Making progress on the "Use It Up" quilt (a.k.a. the crumbs and words quilt)!
This week I've pieced a backing for the quilt. Originally, I was just going to use a single large piece (or two) of flannel for the backing, but as I dug through the stash, I found that I'd marked some of the remnants with notes to indicate that they'd been pre-washed. That reminded me that I've been prewashing the flannel before using it as backing.
I don't usually bother with pre-washing, but since (as I understand it) flannel can shrink more significantly and differently than quilting cotton, it seemed like a good idea to prewash in this case. I was itching to get something done and didn't want to deal with the delay of prewashing, so I thought I'd follow the mantra of the quilt and use up those scrap strips and pieces of pre-washed flannel. It's good to get those scraps out of the stash, but piecing it all together was definitely not a time-saving decision! It would've been much faster to just pre-wash the fabric.
Which brings me to the things I've learned with this quilt:
- I don't love making pieced backings!
Maybe it would be different with quilting cotton instead of flannel, but probably not. I might do it again, in a pinch, but it's not something I particularly enjoy. It takes more work than I expected. - I don't love piecing quilts that are constructed in rows!
Long rows, like this quilt has, are kind of a pain, in my opinion. I'm not that precise of a piecer, and it's so easy for things to get askew with long, long rows. Again, I might do a row quilt again, but I think I prefer blocks to rows. - Black fabric and a house full of heavy-shedding, white-furred dogs don't mix!
Unless you don't mind tons of very visible dog hair, it's not a good idea. I'll probably avoid using too much black or other dark fabric. Not to say I'll never do it again, but not as a regular thing, if it's a quilt I'm keeping. I'm having a hard time getting the hair off the black sections of this quilt top, despite my best efforts with the lint brush and roller. - I need more consistent practice with FMQ!
They say that regular practice is the key to success, and I suspect they're right. It can be difficult to keep in practice, but it would be worth the effort if it made enough of a difference in my skill level and confidence at troubleshooting.
This weekend, I hope to finish quilting the "Use It Up" quilt. When it's finally completely done, I have