As with all fabric I buy, it goes straight in the washing machine (in warm water) before I use it. For this load, all red, I didn't bother using a Color Catcher strip to catch the stray die. As this load was all red, it wasn't worth it.
I also ordered some white and reds. These went in the washing machine separately. I don't plan to use the ladies in evening dresses fabric, but I wanted to see what it looked like in real life. I had thought it might be an option for the backing, but with so much red in the quilt, I don't think it will work.
I will, however, use the print with the multicolored squares as one of my "white and reds." Why? Because I like to have a little surprise in each of my quilts. The white and red pieces are spread throughout the quilt, and believe it or not, the multicolored squares will fit right in, and most viewers will never even notice they are there. (And when they do, their faces will light up!)
I also like the Harlequin diamonds at the upper left, but am not sure the print will play nicely in the quilt. I may simply use a wide strip of it in the backing. We'll see. In the meantime, I have some ironing to do.
My granddaughter, it seems, gets cuter every day, if that's at all possible. It's hard to believe she's a week old today.
