Remember when I posted nearly a year ago about making a quilt? I had actually started it earlier that year in February, because my oldest son's birthday was February 21st. I got over-whelmed and side-tracked and never finished it... until today... 1 year and 3 days late.
I really, really would have loved to hand-quilt it, but that just wasn't going to happen --- not on a king size quilt! And then I really would have loved to machine quilt it, but again, that's wasn't going to happen either --- not with my little Pfaff Hobby 750. It's a workhorse alright, but a pony kind of workhorse, not a Clydesdale workhorse!
The pieced top ended up being about 108" square. I don't know how I came to determine that size. I think it just happened. I really didn't think it through, other than near the end when I realized I couldn't make it larger than the batting I had on hand. I was going to take off one row so it would be a rectangle instead of a square, but my husband didn't want me to do that, saying that if it was him he would rather have a quilt too big than to small. Okay. :)
In getting ready to tie the quilt, first I had to sandwich together: the pieced backing, the Warm & Natural cotton batting, and the pieced top, and then pin baste them on the living room floor, which was nearly impossible without the help of my husband and daughter!
Then I moved it to the dining table, rolling it up as needed, and hand tied it at intervals.
Last year I found the dog fabric and the camera fabric, which I thought would be something my son would like. He has a German Shepherd and a Yorkie, and he is a very good photographer. He also likes Doctor Who, so when I found that fabric later, I had to add it to the collection. The other fabrics were prints and colors that I thought would work well in this patchwork design. I wanted it to be full of patterns and have varied colors in the black, gray, brown, and tan range.
I chose three different polka dots for the backing. These were also used on the front. One of the polka dots was used for the binding, too. I had to make 444" of double fold binding!
Once the binding was made, I lined it up with the front and began sewing it on. Notice that the batting and backing were trimmed with an inch or so of excess. This will be removed later.
I am so glad I bought an even feed walking foot... it made such a huge difference when sewing thick layers!
Once all the binding was sewn on, I trimmed the batting and backing even with the binding.
And now for my favorite part... hand-stitching the binding!
Fold the binding over to the back and hand-stitch with a blind-stitch all the way around.
Add a label to the back and it's finished!!! Yay!!! :)
Now I'm ready to begin a quilt for my youngest son, whose birthday is next month. :)
Blessings,
Lana
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