ways to use EQ8 software, and although designing on the computer can suck up a lot of time, every 10 minutes trying something out on the computer saves me weeks/months/years of cutting up fabric, sewing it together, putting it all together on the wall and then hating what it looks like!  So in this version of the quilt, I'd be making four mariner's compass blocks using scraps of my applique block fabrics mixed with other fabric scraps from the same color family and style.  The centers of the mariner's compass blocks could even be the birds from my Vervain Monado-Havana fabric, the luxe drapery fabric I've been chopping up for my broderie perse rosebuds.  Although the mariner's compass blocks look complicated, the EQ8 software lets me print out foundation paper piecing templates in exactly the right size for my quilt, directly onto newsprint paper (I get mine on Amazon here; this post contains affiliate links), which makes it so easy to get sharp, crisp, perfect points.  I'd appliqué the center circle to each compass.  As of right now, I like the way the pieced setting triangles create an illusion of scallop curves to frame the body of the quilt, but they feel a little heavy -- might reduce the scale and use smaller strips and squares for those so as not to overpower the dainty rosebuds and berries.  

But how nice it would be to just be FINISHED with this already once I have the blocks done?  This quilt, like the 8-year skirt project I finished a couple weeks ago, really has no purpose other than educational.  I wanted to try needle turn appliqué, and I know how to do it now, so it's a "win" for me already and I'd like to move on to something else!  So this is the other, simpler option I'm considering:

Keeping It Simple, 66 x 66 Straight Set with Harlequin Border

In this version, I trim my appliqué blocks to finish at 16" square and set them straight with a harlequin border and little X corner blocks to repeat the X shape of the tulip stems in the appliqué blocks.  Then I've slapped on a 6" wide plain outer border, for feather quilting or whatever.

Note To Self: There Are No Magical Border Elves Who Finish Quilts While You Are Sleeping

Oh my gosh, y'all -- I would so much rather be making blocks for a new quilt rather than putting seven borders on this WIP (Work In Progress) project that I've been puttering around with for the past six(!) years!  When I came up with this bright idea of Mork's rainbow suspenders for a quilt border, I was only thinking about how cool it would look and not thinking at all about actually having to go to all of this bother at the tail end of the project when I just want to be DONE with it already!  I procrastinated cutting the border strips after I cut the black inner border a couple months ago -- swiftly remembering how much I hate cutting long lengthwise strips for a big bed quilt.  Well, I finally cut them all and have been piecing them together and attaching them to my Retro '80s Building Blocks sampler.  This is where I left off last night, with only the final purple border strips waiting to be attached:

Only One More Border to Go!

First, I'd joined the Kona Lipstick and Kona Black borders together, pressing the seam allowance towards the black on the top and bottom strips and towards the red on the left and right side strips.  That way, the seams nested and locked together nicely when I mitered the red+black border corners.

Trying to Keep Organized...

Then the next four colors were strip pieced together to apply as a single border: Kona Tangerine, Kona Grellow, Kona Peridot, and Kona Ocean.  

Nanu Nanu! Borders Are In Progress for My Retro '80s Building Blocks Sampler

Y'all, PROGRESS IS HAPPENING on my Retro '80s Building Blocks quilt!  I foundation paper pieced my 6" border corner blocks yesterday:

6 inch Border Corner Blocks Completed

The fabrics in my corner blocks are Kona Cotton 1019 BLACK,  Kona Cotton 146 GLACIER, Kona Cotton 25 OCEAN, Kona Cotton 317 PERIDOT, Kona Cotton 476 GRELLOW, and Kona Cotton 1370 TANGERINE (By the way, this post contains affiliate links.  If you scroll all the way to the bottom, I've got links to where you can find every single fabric that I used in this quilt).  

Meanwhile, I've finally sewn the interior blocks of this quilt together.  (At which point a little devil on my shoulder whispers "You could be done with this now, if you skipped the borders..."). Begone, Devil!  Without the borders, the quilt would be too small to fit the bed!  😤

Here it is, draped (sideways) over my longarm frame for measuring:

Quilt Top Sewn Together, Sans Borders

I always take border measurements through the vertical and horizontal centers of the quilt top rather than at the edges, and that bar on my 13' long arm frame comes in handy for measuring.  It's a lot longer than my cutting table.

