Ready for quilting

The Halloween top is finished! I've also finished stitching the back - using up all the leftovers from the sashings as well as the strips I cut for possible inner borders! I even have a light colored strip in the back where I can write the label information! This quilt is now number four in line to be quilted. I think I need to focus on doing some quilting this coming week!

A huge thank you to everyone who so freely shared your opinions. They really helped me decide what to do. I tried so many different things - I even looked in the stash to see if there was a border alternative I'd not considered. As I tried different things I was able to eliminate bit by bit, and finally made my decision this morning. I decided not to use a narrow inner border because I really didn't want anything to take away from the 1" squares around the edge of the quilt. I also realized that the "dead trees with owls" fabric was the best choice - I just needed to make the borders narrower so they didn't distract from the quilt center. I settled on 3 1/2" wide, and I love how it looks. I really wanted to use this fabric, because it's so perfect for a Halloween quilt. Leafless trees in a dark, stormy-looking night, with owls perching in the branches as the final perfect touch. Now I'm eager to get this finished, as I really want to display it this year.

I also made a decision about the spring blocks thanks to everyone's suggestions. It never occurred to me to split them up. I've put the basket block in the orphan block drawer to go into a donation quilt. I'm going to border the two long vertical blocks, as well as the three little blocks, and turn them into a set of three small spring wall hangings. Those should finish very quickly. The bunny will turn into a pillow for Easter decorating, and the sunbonnet girl into a spring pillow for the entry bench. That just leaves the clothes line - not sure what I'll do with that one. Maybe add it to the orphan drawer too. I can't begin to remember who made it, so it doesn't have any special meaning for me. Now I'm eager to get going with these projects. A huge thank you to those sharing ideas for these blocks - they really helped me get my mind around the problem of what to do with these blocks.

Sure felt good to finally cross another unfinished top off my UFO list!

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Gratitudes:

1. A great visit with Lily, Sophie and their parents.

2. A wonderful evening spent with friends

3. Enough stamina to increase my time on the exercise bike