Now To Begin Quilting

The quilting will soon be commencing on Elisa's big quilt.  To make sure I knew what I was doing, and that all would go as intended, I did a little trial run with some bits cut to a little quilt size.

My plan is to make vertical stitching lines at random widths on each panel. I don't want to mark anything; instead the intent is to "eyeball" the lines, and keep them as vertical as I can. I did mark the first line I stitched, just to make sure I began with a line that would be perpendicular to all the horizontal rows of fabric. The rest is total randomness.

I took several pictures because some of the stitching shows up better on certain fabrics from different angles.

I sent all the pics to Elisa for her opinion, and once again I got a very positive response. I just love how we have been on the same page with this quilt almost from the very beginning.

The backing will be flat sheets. I know. That is like blasphemy to a long-arm quilter. I wasn't so sure I could do it on my little Bernina, either, but above is the backing made of sheeting, and I did not have the slightest trouble with it.

One thing I did before quilting this little quilt was to very heavily spray starch and press both the top and the back. I think my results worked so well because my fabric was so stiff. I plan to do this with the quilt, as well.

Last evening, Elisa and I texted back and forth quite a bit about the loft of the batting I should get. I am going to go with a poly-cotton blend in a loft on the high side. Not totally puffy, but she wants this to look like a bedspread, so I mustn't get one that is too low-loft. I am headed out to make the purchase now!

Happy Quilting, Friends!