Last week I decided that the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ quilt was finished. I considered stenciling a pattern on the border, then changed my mind. Still not satisfied, I quilted a single line of stitching 1/2″ in from the binding. Better. Now I was done. Yesterday I revisited my decision and am now quilting the perimeter in ever-increasing increments. I see it satisfying my desire to quilt the rather large border and not distract from the columns of colour. It should also provide continuity for the repetition of rectangles. 
Don’t be alarmed that I am not using a walking foot. There is no batting in this quilt (blanket?). It has a flannel sheet as the middle layer and a flannel back, so only three layers of fabric are being sewn together in this case. I used a long ruler and a water soluble pencil to scribe the next line for quilting. The third line will be another 1/2″ or more away, and probably a fourth further again. I’d like to be finished tomorrow so I can add it to the collection of quilts going to the women’s shelter.
Is a quilt ever really finished? Or is it just that we are unprepared to say we are done?
I love the way the dark fabric (is it navy?) sets off the bright colors.
It is navy, really dark. I thought it was the best choice, not only to make the colours pop, but because I do not know who might be the recipient of the quilt. Thanks for visiting today.
You’re right – I think about that too as far as practicality. The one I just finished has a lot of light yellow around the edge, where it is most likely to show any dirt! But that’s what I had. Usually I try to make the outer edges dark.
I didn’t consider the ‘picking up dirt’ part in my decision making, although I was chagrined to discover how dusty my floor was until one edge of this quilt dragged across it and cleaned a swath.
Well MY house is spotless (ha!) but since I make mostly crib quilts and hospital lap quilts I am thinking about ease of use for caretakers.