BACK PAIN

I have back pain...its not fun.

It can range from the arthritis to disk degeneration to a 

a muscle hitting a sciatica nerve. 

Sometime one or the other, sometimes all at once.

However, there is a back pain in quilting that is NOT physical

but mental and it involves fabric. 

I like to piece the backings for my modern quilts.

Sometimes it is painful.

This is my Beachy Showers Quilt

and this is the process I used to make the backing...

using only fabrics I had in my stash.

I hang the quilt top on my design wall to determine how I am gonna use

my stash fabrics to cover it all up. The largest piece I had was 2 yards

of the B&C Umbrella print.

Here it covers the middle of the quilt. Not nearly enough to

give me 5 inches at top and bottom and a few inched on each side.

I had some B&C April Showers charm packs in my stash.

Sew I will sew them into more fabric.

I tried laying them out in various designs

but it isn't working for me.

Nothing pleasing to my eyes AT ALL!

Sew I try something else...a large unit of charm packs

and add some solid gray into that design.

The Umbrella print will be at the top and bottom of the backing.

And, crap, 2 red squares are too close together!

NOPE! not gonna work.

ssqq

I had to walk away and just leave it alone for a day or two.

Then I had an ah-ha moment.

Sew all the charms into one vertical strip unit.

Add a navy vertical strip to each side of that!

Sewed the Umbrella print to each side of the navy strip!

STILL not big enough!

CRAP...I am NOT gonna buy more fabric!

I found more solid navy.

Made two more larger vertical strips

CUT the Umbrella Prints to insert the navy pieces.

and I had to add some gray to the bottom to make it big enough

to cover the entire top!

NOW I am happy.

And did I say how much I love the solid navy background 

for this CAKE WALK pattern by Thimble Blossoms.

Beachy Showers is now being quilting with a wavy pattern

by Long Arm Quilter, Patty Estaad.

I can't wait to get it back and bind it.

THEN I will find a perfect garden for a photo op.