Project: B&W Memories Quilt, Finishing the Quilt Top and Backing

I woke up fresh in the morning and finished my piecing, which wen't pretty smoothly. Once I had all the blocks together I pressed them all with my Mini Clover Iron, and cut them down to 9.5". Once I had all the blocks up on my design wall (someday soon I will tell you how I made the most awesome design wall for under $20), I spent about 30 minutes moving them around until I had them exactly how I wanted them, and begin sewing my rows.

Sewing the Backing

For the backing I had planned to use three different black and white prints. Once I had them sewn together, I was not happy with my choice, so I modified it a little bit. I think because of the modern design I should have just stuck with all solids.

Basting the Quilt

I like to baste my quilts on the wall, this way I don't have to crawl all over the ground. I learned this technique from Patsy Thompson. She has a few you tube tutorials on how to do this. Behind my hanging design wall, I keep the wall covered with paper. This allows me to baste quilts quickly without the hassle of pinning paper up each time. When I am ready to baste a quilt I roll up my design wall, and hang the backing up on the paper with thumb tacks. I spray the whole backing with 505 Basting Spray. Then with my batting rolled, I start at the top of the backing and roll out my batting, while pressing all the wrinkles out. I do this same exact step with my quilt top, and then take the sandwich off the wall. Finally I smooth out the wrinkles and put a few basting pins in. When you are doing a larger quilt you will probably need to ask for help. My husband will soon be a pro at basting a quilt! More to come!

 Alyssa