{Post 1,234} Quilting Finished...On To Binding!

I have just enough of the backing fabric (a favorite navy Moda with little stars with blue dots in the center) for binding.  It's what's left on the sides and the end of the quilt.  I am going to do the back to front all by machine style.  

That will have to wait a couple weeks though.  We are making a trip to Florida to celebrate our anniversary with our daughter, whose anniversary is on the same day as ours.  Twenty-five years for us, and two for her :)

Then we are hosting a family for 5 days.  I might be able to squeeze binding time in there somewhere.  You know I'll try!

It was hard to get a picture of the quilting.  I used a light blue thread, and it was such a good choice!  It blended very well.  I like the quilting pattern and can picture using this one in various scale often in the future.  It feels so good to have another pattern in my very limited arsenal!!

{Post 1,233} Some Center Quilting

{Post 1,232} Quilting Underway on Shirts Abound

After much practice yesterday (OK, not all that much) on paper, I am attempting the swirl pattern.  I have learned what NOT to do...not if I can just remember to NOT do it!  Here is a sample of what I'm doing.  I took the picture with my hand there so you can see how LARGE and scale of the pattern is!  Light blue thread seemed the best match for the myriad of colors on the top.  I used the same thread in the bobbin although the backing fabric is navy blue (I had one 2" wide piece left on the bolt after piecing the back...whew!).  I can't take the pressure of making sure the thread tension is perfect so I don't get dots on the opposite side of that color thread.  This is FLYING along!

Incidentally, this is only one of two places where the exact same light border fabric is on both sides of the dark plaid center.  I have a lot of freckles, and here they are in living color:

{Post 1,231} Shirts Abound Top Finished

I finished the Shirts Abound top this morning.  I am going to use a new quilting design on it...I just need to learn it first!  I will be drawing and drawing and drawing until it comes easily.  It's a simple swirl pattern.  

The borders were easy, but I'm not sure I love them.  The center is so busy that this does make it calming, however.

It measures 73-1/2" x 86-1/2".  I used one shirt for the inner strip of the border.  I didn't have enough for the HSTs in the corners, so I used a similar shirt.  I had to piece several lengths of the border shirt to have enough length.  Just odd-shaped small pieces left over.  Into the string bin they go!

{Post 1,230} Fix Underway

After some momentary grieving, I have a solution for my Shirts Abound quilt top.  I am going to borrow a border from another quilt in Bonnie's book that is not based on a pieced block border.  I think it's the Swing Your Partner quilt border.  It's just a pieced 3-1/2" wide light/medium border, a consistent one fabaric 3-1/2" wide border, then another 3-1/2" pieced strip border with special blocks in the corners.  I can do this.  Already cutting one shirt to make sure I have enough of it to make the pieced middle border before I start.  With errands and running here and there (not to mention laundry), I have only worked on it about 20 minutes this morning so far.  Hope to have a picture by tonight of some progress.

{Post 1,229} Shirts Abound Boo Boo

A near finish!  Here are my 20 blocks (80 units) for Shirts Abound:

Now for the boo boo...I was reading the pattern (for the first time, LOL) to see how big to cut the border squares.  Add 1/4" to piecing template.  WHAT??  I didn't do that.  That foils my plans to trade blocks with Ruth.  My blocks are OK because they are all the same size.  I'm disappointed, but this, too shall pass.  Eventually!

This picture shows both my design walls side by side.  The on the left has a thinner tablecloth on it, and it's obviously red.  These blocks really sparkle in person!  Each unit is 7-1/2" square, so it would measure about 56" x 71" before I add borders.