A Quilt with a Deadline: Blogging the Process

Bigger quilts seem more useful to me- big enough for a big boy's bed, big enough to tuck in firmly to stop small limbs from dangling out! So far the quilts I've made for the family have been large. I'm hand-quilting a king-sized bedspread at the moment- don't expect to see it until next winter!

But now I've got a quilt with a deadline- Mister Bell's next niece is due in November.  And I'm determined to have this one ready before the baby arrives! So I'm downsizing. And I like it!

Firstly there's the basting. I hand-baste, and usually put it off with bigger quilts. But with this little one I used Andi's method of spray-basting with a smattering of pins. I did it on the dining table. Easy!

Next there's quilting. I'm not very good at machine quilting, but wanted to do it for this quilt so it will be tough enough for lots of washing  And at only 110cm square, this simple strip quilt is the perfect project to practice machine-quilting on my small domestic machine. I'm getting better as I go along.

I'm now adding a garnish of hand-quilting, more decorative than functional, and I'm happy with the combination of styles. And guess what? It's nearly done.

That gives me, ooh, four months to do the binding!