Final Border Blocks

The last, pieced borders for my Lifetime quilt go only on the top and the bottom.  These blocks at 7 1/2 inches square are larger than the side blocks and sit side by side with a 1/2 inch sashing to separate and frame them.  At the ends of the border strips are star blocks anchoring each corner of the quilt and reflecting the star idea of the center motif.  In the Illustrator drawing the stars are all the same, but in actuality, each star is different.  All these blocks were paper pieced if I remember right.

Top Border in Illustrator

As you can see, the center presented a problem as it is not quite long enough to accommodate two more square blocks.  This is where some creative fun comes in.  The first design was supposed to go with the floral border idea that was long defunct.  I love the cardinal, but he is better off in a tree than in my quilt.

Open star with bird (Ick!) in Illustrator

It seemed like a good idea once, but I tossed it and began to play with other ideas.  Here is the final, paper pieced open, tilted star:

Final open star in Illustrator

In the Illustrator version above the background opacity is reduced so I could see to plan the background pieces.  Now to put it all together. I didn't have quite enough fabric for the 2 1/2 inch framing border so I stitched a 1/2 inch border first in a different fabric and then added the wider one.  I still came up short so used a different fabric (same as the 1/2" border) in the corners so it blends as though it were part of the original design.

"Lifetime" top is done!

All Done!  Doesn't that make you feel all squeaky clean?  Ah, really not done yet as it still has to be backed, batted and quilted.  Stay tuned for what I did for a backing.

TIP:  Misfit spaces are a great opportunity to turn your creativity loose.

TIP:  There are loads of ways to solve fabric problems in borders and there are books available full of inspiration.  Piecing them is cheaper than buying yardage if you have something suitable on hand, or piecing may allow you a smaller purchase if you have to buy more fabric.

Paper Piecing

It was right about here in my journey that I learned how to do Paper Piecing, also called Foundation Piecing.  It is not hard, and once you catch on, it allows you to piece a block or shape with amazing precision.  You can piece tiny, little pieces that would otherwise be impossible.  You can look at a good video tutorial on Foundation Piecing if you don't know what I am talking about.  You can start with some simple practice blocks such as the triangle sashing blocks in this quilt.  The sashing is 2 inches wide so they really don't have to be paper pieced, but I found that the bias edges of the triangles were much easier to control with paper piecing.  I loved the way everything lined up straight and measured correctly when I put the quilt together.

Here you see again that I have a penchant for fussy cutting and kaleidoscope design.  The feature fabric is a symmetrical, border fabric that screamed for action.  The large blocks also have bias edges to work with, and they must be sewn carefully without stretching.  It may help to pin if the edges are long.  If you find that you must sew a bias edge to a straight edge it works best to keep the bias edge on the bottom as you sew and again, you probably would do well to pin first, but please do not sew over the pins.

If you look carefully you can see that I branched out to some easy free motion quilting on this quilt.  My first attempt was so awful that I ripped it all out and did it over again.  Yes, ALL the quilting!  This is frustrating, time consuming and discouraging, but I urge you to rip if you don't like the results.  You will never learn to like that quilt if you aren't happy with the job you did.  You can save yourself a lot of grief by making some 12 inch quilt sandwiches out of your chosen fabric and batting on which to practice your design.  Either way you will have practiced and learned to machine quilt a little better.