Faith, Folklore, and Friends

 A "quilt sandwich" is the three layers of the quilt together. The quilt I'm doing today is 20" x 22".  The larger the quilt, the more difficult this is. For this quilt, I am using a muslin backing.  Cut it 2" larger than the quilt top on all sides.  Place on a hard surface with right side down.  Smooth out any wrinkles and tape the ends to your hard surface. Use a lint remover to remove any strings from the backing before you put the batting on. Cut cotton batting 1" larger than the quilt top on all sides.  Center it on the backing.  Cover with the quilt top. Use your hands to smooth out any wrinkles.  Start pinning in the center of the quilt.  Continue moving outward, constantly smoothing as you go. This quilt will be quilted by "stitch-in-the-ditch"; pin away from the ditch so that pins won't have to be removed during quilting.  When the quilt is completely pinned together, you are ready to quilt!

 For this quilt you will need: 16 backing squares--10" each 16 batting squares--9" each 16 squares of focus fabric (birds)--4 1/2" each Strips of 1 7/8" assorted fabric matching the focus fabric.  You will use 8 fabrics per block, so at least 8 different fabrics or more, about 1/4 yard of each. Cut 10 strips 2" x the width of the fabric (usually 42") Press together to form a 1" strip.  From 3 of the strips, cut twelve 4 1/2" strips.  These will be used to cover the seams on the blocks. Put backing fabric wrong-side-up on your table.  Cover it with the batting, leaving 1/2" on all sides. Pin in place. That is a shadow in the photo, not a new kind of batting. Place a square of focus fabric in the center of your square.  Use a ruler for placement.  Pin in place. Sew a strip of the 1 7/8" fabric to one side of focus fabric.  Cut strip even with the bottom of the focus fabric. Press or finger press. Sew a strip of contrasting fabric on the s