Backing Seamed, Borders In Progress, and a Mismatched Pattern Lament

First of all, I want to thank those of you who reached out to me with words of encouragement, commiseration, empathy, and scripture after my last dispirited post.  As burdensome as this forced isolation is, it would be so much worse without technology and the Internet as a lifeline of connection.  I love all of you so much!

Spirit Song Quilt Top on Wall, Backing Fabric on Ironing Board

Okay, so I only actually sewed ONE seam on Monday, but at least it's something that is crossed off the list now, right?  It took me over an hour to clear off everything from my cutting table, finding homes for everything rather than just shifting piles from one surface to another.  Then I had to change my needle, wind a bobbin, thread the machine with matching thread, tear my fabric edges along the grain line, snip and tear at the center point, press both lengths of fabric, pin them together, sew the seam, and then press the seam open.  Whew!!  Just TYPING all of that is exhausting!  ;-)

I Sewed a Seam Yesterday!

You who know be best will understand that it PAINS ME to post this photo on the Internet, flaunting the mismatched pattern repeat for all the world to see.  Am I doing this as an exercise in humility, or as an act of self-flagellation?  Either way, it had to be done -- I have nothing else to show for myself, and no one wants to read a rambling blog post without any pictures!

See? I AM Perfectly Capable of Pattern Matching!

I know the lighting is awful in that photo, but there is a vertical seam running straight down the center of the photo that you can only see because the seam allowance creates a white "stripe" where the dark table doesn't show through.  I would have loved to be able to match the pattern like that on my quilt backing, even though I would have had to purchase additional fabric and even though it would have taken me more time.  Note to quilting fabric manufacturers: I love your beautiful fabrics, but I wish you guys were better about ensuring that large scale repeats could be matched just within the selvages, and I wish you published the horizontal and vertical repeats for your prints the way home dec fabric manufacturers do.  The drapery fabric shown above is a 54" wide drapery weight linen from Robert Allen (Eleria pattern in Graphite, but this project was 7 years ago so the fabric may be discontinued by now).  The large scale print has a horizontal repeat of 54" (the full fabric width) and a 27 3/4" vertical repeat that matches up approximately 1/2" to 3/4" inside the selvages, and that's typical for home dec fabrics marketed for interior design use.  So, because the repeat information is on the memo samples, web site, and every fabric bolt, you (or your interior designer/workroom) can easily calculate how much additional yardage needs to be purchased in order to match up every seam perfectly like the one in the photo above.  

Yes, There Are Two vertical Seams in This Window Treatment

Even with the variety of extra-wide quilt backing fabrics that we have today, I still find myself frequently falling in love with a 44" wide fabric print for a quilt backing.  

In Flight, color Indigo, from Free Spirit Fabrics

With this particular fabric (pattern "In Flight," color Indigo, from Murmur collection by Valori Wells for Free Spirit Fabrics, available from various etsy sellers here), I believe I'd have lost a good 10-12" of fabric width if I'd brought that seam all the way in to where the patterns would match, and of course I would have needed additional yardage to do that, too, which I did not remember when purchasing the fabric...  It might have been possible for me to achieve a pattern match with this fabric if I'd purchased additional yardage, but the entire state of North Carolina is under lockdown now due to COVID-19 and our governor and health officials do not understand that stores that sell fabric are essential businesses supporting the mental health of quilters!  And so, we make do.  I know; it's just the backing, but for the hundreds of hours that go into designing and crafting a quilt, I really would like to be able to match my patterns on my backing seams!  So: 

NOTE TO SELF FOR NEXT TIME: When considering a large scale print backing fabric, VERIFY & MEASURE PATTERN REPEAT AT THE QUILT SHOP and increase yardage to accommodate pattern matching!

That's a note to quilt shops as well, by the way.  If shop associates who are working at your cutting table ask customers what their intended use is for large scale patterned fabric and offer to help calculate how much extra would be needed to match the pattern repeat for a quilt backing, it's a win-win.  Happy customer with invisible pattern matched seam on the back of his or her quilt, and happy shop that is selling more fabric!  Whatever -- it's done, it's nice and flat and square, measuring 94" x 87" so it's plenty big enough for my Spirit Song quilt top, and it's ready to load on my longarm frame.  

