New possibilities

I found a new way to baste my quilties.

I made a trip to the hardware store, before the rain started....yikes, more precip!.....and I purchased a 4 x 8 foot sheet of foam core board.

I had the man cut it in half for me so that I could get more use out of it.  I would love to be able to mount two full sheets on my sewing room wall, covered in flannel, to be used as a design wall.  But that's just not going to happen here.  My ceilings are an unbelievable 6 1/2  to  7 feet low high.  So, instead, I hope to mount one 4 x 4 ft section on the wall near the machine, and I found a wonderful use for the second piece.

It turns out that this 48-inch-square piece is a great size for basting baby quilts !
I pieced together several leftover pieces of batting and cleared off my cutting table.

 The coreboard has plastic on one side (over foam), and foil on the other side.  So, I just turned the foil side up, and taped the backing to it.  Obviously, I added the batting and top, and then I used my curved needle to threadbaste the quilt.  It is a bit aggravating that the needle continually wants to pierce the foil, but after a bit of trying, you get the 'feel' of it, and can readily baste the entire piece.  I lay it on top of my cutting table, and kept rotating it with each row I basted........it was a great back saver over using the floor, or even my basting frames.

The back is one that I made last night.

 I kept searching my stash for a suitable one-yard piece, and couldn't find anything  modern enough to match the dandelions and the solids.  But I happened upon these teal-blue remnant pieces that were sent to me by Jodie Ann, probably leftover from the backing of one of her own quilts.  I decided to do a little more piece-work to add some interest and make the odd sized pieces work.   I am very pleased with the results.  Thanks, as always, Jodie !

So, this one is ready to begin quilting, and I think that I'll do it by hand, if I can just get enough light coming over my left shoulder to be able to see.   it's been SO LONG since I did any real amount of hand-quilting, but there's just nothing else to compare to the look or feel of it, in my opinion.

After just a couple of generic Tylenol tablets yesterday, hubby is pretty much back to his old self.......praise God for our healing in Jesus' name !   I went and bought the hubs a little valentine....not concerned that he wasn't able to get out and get me one.  I told him I'll shop tomorrow's sales and do twice as well !  Ha !