Great progress has been made on the graduation quilt I am finishing up this week. Just in time! The recipient graduated from High School last week!
After finishing the quilt top, I layered the quilt with the extra wide backing fabric and wool batting. Amazingly, I was able to layer it on the living room floor and pin the binding. The binding is simple: I folded over the backing fabric, pinned and then sewed it down . I have not been able to get down on the ground long enough to pin a quilt for a few years. I had a double fusion in the lumbar area of my spine and it has made sitting on the ground nearly impossible. This time I just wanted to try it again so I layered it, rested for a bit, then pinned one side, rested, etc… I repeated the process until the binding was pinned all the way around.
On my wish list is some sort of table that is about the size of a queen size bed that could be folded away somehow when not being used. I keep looking at used tennis tables and wondering if I could create a table cover and use that… In the meantime, it was awesome that I was able to pin on the floor. I have used other methods but this is the easiest way I have found to get out all the annoying wrinkles in the various layers.
Today I begin the process of sewing buttons in order to “quilt” the project. My next project will be hand quilted but this one needs to be finished ASAP. Also, since it is a gift, I don’t want it to be my first hand quilting project anyway.
Here is the current state of the quilt. The next photo I share will be when it has been button quilted and laundered to remove stray threads and cat fur.
Hand Quilting Newbie 