And so I moved on to my borders.  The 1" FW (finished width) inner border for this quilt is from the same fabric collection (Dots in Blue, Murmur Collection by Valori Wells for Free Spirit Fabrics, available from Etsy sellers here).  

Dots in Blue, Free Spirit Fabrics

As you can see, this fabric has dots arranged in a subtle stripe pattern that runs parallel to the selvages.  I briefly considered cutting my borders on the cross grain to display the striped effect, but decided that my quilt top had enough going on already.  And so, to avoid that blue stripe from showing up randomly in one or two borders but not in all of them, I cut the lengthwise borders one at a time, single layer, avoiding the area where the dots are spaced farther apart.  

1.5 Inch CW Blue Borders and 5 Inch CW Floral Borders

The wider outer border fabric went faster, since I was able to cut those strips with the fabric folded and let the blossoms land wherever they wanted.  That's another one from Free Spirit Fabrics, by the way -- they seem to be my current favorite quilt fabric company!

Painted Daisy in Magenta, Kaffe Fassett Collective for Free Spirit Fabrics

In case you're as smitten with this fabric as I am, I should warn you that it's an older, non-reorderable pattern.  However, as of this writing there are some Etsy sellers who still have some Painted Daisy fabric here.  

First Border Pinned, Ready to Stitch!

So far I've attached two of the skinny blue borders to the long sides of my quilt.  Hopefully today I will get ALL of the remaining borders sewn to the quilt top, and maybe even get Spirit Song loaded on the longarm frame!  

SEW...  Time to revisit last week's sewing goals:

Last Week's To-Do List for March 25-31

1. Procure batting for my Spirit Song quilt
2. Add borders to Spirit Song to complete quilt top.
3. Piece Spirit Song backing
4. Make Spirit Song binding and set aside
5. Load SOMETHING on my frame -- either a practice piece, a charity top, or the Spirit Song quilt -- and START QUILTING!

Well, I accomplished two out of five and the third is in progress.  Looking at that list again today, I realize that I should have put down "Clean up studio, clear off cutting table" on the list as well, because that needed to be done before I could accurately measure, cut, or pin large pieces of fabric and I always underestimate how long those "housekeeping" tasks will take.  Getting my workspace organized and set up for what I want to do next should definitely count towards productivity, don't you think?  With that in mind, here's what I hope to accomplish in the studio this week:

Tuesday's To-Do List (on Wednesday!) for April 1-7

1. Attach remaining borders to Spirit Song to complete quilt top
2. Set up longarm machine for quilting: Clean and oil machine, new size 3.5 needle, thread with monofilament in needle and either So Fine or Bottom Line in the bobbin.  Test tension and do some "warmup practice stitching" 
3. Load Spirit Song on longarm frame
4. Begin SID (Stitch In the Ditch) quilting with monofilament thread

And of course, my One Monthly Goal for April is to get Spirit Song completely quilted!  If I could have it labeled and bound by the end of the month, too, that would just be the icing on the cake.  Wish me luck!

I'm linking today's post with:

·       One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts: Elm Street Quilts  

·       Colour and Inspiration Tuesday at Clever Chameleon

·       To-Do Tuesday at Home Sewn By Us

·       Let’s Do Some Ruler Work at The Quilt Yarn

·       Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

·       Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

·       Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation  

(I'm not actually linking up with the Ruler Work linky today, just visiting the other links since I didn't quite get to any ruler quilting yet.  But I'll be visiting the other link partiers for inspiration, and hope to link up some ruler quilting later this week since Karen's link party runs for a full week).

Stay home, stay safe, and HAPPY STITCHING!

Border Fabrics for Spirit Song!

Well, I haven't stocked up properly on hand sanitizer or toilet paper, but I did make it to the quilt shop yesterday to select borders and backing fabric for my Spirit Song quilt!

