I am thrilled with how it turned out. After I got the top done, I went shopping for the backing. I knew I wanted something cuddly but I'm not made of money and really didn't love the selection of minky at Joann. As I was standing in line at the cut table with some minky that I wasn't really thrilled with, I saw a lady with some of this other cuddly fabric in her cart. Needless to say, the minky got put back in favor of some bright red cuddle fleece. When I got home, I laid the top on the back and found a big problem--I was not planning on putting batting in the quilt (can you imagine how heavy and hot that would be?) but the sashing looked terrible because the red showed through. Another problem I realized was that the back was slightly stretchy...a nightmare for me to try to quilt. After thinking for a few days and asking some much more experienced quilters on a message board, I came up with a plan of attack: spray basting with white muslin instead of a batting layer. And I have to say, it worked out beautifully!
Sunday afternoon, I went out on my driveway to glue the layers together. I put down an old sheet and the cuddle fleece layer and started spraying. I stuck the muslin onto the back...then sprayed again and put on the top. At first, I was really worried because it didn't seem like it was sticking very well at all...but it was COLD outside. The glue set right up as soon as I brought the quilt inside.
I spent the rest of the night quilting 1/4 in. inside each red square. It looks really really cool on the back, too (unfortunately, the camera couldn't auto-focus so I can't get a picture of it, so you'll just have to take my word for it). My only task now is to find a package of dye-catchers to wash this with because I have a sneaking suspicion that the red squares weren't pre-washed. Yikes!
