Mine are all my rulers and my tape measures. Without them I would never be able to put a quilt together.
I searched my stash for the backing I had to make for my Quilts of Valour. I had nothing……well, nothing that worked.
I had spent so much time on the front
, why would I ruin a quilt by just using fabric to get rid of it. I had four blocks left-over,(I thought I only had three) and worked away on them sewing them together in what I thought was a great little pattern.
I was going to just add fabric to make it 68” wide, but when I got to the store I thought maybe I should frame the blocks. I opted for a black that has a tiny little gold “something” in it. The other choice was going to be a gold tone come heck or high water. Boy did I search for it!
The gold has a little tiny bird on it in burgundy so it draws the burgundy out of the blocks.
I had to measure everything. I laid the blocks on the floor and measured across the middle first. Always measure through the middle, never on the sides. This is the true size of the piece, not the edges. I sewed these two pieces on and measured again down the middle of the quilt. I cut, sewed, pressed. Back to the measuring tape, to measure some more. Cut, sew, press. I measure everything before I cut my fabrics. Sometimes I measure twice. If my brain is in gear, I only have to measure once, but there are those days……….I spent 2 hours making the backing. I added 8 borders to the blocks. Its okay you can count them. I never added one border on any side without measuring first, cutting, sewing, cutting again if I had to.
I haven’t been on my knees that much in a long time.
This is it. I placed the stars off centre. The backing measures 68” x 70”. Robin can put it on the back whichever way she wants. Lengthwise, widthwise. It won’t matter.
If you go back and count the number of measures in this piece, you’ll see why I consider my tape measures and my rulers my best allies in the quilting/sewing room. I cannot make a quilt without them. Before I forget, my favourite ruler?…..my 6” x 24”. It fits my board to a “T”.
TIP: Buy the longest tape measure you can find. Not the 60” one that is readily available. Go for the 120”. I doubt you will be making a quilt larger than that.