Boring backings? Bah---humbug!

A few years ago I decided to make a flannel quilt for our bed, but the one featured in the magazine wasn't quite big enough for our bed. Of course, once you make the top larger you have to do the same for the backing. I didn’t have enough fabric!!! What to do? Well, I searched and found several nice little blocks that would look perfect on the back but still it wasn’t enough. Ah well, take some of the leftovers from the front and add to them. This is what I ended up with.

Of course, as soon as I had the backing sewn together, I read an article in a magazine that long arm quilters hate pieced backings.  I phoned my LA and she told me not to worry.  I dropped off the quilt and when I went back and picked it up it was perfect.  Kathy always does such a wonderful job on my quilts.  I can never thank her enough.

Anyway, I digress.  Some days I wish I had put the blocks the other way round, so I could see them during the day when the top is folded back.  Other times I don't think about it.  Lets face it, once the bed is made up, how often do you go back into the bedroom and stare at the bed. 

Since that time, I have come up with other backs for quilts. Sometimes it is a case of necessity or maybe the quilt just tells me to do it.  This quilt took awhile to make up.  I had the pattern in my head, but when I put it together it didn't work.  I re-designed on EQ6 and now I do like the finished top.   When you look at the next photo it looks like the cars are racing round and round.  Sort of like the oval that you will see at NASCAR races.  This quilt is being donated to a local children's charity and my idea is for it to be given to a boy, but hey girls are now racing, so it doesn't really matter, does it?

I left this quilt on the flannel wall for quite awhile thinking what could I do for the backing.  One day I walked into the sewing room and shazam, the light bulb came on. 

Think.....passing line markings on a highway with that strip of yellow and then green grass.  You've got it.

This is the result.  I made it up on EQ6 first to make sure it would work.  I was thrilled with the result.  It is rather brilliant grass......must be springtime!

Other times you have a bit of fabric of this and that, or you want to get rid of the darn fabric you thought looked so great in the fabric store, but when you got it home all you can think of is...................

"why did I buy it?"

It sits in your room year after year and gets put in one box and then another until you just wish you could toss it in the trash.  But hey, you spent good bucks on it and that would be so wasteful.  It isn't quite enough to put on the back so you search out a fat quarter that you can do without.  A little time on the quilting software to make sure you have enough and voila! you have a quilt backing that is fit for a child! The front of this quilt is quite bright and cheerful but that is a post for another day.