Patchwork and Quilting: Building Better Habits
I’ve been working to break a few bad habits and build some better ones related to my quilt making. It’s never easy to break a bad habit. It’s not easy to form a good habit, either!
The bad habit I want to break is finishing the piecing of a top only to fold it up and put it in the “to be quilted” pile. Sometimes it doesn’t see the light of day for months, even years! I have more than my share of UFOs already, and I am determined not to add any more.
This week’s finished quilt top is “Felicity,” a design by Kate Spain.
So the new habit I want to build is this: when I finish the top of a project, I immediately prepare the backing. This means going to my bin of backing fabrics (cuts of 3 to 7 yards mostly bought on sale) and finding something that will work, or finding several smaller pieces that can be pieced into something interesting.
Backing is prepped and ready to go!
When I finished Felicity on Sunday afternoon, I immediately got the backing ready. If I do it right away, I don’t mind it as much. I’m not sure why I dislike the job because it’s really not that bad. But if I have to do it months after finishing the top, I will procrastinate forever.
Along with backing, I’m writing down all the information I’ll need in order to make the quilt label. Experience has taught me that later I will not remember what year I made it! If it’s someone else’s design, I won’t remember who, and what they called it will be a mystery. Even the names of my own designs are easily forgotten. For Felicity, here’s what I jotted down:
I can still play with it all, and I definitely will (once an editor, always an editor) but I have the basic info captured so I won’t have to search for it. I will pin my hand-jotted note to the quilt top, which I’ll bundle with the backing. Ready to go to the quilter when I a) decide who will quilt it and b) can afford it.
This is the second project with which I’ve started building this new better habit. It’s a nice feeling!
My Jingle Bells Trunk Show consists of about 40 Christmas quilts and is perfect for quilt groups of any size and persuasion. It works any time of year because it’s never too early to start making a quilt for the holidays.
Nesting Nicks by Diane Harris appeared in Quiltmaker’s Small Quilts & Gifts 2011.
I’d love to bring these varied quilts to your city or town! Let me help you get your jingle on—call today!
Tags: backing, Felicity, helpful how-tos, jingle bells trunk show, kate spain, quilt labels
Pam
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Your Jingle Bells trunk show was fun and festive! Great ideas of what to use for backing a quilt 🙂
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Diane Harris
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Thanks Pam! I appreciate that feedback!
Kaye Mattson
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I love everything about your Felicity! It has energy, it’s scrappy, the colors are great, and it has a unique setting! This will be a wonderful addition to your Jingle Bells show.
I like your idea of getting the backing ready right away. I like to make my binding right away too so it’s ready to stitch.
Merry Christmas!
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Diane Harris
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Thank you, Kaye! It was so much fun to make, especially at this time of year! It’s off to the quilter soon so it’s ready for Jingle Bells in 2018 and beyond. Merry Christmas to you and yours!