Drunken Dragons Quilt Progress: Backing, Binding & Batting Selected

Backing Fabric from eQuilter.com

Now that the 150 Drunkard's Path blocks are nearly finished (I'll be sewing the last 10 blocks later today), I started thinking ahead to the next steps in this project.  Although I have started to accumulate a staggering quantity of quilting fabric, I usually don't buy more than half a yard of anything.  The only way I could use fabric from my stash for the quilt backing was if I pieced it somehow, and I didn't want to overcomplicate the project -- so I went shopping instead!  I chose a blue fabric with swirly spirals and what reminds me of little orange fireflies all over it for my backing fabric.  Since I ordered it online, I hope the colors are pretty true to what I see on my monitor, but this is for the backing after all, so I'm sure it will be fine.

Binding Fabric from eQuilter.com

For the binding, I selected this vivid orange batik with blue ears of corn.  My binding will be narrow, and you won't be able to see any vegetables -- it will just look like random blue lines here and there.  At least that's the idea.

My batting is going to be Hobbs Tuscany Collection 90/10 Silk/Poly.  Wendy Sheppard uses this batting and she says it's easy to work with on domestic machines and it quilts up very soft and cuddly, even when it's quilted very densely.  I've never tried it before, so I'm looking forward to it.  You can read what Wendy has to say about this batting in her Thread Talk article here on her Ivory Spring blog.

As of this writing I have 130 blocks completed and only 20 remaining to be sewn.  Then I have to figure out how I'm going to lay the blocks out and sew them together.  According to UPS, I'll have my backing fabric and batting in my hot little hands by the end of the day on Thursday the 15th, but I doubt I'll be ready to do anything with it other than prewash the backing fabric.  We have a busy week, with Night of the Notables at the boys' school on Tuesday evening, then a community theatre production of A Christmas Carol on Thursday night, and classroom holiday parties for which I've promised to bake.  Bernie and I have to do some Christmas shopping this week, too, while the boys are still in school. 

I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful holiday season with your loved ones!