At this point a whole new process begins - finding fabric for the back, piecing it together and then making the quilt sandwich, stretching, smoothing and pinning. Then the quilting, which of course requires more decisions - hand or machine, gridded or free form. You get the idea.
Much as I love all these processes (except for putting the sandwich together - that is torture!) and the time that each part takes, I think that one of my favourite parts of the process is actually the binding. It marks the final stages of the quilt - the beginning of the end of all those processes. Hand stitching down the binding provides time to spend with the quilt before moving on. Time to think about what has been achieved and the intent behind it.
Today I finished stitching down the binding on the quilt for my friend - I'm hoping I'll be able to give it to her tomorrow.
I'm hoping that she will like it and that it will bring comfort to her and her family.
And I'm also hoping that it will bring a wide smile to her face as she admires the quilt and its beautiful binding.
