Fit to be Tied : Tying the Winter Roses Quilt

Winter Roses Quilt - Finished October 2018

Tied with a wool batt.

At Quilt Camp, back in October, I had the space to work on a project like this.  I can spread out on 2 large banquet tables to work, and don't have to worry about picking everything up for the sake of meals.  And there's no dog hair (an important factor when you live with a big, black Newfie!)

[NO PHOTO -- Sorry, I was so intent on doing the task, that I forgot to take a picture.  This photo is from a quilt I tied a few years ago at a different Quilt Camp.  The process is the same, though it shows a thick poly batt.]

Here I have the Sandwich layered and ready for stitching.

         Top Layer : Quilt Top - Right Side Down
         Middle Layer : Backing - Right Side Up
         Bottom Layer : Puffy Wool Batting (from my friend Karla Seaver).

Pin all the edges, and sew with a 1/2-inch seam.  Leave about 20 inches open for turning.
You may need some safety pins in the middle to keep it all together as you work.
Trim the batting and backing to size BEFORE turning right side out.

Turn.

Top stitch a faux binding at about 1-1/2 to 2 inches from the edge.   It's kind of like a French seam.  This helps to keep the batting out at the edges of the quilt as you use it.

I decided to add a few more stitched border rows, before I start to work on actually tying the quilt.
This step secures the batting at the edges of the quilt, otherwise, it has a tendency to pull in, leaving you with some parts of the quilt with no batting layer, just fabric.

You can also clearly see the faux binding here. 

I use wool yarn in a matching color.  I don't want the ties to be the focus here.

 Tying is done, you can see the puffiness as it is laid out on our bed.  

[Sorry for the bad winter light.]

Here are a few of the blocks close up ...

A quilt is never truly done until I've added the label, the very last step.