I was all set to post yesterday and realized I didn’t have any new photos for you.  So, I spent today quilting!  Now I have photos!!  One of my guilds had their challenges due tonight.  the challenge was beyond borders.  The idea was to focus on the border and bring it into the quilt.  I had an “old” rail fence quilt from a number of years ago sitting and patiently waiting to be finished.  Soooo, I fused some extra border fabric and began adding it to flow into the center of the quilt.  (see fussy cutting a few months ago)  I love how it turned out.  And it worked for the challenge and another UFO is complete!!

I didn’t think about taking a before photo, but below is the finished quilt.  I will probably use it as a table topper for Christmas.

Rail Fence (D.W.)
Beyond Borders Challenge

I quilted the raw edges of the ironed on bits.  This saved me from stitching around the applique and they having to then quilt around it also.  I wanted the added bit to get the highlight in the quilting.  I found a great gold thread that worked well, a little shine but not metallic.  A couple of close ups below.

Rail Fence – borders into quilt center

Rail Fence – borders into center

I kept the inside quilting simple, as I wanted all the focus on the border and not much would show with the busy fabrics.

Rail Fence – closeup

Rail Fence – closeup

#1 – Save some time…raw edge applique as you quilt.

#2 – My detailed quilting is in the border.  Putting the focus on the poinsettias, not the center rail fence.

in quilting,

Debbie