On to borders

This is the first string quilt. I started this one about 5 months ago. I made two sections and quilted each then seamed them together and did the quilting in the middle. Now I'm adding the borders. I pieced the borders for the long sides . Place the border section on top of the quilt top. The backing and the back and then the quilt batting behind it. I stitched my seam the length of the border for that side and turn the pieces into a sandwich. Then laid it out to be pinned to do the quilting.   

As you can see the gray is the fabric in the cornerstones of the quilt top. I wanted a stopping off point to encompass the center of the sashing borders so that is why I used a narrow white tone-on-tone white fabric. It makes a statement by saying this is the end of the sashing and this is the beginning of the borders. Yes I heard it talking to me. Don't you talk to your quilts? HAHA....

I stitched in the ditch around the white border and then I stitched in the ditch between the blue and gray border strips. Now is when I over think the quilting. Do I do something simple because this is the part that drops off the edge of the bed. Or do I get crazy, but this is a utility quilt. So common sense won out and grid stitching is what it ended up being. I didn't mark it because I eyeballed it between the rows of the design on the blue fabric. Hey it works for me.   

I carried it through the gray so all is going to lay down the same way and hopefully will shrink all the same when washed. Yes I wash my fabrics, but this is a 80/20 Hobbs batt. They do shrink some. 

This is 30 minutes of stitching so far and only quilted 1/3 of one side. Need to assemble the other sides to be sewn in place one at a time. Doing the quilting in sections it is less bulk under the arm of the machine. Less wear and tear on my shoulders and back also. With borders you can work just on the outside of the quilt edges and it makes the table around your machine do all the work for you. I stopped for lunch and then need to clean my machine new needle and oil it good. Batting makes a lot of fuzz. 

I picked up a lot of stuff today in the sewing room and getting ready to pull out another partially quilted quilt to get completed after this one is done. I'm going to try and figure out how to finish the borders on that one as I finish this one. Can't have an idol mind even though it is mush most days. 

36 degrees snow starting to melt, but almost 60 inches of snow isn't going to go away in a day. This is the second day above 32 degrees since last Oct.  Chris