Prayer Quilt Top Is Finished

I've finished the top.  Since it was nearly 60 degrees without wind by 10:30, I was able to take some pictures outside.  (Of course, I first had to haul tumble weeds off to the trash, so my eyes are itching!)

 

 Below was the "plan."  Real fabrics are obviously much nicer than the plan.

I did decide to use a different dark red than originally planned.  It was part of the same small fat quarter pack, but I thought it added more interest than the dots would have. 

 

I also decided to add corner blocks on the first border. The inner border was cut 2.5 inches wide (27.5 inches long) with 2.5 inch squares of green added at the ends of the two longer side.

The border fabric is a Clothworks Laurel Birch fabric that I purchased from Over the Rainbow at least a couple of years ago.  I did not have enough to cut the borders lengthwise on the fabric, so I cut crosswise, piecing the two longer borders. These outer borders were cut 6.5 inches wide.  The first two sides were cut 31.5 inches long.  The two longer sides were pieced on the diagonal and then cut 43.5 inches long.

(Don't you just love that deep blue New Mexican sky?!)

This quilt used two fat quarters of each of the four fabrics plus a little over a yard of the border fabric. (I do have some scraps that I will put in a bag and pass on to our prayer quilt ministry since these are not colors I use very often, but some of the other quilters do use them.) I do have a slightly darker green that I'll probably use for binding. I'm thinking I'll use the two dotted fat quarters that I put to the side to help widen the backing.  The top finishes at 43.5 inches square, so I'll need the backing to be 51 or 52 inches (four inches added to the measurement of the top on each side). I'll also need to check out my batting to see if I have something I can use without piecing it.

This quilt will look great quilted in my favorite Fil-Tec Gold Glide thread 80137.

(It's not a metallic thread.) This gold thread is currently the last gold in the bottom row of their chart on the linked page.  (However, be aware that over time they change positions, although this number has stayed constant for several years.)  The advantage of this color is that it enhances so very many fabric choices.  It also comes in pre-wound bobbins.  (I use the smaller L size bobbins in my class 15 treadle sewing machines.)

Side note:  This is *not* the color of pine pollen coating everything in the Southeast! That thought helps me not go too crazy in Southwest winds!

I'm wondering how long it will take to piece the backing; I'm sure what will take the most time is choosing the main fabric.

If you like this quilt and my chatter about how I made it is less detailed than you need,  remember that you can follow Mary Lane Brown's tutorial on Moda Bake Shop. Just cut your corner triangles 2.5 inches and use two or three colors for them rather than just one. (I didn't know about her tutorial until she and I were e-mailing after I did my first post about this quilt top.)

By the way, the i-pad worked out great for my paperless notes; I did buy a new ink cartridge that needs to be installed; and then I'll need to coax the printer to function with the computer and wireless router.--I do not like the amount of time those techie things require of a non-techie person!

In the next few days I'll post some little quiltmaking tips that I photographed while making this top--just a few that make things easier for some of us.

Happy quiltmaking......