The Reluctant Quilter Part II - basting, quilting, binding

Continued from The Reluctant Quilter Part I - Piecing the Top 

It doesn't take long to figure out one thing about quilting - piecing the top is the "fun" part.  Well, "fun" if you enjoy cutting out dozens (or hundreds!) of tiny pieces to exact precision, then sewing them together with 1/4" seams to exact precision.  

But it is "fun" and comparatively easy since you are working on small sections at a time.  

Then comes the WORK.  I watched a number of videos about quilt basting methods and finally decided to pin it on the carpeted floor (no pool noodles, ping pong tables, quilting frames or basting spray for me.) 

I pinned the backing onto the carpet with T-pins rather than taping it to a hardwood floor

 Batting hasn't been totally smoothed out yet, but this is the next step

 

Then the quilt top.  I used 200 safety pins to baste it.  It actually wasn't as bad as I imagined. 

On to the quilting itself.  THIS is the challenge.  Yes, I know at this point you can take it to a quilt shop and they will quilt it on a long arm machine with beautiful fancy patterns.  But 1. that is costly, and 2. the whole point of making a quilt is making it myself.

This is the first of what will be MANY lines of stitching.  I am lucky enough to have a SHS walking foot for my favorite Kenmore 1760, and so off I go.  

I used a three-step zigzag stitch to make vertical and horizontal lines across all the squares which are set on the diagonal.  Then I came back and did a straight stitch in the ditch along the diagonal row seams. 

Yeah, I know you need to roll up the quilt so it goes through the machine more easily, but I got tired of rerolling it every time I started a new line.  Too bad I didn't know about THIS product until after I was finished!  

And I'm sorry, CAT PICTURE!  It doesn't make it any easier to wrangle that quilt through the machine when a cat decides it is a cozy spot to sit and look out the window.

I chose NOT to quilt the border, BTW, in spite of being advised to do so.  It is only 3" and I didn't think all those random lines going across in different directions would look good on the border. 

Not perfect, but I got the job done

I pieced my binding from fat eighths, so it is multi-patterned.  I did run the edges through the serger to keep it all neat (I tore the strips rather than cut them - don't ask!) and I only had to undo a few inches on the ends in order to do the final join. 

I did the method where you first sew the binding to the BACK of the quilt

And then turn it to the front and machine stitch it down.  I have no time or patience to hand stitch a binding.  No way/No how.

Here's how it looks front and back, almost the same.  2-1/2" binding strips, and I sewed with a 3/8" seam

This is shown on a queen sized bed

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PS... This quilt has been Kitty Approved