Borders, Binding, and Backing Fabrics for Spirit Song Quilt

The blue print with flowers and birds (at the top of the photo) is for the backing.  The blue-on-blue spotted fabric will be for a narrow inner border, and the glorious pink, purple and orange Kaffe Fassett floral print is for a wider outer border.  That rainbow sherbet kind of batik that you see a sliver of along the left side of the photo is from my stash, and I'll be using it for the binding.  I even remembered to pick out a blending shade of 50/3 cotton thread for hand stitching the binding, which I usually forget until it's time to stitch the binding on a Sunday afternoon, the quilt shops are closed, and I don't have the right color.  Success!  Picking out the fabrics is my FAVORITE part of quilting.''

First Two Rows Sewn Together

I did get the first two rows of this quilt sewn together earlier in the week, and it was fun to see that secondary design emerge, crisp and clean, when I pressed the seam.  HOWEVER, upon closer inspection:

This Needs To Be Fixed!

HORROR OF HORRORS!!  Those two seam allowances are crisply pressed in opposite directions and YES, I pinned on both sides of the seam intersection, but I must not have had the two seams butted up against one another tightly when I pinned them.  I know that a lot of people would call that good enough, and I know that it wouldn't be glaringly obvious in the finished quilt.  I also know that I'm going to rip that bit out, repin, and restitch it because I absolutely cannot live with it like that, not after all the pains I went through to get the blue triangle points as close to perfection as humanly possible!  

That's actually what prompted me to take a field trip to the quilt shop, because I knew I would regret it if I left that mismatched seam alone, but I didn't have the heart to rip it out right then and there.  I was TIRED.  But now, after picking out the border fabrics, I'm feeling more motivated to get back in there with my seam ripper and get this fixed.

By the way, my border fabric is ANCIENT -- from the Philip Jacobs for Kaffe Fassett Collective back in 2012 -- and it was still full price.  Also I left ONE yard on the bolt, so hopefully my brain was paying attention when I calculated cut lengths for my borders.  The quilt shop does not have enough yardage to give me border-length cuts, and it's not a current fabric anymore.  I did find someone on Etsy who has two yards of it left, though.

Painted Daisy Magenta from Free Spirit Fabrics circa 2012

Anyway, I'm slightly annoyed that this discontinued fabric was being sold at regular price, but not because I wanted a discount.  No, I'm annoyed because leaving the bolt in with the current Kaffe Fassett offerings led me to assume that this was a current fabric, too.  When a fabric is current, you know the shop is probably going to get more in, or another shop will have it if you find yourself short.  I would have purchased the whole bolt if I knew that it was an 8-year-old pattern that I can't get more of easily!  This one reminds me of another early Kaffe Fassett Collective fabric by Philip Jacobs that I fell in love with and can't get more of, Iris and Peony.  I just really love those reds and purples together.

Iris and Peony in Red, Philip Jacobs for Kaffe Fassett, Sadly Discontinued

Incidentally, a quick search just turned up a few half yard and fat quarter pieces of this fabric on Etsy as well.  Of course the Etsy sellers have INCREASED the price of these "Hard to Find, Discontinued, Rare Early Prints" so I still got a bargain on my Painted Daisy fabric by paying the "regular" price for it!

In other excitement yesterday, Mister Puppy Wumpus dug up and chewed through a section of fiber optic cable in the back yard while I was enjoying my coffee on the deck, certain he was harmlessly digging up tree roots around a stump.  This is why I'm not getting any quilting done, people!  Puppies have to be watched CONSTANTLY, and by the time he falls asleep for a nap, I'm exhausted from chasing after him and I need a nap, too!

Spirit Song Quilt Progress and a Puppy Update

Look, you guys -- all of my Spirit Song Birds In the Air blocks are sewn together!  The top row of three 16" blocks are connected, and the remaining three rows have two blocks connected and one more block needing to be attached.  This phase is going MUCH more smoothly now that all of my seams are nestling nicely again, but alas -- my studio is not at all puppy-proofed, so I'm not getting in much machine sewing time these days!

Spirit Song Quilt Coming Along

I sewed and pressed exactly ONE seam this morning.  The rest of Sam's morning nap was taken up with laundry.  Hopefully I'll get back up to the Studio later today.  It's so exciting when a quilt top nears the finish line, isn't it?

