Ryan’s quilt, finished.

While at Quiltcon I bought some fusible web – good for appliqué, not something I do a lot of, but I bought it anyway. Why? Because the saleswoman was very very good. She mentioned tearing it up and using it to baste a quilt together rather than use spray glue.I didn’t take pictures of the basting. Basically I set up the tables outside, got an outdoor extension cord and went section by section with my iron, first attaching the front, then the back to the batting. Then I started quilting, sort of in the ditch with the stars and some creative dot – to -dot, ala Angela Walters in the grey background.  The idea was to have bold geometrics that didn’t mimic the stars but sort of reinforced them.  I need a lot more practice before my quilting gets even and smooth, but I’m the only one who sees that. No one else is looking that closely at my stitches.

Will I use this method to baste again? No. Even when glue basting, there is leeway when actually quilting,  so if it feels like the fabric really wants to pucker – there are ways to stretch it out, even on the machine. The same isn’t true with the appliqué webbing, even though I tore it into small pieces, once it adhered to the batting – it wasn’t moving. So yes, there were some puckers .  I”m not pointing them out, I quilted over them, the end result is not show worthy but it is beautiful.The quilting is done, you can just see a corner of the backing. I bought a grey on grey chevron fabric. Usually I do some piecing on the back, not this time.Bound it in red, just to tie it all together.The freeform layout of the stars and background fabric was a little hard for me. I like paper piecing for a reason – it gives great control and accuracy. This layout is just willy nilly. But I stuck with it and am glad I did. This is what makes it so dynamic.I love how the grey is distributed, there is some planning, but it’s not rigid.

Of course I made a label and signed it, and then immediately sent the quilt off with out taking any pictures of the back.  The quilt has arrived safely and Ryan demanded to use it immediately.

This is a real departure for me, in style and color, I will be revisiting this style, but for a short while, I want a break from quilts.