Friday, April 3, 2015

Blue Deco Iris

Here is the backing for the Blue Deco Quilt.
It's from the Free Spirit collection from Westminster Fabrics. Each iris is about six to eight inches across.

 I wanted something summery.

When I spoke to the Amoskeag Quilter's Guild in February, one of the members was looking at the back of one of my quilts.

 "You like busy backs," she said.

"No," I replied, "I think the backs are so big they need a fabric with a big scale to carry it off. I think a tiny all over print looks plain and boring." We all know how much I like plain and boring (NOT!)

All the backings of my quilts are chosen with the front in mind. They all coordinate.  Like Chris said, when she saw the backing I had prepared for my sampler quilt, Letters From Home, "I like that you didn't drop the ball on the back."

So I work hard not to "drop the ball" on the backing. I never, ever, pick something just because it's in my stash and I have a lot of it.



PS, Marei, the chairs may look red, but they are actually cherry wood, varnished but unpainted.

8 comments:

Megan said...

I have a different view altogether Lynne. I love using up bits and pieces from stash on the back. I'd rather spend money on wonderful fabrics for the front, not the back.

Megan
Sydney, Australia

Anonymous said...

And I have a third approach: I always choose the plainest fabric I can find that matches or coordinates with the main color of the front, so that if the quilt is flipped over, the front has no competition from the back. I tend to use either very intense colors or very soft ones, and I choose the backing fabric accordingly.

There are many ways of approaching color, but I wouldn't choose to piece the back as a practical matter - I'd never get it on straight when the quilt was assembled. :)

Pat said...

I love that fabric. I'd be betting it would make a cool one block wonder, too. It's perfect for this quilt.

I like making pieced backs and Charlotte, it isn't all that hard to get it straight. Admittedly, I don't make large quilts but, so far, so good. :D

Saku said...

One word, gorgeous!

Just Ducky said...

Love, love, love that backing fabric. If I still sewed my own clothes that would be a prime candidate for a dress or top. Love colors.

Purple Boots and Pigtails said...

I guess I'm the rare bird in the herd. I don't tend to think all that much about the back...saving any obsessing that needs done for the front.
And that said, I don't tend to obsess much about the fronts either. I just let the quilt tell me which way it wants to go...
Oh, and Lynne, for the record...those giant Iris' make me feel that spring will come. God, I need some spring.

Anonymous said...

I think we all make the best decisions we can, and it's not realistic to expect everyone to think as we do. I had a plain navy Kona border on a beautiful but intense quilt destined for a fine artist child and ended up having to take the border off because he felt that it detracted from the composition. I would've thought there's not much plainer than Kona. But it was actually the right thing to do.

Marei said...

You wanted something 'summery' for the backing and I think you nailed it. That's a very cool iris print. And thanks for the info on the chairs...that cherry wood is stunning.