February Quilt-A-Thon Day 3

Rounding the corner on Day 3 of the Quilt-A-Thon hosted by Judy over at Patchwork Times:

 

The snow stopped yesterday but it's really cold here today so it's good to have another day to stay in.  Much like yesterday (and the day before) the agenda is the same:

 

Finishing the gift quilt:

 

 

Evening Update:

 

I decided to change the corner squares from the blue fabric I had used for the word appliques (a coordinating fabric):

 

 

 

....to the blue plaid from the fabric line.  It's a busier look but more balanced to my eye when combined with the busy border print and the fact that both prints are from the same fabric line.   

 

 

Today I'll be looking at batting (and whether I need it) and the backing fabric....

 

 

... and try to figure out (and maybe even accomplish?!?) the finishing.  Right now I'm leaning toward a pillow turn finish and then outlining the appliques and doing simple grid quilting from the front.  Although looking at the back, the logo squares make a tempting quilting guide too.  The other thing is to figure out how to label this (a must since taking the pledge last year) but I have an idea for that too.  

Evening Update:

 

There was definitely show through of the backing through the white applique backgrounds so I had to opt for using batting.  Fortunately, I had some that was thin enough to not add too much extra to the quilt sandwich even with the fluffiness of the fleece backing.  It'll be a little heavier overall but that's what a good couch quilt should be (and that's my story and I'm sticking to it)!

 

So basting has commenced:

 

 

But this means now I've got to come up with an option for the binding.

 



If I do any other sewing, it'll be on the En Provence units because they can just be run through the machine and I'd like to get all the QST squares completed over the weekend.

Evening Update:  Done! 

Tomorrow, I'll press them all open.  I even snuck in the start of another Scrappy Trips block.

 
Tomorrow is the last day of the Quilt-A-Thon so the agenda will be tying up loose ends and prepping for Slow Sunday Stitching.
 

As before I'll update on the actual "doings" at the end of the day.  A short list today for me for a change.  What's on your list and are you holed up in your warm quilty spot creating?