Joining Blocks Into Rows

I've been piecing this quilt on my smaller Bernina 475QE while the bigger machine (the Bernina 750QE) has been set up for paper piecing.  I have a block all cut out, foundation papers printed, ready to go for Anders' Beware the Ishmaelites sampler, and had even pulled fabrics and printed foundation papers for a 16" star block for our guild's new Community Education Blocks on the Move program, but then so many guild members stepped up to create and donate blocks for the program that I now have more mini quilts for the display than fit on the display racks!  That takes the pressure off me to make one right this minute.  

Samwise at 4 Mos., AKA Mister Snuggle-Bucket

The adorable puppy you see pictured above weighs 49 pounds at 4 months old, and although he has learned to go UP the stairs from the first to the second floor of our home, he is afraid to come DOWN those stairs.  So every morning, my husband opens Sam's crate in our bedroom to get him out, and Sam sits in the back of the crate and won't come out until I get down on the floor next to the crate -- THEN he comes running out straight into my arms, tail wagging furiously, and plops down belly-up for cuddles and puppy kisses.  And then I have to CARRY THE 49 POUND PUPPY DOWN THE STAIRS so he can go outside and pee!  

I'll Be Strong 'Til the Finish if I Eats Me Spinach, Like Popeye the Sailor Man

I prefer my spinach served fresh in salads...  But I really do need to teach Sam to walk down those stairs on his own, before I fall and we BOTH get hurt!

Back to the quilting that is currently not getting done.  I still need fabric for borders:

Original Border Plan, 3/4 Inch Inner Border and 1.25 Inch Outer Border

I was originally planning something like that for the borders, kind of a mustardy outer border with a skinny teal blue inner border.  That would give me a 52" x 68" quilt top.  But then today I played around some more in EQ8:

One Inch Inner Border, Three Inch Outer Border

That's an Anna Maria Horner print for the outer border, I believe.  Increasing the borders to 1" for the inner and 3" for the outer border would bring the quilt top up to 56" x 72" before quilting.

My Favorite So Far.  Kaffe Fassett Border Fabrics

Of course, these are just fabric images in the computer, not actual yardage that I own.  I think I'm going to need to take the finished quilt top to a quilt shop and audition border fabrics in person to make a final decision.

My One Monthly Goal for March -- Quilt-wise -- is to get this top assembled with borders purchased and sewn on!  My One Monthly Goal for the puppy is to teach him to walk down the stairs before we both stumble and plummet to our deaths.  

I'm linking up todays post with:

·       One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts  

·       Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

·       Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

·       Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

·       BOMs Away Katie Mae Quilts  

·       Colour and Inspiration Tuesday at Clever Chameleon

·       To-Do Tuesday at Home Sewn By Us

·       Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

·       Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation  

Miscellaneous Musings On Borders, Backings and Bindings (Oh My!)

First off, I'm glad to report that my Pineapple Log Cabin quilt top is finally, FINALLY finished, a mere FIVE years after I started making it in June of 2014.  Unfortunately, I have no glorious "ta-da" photos to share because the quilt top is a massive 120" x 120" and, with all of those pieces (3,492 pieces not including border strips, but who's counting, right?) and three layers of fabric at every seam allowance, it weighs a ton.  I was concerned about the border fabric tearing from the weight of the quilt if I dragged my menfolk out to do a fancy photo shoot somewhere before the top gets layered and quilted.  So this is all you get today:

Pineapple Log Cabin Top is Finished!  120 x 120 with Borders

I am so, SO HAPPY with the my border choices.  That Kaffe Fassett floral print ties all of my scrappy strips together, just like I'd planned it all along.  

Here you can see the quilt top draped across my 12' APQS quilting frame:

This is What a 120 inch Quilt Looks Like On a 12 Foot Frame

This quilt was my catalyst for buying a longarm machine in the first place, the reason I ordered my APQS Millennium longarm machine with a 12' frame, and why I nearly went with a 14' frame instead.  My pineapple quilt top will fit, but just barely!  I got my binding strips all cut for this quilt and have purchased and prewashed the backing fabric.  

Backing and Binding for Pineapple Quilt

I just need to press my backing yardage, cut it into three widths, and seam it together...  But then it all gets folded and neatly hung in the guest closet.  I can't even think about quilting this until after Lars's graduation quilt is 100% finished, and that's not happening until I get back from my marathon of longarm quilting workshops with Lisa Calle and Judi Madsen at Spring Quilt Week in Paducah.

