Since I’ve been on roll finishing so many quilts (and the weather has gotten cooler) I decided it was time to finish my Sister’s Choice quilt so I can use it on my bed.
I’ve been putting this off and I should have bought supplies while I was back in the states but I didn’t. I looked at the PX to see if they had anything I could use and found some crochet thread and yarn and some larger needles. I thought I could use the crochet thread to hand quilt the quilt with big stitches but I don’t have a thimble and it’s just too painful to do without.
Then I found the invisible tie online and remembered that we did that with a quilt at my Virginia church but you need a VERY long needle so that left me with tying the quilt with little knots.
This method is usually used with utility quilts – often for kid’s quilts. It’s not super pretty but it works fine.
The type of batting you use will determine how closely you need to put your ties. I used a thin 100% cotton batting which doesn’t have to be quilted very closely. 6 inches apart is probably the maximum and obviously you want to put the ties in a pattern that’s pleasing to the eye and fits in with the overall quilt. While this is a quicker method, it still took me 3 days to finish all the ties. Once I finished the middle of the quilt, I thought maybe I could straight-line sew around the blue inner border. I tried using my walking foot but I didn’t have much luck. I ended up using a regular foot and a longer stitch to give it a homey look. The goal is to keep that batting from shifting when you use the quilt.
When I started cutting fabric for binding, I found I didn’t have enough. I know – you’re not surprised since this happens all the time to me. It’s my thing. I’m the queen of strange bindings. I did have enough of the light blue that I used for the border to bind 3 sides but then I had to use the bright blue for the last side. Hey, it’s a scrap quilt!
So now I just need to hand sew the back of the binding and this quilt is finished! Kitty is giving it her stamp of approval.
