Independence Day quilt #2

This is the start of a new Independence Day quilt. I've had this fabric since last Independence Day and had never gotten to this project.

This is the old quilt. It's not too big (42 X 51). Just the right size for your lap while watching TV.

As you can see, it has a few issues with wear and tear. It's been used over the years for everything from a wall hanging, to a stroller drape (for sleeping babies), to a picnic blanket. We have literally loved this quilt to death.

I had a few problems getting started. The biggest is the way the dots are printed on the red fabric. You can see that on one side of the fabric, the dots line up just fine with my cut, but on the diagonal, they are off. Way off. This drives me so crazy. If you leave it this way in the quilt, it kind of makes your head hurt when you look at it.

My solution was to switch the fabrics so that the blue was cut diagonally around the edge instead of the red.

I decided to press my seams open on this quilt. I read about this here, and decided to give it a try. I want to see if it is better, or makes things easier in some way, like bulkiness.

So far, so good. A couple borders and the quilt top will be done. Maybe I'll finish it by next July 4th!