Basting Begins

I finished the applique a couple of days ago and inked my inscription in the center square. Now I am basting the sandwich together. In my old house that was easier because I had a large landing used as a study/library space on the second floor. If you look at the blog entry titled Denna's Quilt it is the space behind me. There I didn't have to move any furniture and the space was big enough to baste even a queen sized quilt. Nothing in that house came in anything less than XL. In my little bungalow I have to choose between moving the furniture in the living room or moving the furniture in the dining room. There's something about the pile on the antique Chinese rug, a family heirloom (or hand me down depending on how one looks at it), that makes keeping the quilt sandwich stable while basting easier so that's usually the space I choose.

Nothing fancy in the quilting. There is a 3/4 inch square grid in the center part and a 1/2 inch square grid in the outside border. Lots and lots of lines but the hand quilting is my favorite part. The basting will take a couple of days so my living room will be out of commission until at least Sunday. I am too old to tailor sit and baste for hours at a time now. After about four lines of sewing I have to get up and relieve my back.