Speaking of Lars's Geese In Circles graduation quilt, it's coming along nicely, too.  I have 26 of the 48 flying geese arcs pieced, and I lucked out with the discovery of the PERFECT batik binding fabric in, of all places, my very own STASH!

Binding Fabric Discovered In My Fabric Stash!

Very excited about that discovery, because usually when I find the perfect fabric for a project in my stash, I don't have enough of it.  The half yard cut of this fabric was just enough to cut binding strips for Lars's XL Twin graduation quilt (72" x 96", sized for a college dorm mattress).    

While I was in Binding Mode, I also located an orangey-gold metallic fabric that I'd chosen to bind my Jingle quilt and cut that into strips.  This green swirly fabric is the intended backing fabric for that quilt, it's already been prewashed, so it just needs to be cut into lengths and seamed together before I can pack it away with the quilt top (Jingle needs custom quilting, so don't expect to see that one quilted right away, either).

Binding and Backing for Jingle Quilt

I made the jaunt to my not-quite-local quilt shop yesterday to select backing and binding fabric for the vintage quilt that I'm repairing and requilting for a friend, and I am really, really happy with what I came up with.  The challenges and objectives for this shopping trip were as follows:

• This quilt was originally backed and bound with a cheerful and hyper-bright, Day Glo MOD orange solid fabric that gave me a strong 1960s vibe, and tied with matching orange yarn

  

  Vintage 1960s Leather Jacket in Exact Same Shade as Original Backing and Binding Fabric

• The quilt's current owner is ready to part ways with the orange, but since the quilt's value is sentimental, I didn't want to introduce anything for the backing or binding that would substantially alter the color palette and make it seem less like the quilt that Grandma made
• Since the current owner likes to use this quilt as a picnic blanket for concerts in the park, I wanted a print backing fabric that wasn't too light in color so that minor grass stains or soiling wouldn't stand out as much.  The goal here is to prolong the life of the quilt by minimizing the frequency of laundering.
• I preferred a print backing fabric in case my quilting stitches and tension are not 100% perfect under magnification...  Print backings hide a multitude of sins, and if there's one thing I'm sure of during the season of Lent it's that I'm a wretched sinner!  ;-)
• The fabrics in the quilt top are severely faded from their original vibrant hues.  This is challenging because I want any new prints to complement the originals, but although '60s and '70s inspired prints about in today's quilt shops, those fabrics all have bright, saturated colors that would draw way too much attention to themselves.

Backing and Binding Fabrics for Vintage Quilt Project

Since the quilt top fabrics have been subjected to many washings over the years, I prewashed my new backing and binding fabrics in HOT water with regular laundry detergent.  I don't think any bleaching is necessary, though -- these fabrics already blend right in with the quilt top.  The purple fabric with the swirls is the backing fabric and the soft coral orange will be the binding, so there's some continuity with the original orange but now it's in a much smaller dose and more subdued.

Purple Backing Print, Coral Binding Print

Best of all, I found both of these fabrics at the back of the store in the sale section for 30% off.  When does THAT happen?!

So, it being Tuesday, let's set some goals.  Here's what I hope to accomplish in the next week:

• Finish piecing another 12 of the arced flying geese for Lars's graduation quilt (goal is 36 by week's end)
• Press, seam, and store backing fabric for the Pineapple and Jingle quilts
• Press and seam the vintage quilt backing and load it on the longarm frame
• Press and cut coral binding strips for the vintage quilt

I'd really like to get the quilt top off the wall, patched, and loaded onto the frame for quilting this week, too, but that would be an awful lot to bite off in one week and the graduation quilt is still my primary focus.

I'm linking today's post up with:

TUESDAY

·      Colour and Inspiration Tuesday at http://www.cleverchameleon.com.au

·       To-Do Tuesday at Stitch ALL the Things: http://stitchallthethings.com

WEDNESDAY

·      Midweek Makers at www.quiltfabrication.com/

·      WOW WIP on Wednesday at www.estheraliu.blogspot.com

THURSDAY

·      Needle and Thread Thursday at http://www.myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.com/  

FRIDAY

·      Finish It Up Friday at http://www.sillymamaquilts.com

·      Whoop Whoop Fridays at www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com

·      Finished Or Not Friday at http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/