Big Quilt Flimsy Finish

All done. Well, not ALL done, but I do have to celebrate the finish of the Big Quilt flimsy. It's really hard to photograph at this point. And then, after I took the first picture, the photo card door was open on my camera, and I lost a few other pictures by the fence. I didn't realize it until I downloaded them. At least I got another on the grass. I think when I get it quilted, I'll borrow my neighbor and her high deck and get a proper picture, but you can get an idea of how the quilt top looks here. It's in kind of a fragile state, and I didn't want to move it around anymore. 

That's my husband, He really didn't want to be in the picture, but even with only a light breeze, the quilt was a sail, and he needed to keep it from blowing away. I told him I'd crop him out. Right. Couldn't do it without cropping the quilt. But I think what shows of him is fine.

And now to quilt. But how? I think I'd like to do straight lines (maybe 1/2 inch apart) down the pale gray patches on the edges to emphasize the angles going out from the middle, but beyond that, I'm really not sure. Maybe more of the same on some of the patches, with other designs here and there? I'm thinking of using a gray thread throughout. Here are some things I have to consider:

--I'm quilting it on a domestic machine--my trusty treadle. 

--My experience with machine quilting designs is fairly limited. Mostly, I've done meandering, but I've also done some squiggles, a little bit of flowers and some scribbling. 

--I have a walking foot, but I haven't used it yet for quilting (only binding).

--This quilt is mostly on the bias. I don't know if that will be a factor in determining a quilting design. I plan to pin baste it like crazy.

So...given the above considerations, if you have any ideas on quilting, I'd love to have you share them. In the meantime, I've made a crude little practice top so I can try out some things. I just sewed some of the leftover strips together. No planning, measuring, pinning, or pressing (!). I just wanted to get it done while I was cleaning up my mess.

Next week there is a huge sidewalk sale at a quilt shop nearby. I'm hoping to find something less angular for the back--maybe floral or paisley or something. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll find enough yardage--although a few different fabrics would be okay, too, I guess. 

I know the basting and quilting will take some time, so between sessions, I have something else to work on. Remember these fabrics? I showed them ages ago. (I would love to steal that second one for the back of the Big Quilt)

I'm going to be making an extension on three sides of a commercial bedspread for my niece to make it a more comfortable size for her king size bed. She sent me the bedspread this week:

I think I'll make vertical stripes. There's one copper colored fabric (not pictured) that's sheer and gauzy (not double gauze, though). If anyone has any tips for backing that material to stabilize it, I'd appreciate it if you'd share. (Would it work to just double it? The shiny copper fabric is polyester curtain material, which will also be unusual for me to sew. It was important to my niece to use it because it goes with metallic accents in her room. I think when it comes to quilting, I'm going to use a combination of machine quilting on the cottons and big stitch hand quilting on the polyester and gauzy fabric. Stay tuned.

I'm linking up today with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday, and TGIFF because, well, you know...it's finished!! (except for the quilting). Buttons for these wonderful linky parties are on the side. 

Don't forget to share your ideas about the quilting and working with the gauzy fabric. Thank you so much!! Now I'm waiting for my grandkiddies to arrive for a long weekend. I hope you have a great weekend, too.