About Those Quilt Tops

The time has come to work on layering those completed quilt tops.

I read a blog post a while back where the author posted a picture of her completed quilt tops folded on hangers in a closet.  What a great idea!  It also served as a perspective check for me...she had a closet FULL of completed quilt tops.  Mine fit on the back of the quilt room door right now, so what I felt was an unreasonable number of quilts queued up and waiting for the layering process is not as bad as I thought.

Anyhow, my husband was leaving town for a few days and encouraged me to use the time to really get busy with the layering.  Challenge accepted.

While I sometimes baste with thread and needle, these pins speed up the process and do a decent job of keeping the layers connected.  I was lucky to pick up a few extra packages at Joann's Fabrics with the 50% off discount, but, of course, they are available through Amazon as well:  

https://www.amazon.com/Dritz-Quilting-Curved-Basting-3013/dp/B008FG8QP2

The first quilt I tackled was the Kingfisher Quilt-Along project.  Those colors bring joy to my heart, so it was a good one to start.  I use the kitchen table now instead of the floor.  A little less agony for the back and knees this way.  The family finds alternative surfaces for eating their meals =).

This one went pretty fast.  I used a low loft batting, so the pinning was much easier to manage.

Quilt number two was the result of a fat quarter pack I picked up at Hobby Lobby a few years ago.  The colors appealed to me, so I found a nice big block pattern and finished it in a weekend.  I am a bit ambivalent about that border.  Sometimes I look at it and think "floral overload!" and other times I think it's a perfectly lovely collection of flowers.

You'll notice the Lowes clamps I use to anchor the quilt sandwich to the table.  It was my husband's bright idea to use them instead of a full roll of masking tape.

Quite a bit of Britbox viewing on the computer during my two days of layering.

I was ever so happy to discover a roll of full size backing fabric that I forgot I had on hand.  This green seemed to fit.

Every quilt I make is sprinkled with blood, haha.  Sounds creepy, but I poke myself numerous times in the basting of each quilt.  Add to that the extra evidence left behind from two hairy dogs sharing our home with us.  All part of the labor of love, I suppose.

Final quilt to layer for the week.  Backing fabric seamed and anchored!

The festive colors on this one made for a joyful view, especially at this stage of the game.  I was at the point of my fingertips going numb from all the needle poking.  (When I went in last year to update my fingerprint file for our school district, the tech dude asked me what had happened to cause so much scarring on my fingers since the last fingerprint card.  This quilting life is not for the faint of heart...it leaves its mark!)  I used a high loft batting, which added to the challenge.  

I can't wait to finish this Christmas quilt.  I love the colors so much!

What a relief...three quilt tops, sandwiched and ready for quilting!  Now I won't feel guilty about the quilt tops I add to to the stash behind the craft door.

Which sounds like the perfect excuse to continue working on my latest block challenge from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.

Quilt on, my friends...quilt on!