Basket Swap quilt ready to quilt

Yesterday, I finished adding the borders to the quilt top I mostly put together from swap blocks at last weekend's quilt camp. At first, I was going to piece extra side borders because the top was long and thin. But after I got the new outside border batik, I realized it would look fine if the side strips were 6" wide and the top and bottom were 3" wide. And so it does. The batik between the blocks is more of a beige-brown while the borders have a little more teal in them.

I pin-basted it yesterday and then took a break to finish Jennifer Chiaverini's newest book, The Wedding Quilt. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon read. I enjoyed catching up with characters from various books in the series and look forward to her next, Sonoma Rose, coming this winter. While reading, I thought a little about the Winding Ways quilt I hope to make from Jennifer's latest quilt book, Traditions from Elm Creek Quilts.

This morning I started quilting in the ditch between the center blocks. After tying off many loose ends, I am taking another break to think about what I will quilt in the plain blocks and on the borders. Free motion? A motif drawn on tracing paper? I'm using a nice beige-gray thread and will proceed slowly. I used to hate tying off the loose ends, but now I find it relaxing and a good way to stretch between quilting sessions.