Sandwiches and Pins

OH, the delight of a new project... 

I have been thinking and drawing on this new piece of linen for  while - it's a gorgeous Madeira tablecloth, about 50 by 50.

so yesterday was the day to sandwich it...

So - I know there are people 'out there' who are still looking for good ways to sandwich quilts for machine quilting - so I'll share how I do it.  I should quickly add that I learned a lot of this technique from Cindy Needham, and she teaches it in detail in her first Craftsy class,  "Design it, Quilt it"...  which I highly recommend !!

So, here we go.  I sandwich in my garage on two small tables I bought from Home Depot.  (no cars are allowed in my garage !)

Step One:  backing;  right side down, I put the seam in the middle on this one;  I don't always.  I believe long-armers like the seam horizontal;  on my DSM, it doesn't matter. 

I use these wonderful springy clips - they are tablecloth clips, and fit on any table - you can get them at any camping goods store or online.

I use two layers of batting.  First a layer of thin, low loft poly or cotton -  I am currently using Quilter's Dream 'request'  - then a layer of Hobbs Wool.  Only wool gives the look I like.  Remember, this is going to be quilted within an inch of its life !

 Next comes the fabric "top", or "underlayment".  this is Dupioni silk.  Yes, it's expensive, I just tell my Visa card to be quiet ... it's worth it!

Next we put the linen on top....

 See how lovely that Dupioni is going to look through the cutwork???

 And now LOTS and LOTS of pins !!!  The edges of these vintage pieces are always stretched out - after all, they are many many years old...  so it takes a lot of pinning to get it all laid out flat....

Update today:   we're off !!!!  Sewing away ...  I'll keep you up to date as it progresses - this one is going to take a while !

Happy Sunday to all !  There are a few hours of weekend left - enjoy !

Kate