The making of a siginature quilt

Just got the news recently that one of my daughters dance teachers is going to be a mommy for the first time! Whoo hoo =D

So of course this means an opportunity to make a quilt. Ahhh a baby quilt. I have not had the opportunity to make one in a while so I am really looking forward to this.

I plan on making a signature quilt. I would like to have all the students and other staff members sign it. If there is room maybe even some of the moms might what to sign as well.

This is going to be a surprise. And keeping it a surprise may be a challenge. But I am up for it, and I hope the staff is too. Since they are going to be the ones to get the signatures without letting the teacher see it.

I found the backing fabric, and have the signature fabric now all I need is my pattern. I found a couple in a magazine I liked, but not sure if I will use them yet. I like to do my own designs, so I might just use these for inspiration.

The backing fabric is a soft flannel in white with pastel foot and hand prints on it. Soooooo cute! I found it at JoAnn Fabrics.

Before I start to sew this, I will need to prepare the signature fabric. To make things simple (and since I don't really know how many signatures there will be)I will just cut strips of fabric to be used in the borders. I was going to make individual blocks, but then this quilt might be gigantic! So wide borders will give more space and it will be easier for the dance studio to work with.

I will cut the over sized borders and put freezer paper on the back. That way it will be stiffer and easier to write on. I tested a few fabric markers and found that they bleed through to the back so the paper will keep things from bleeding on the counter when they are signing it. Once they are done, I can peel off the paper and heat set everything. Then sew them on the quilt.

I hope this all works. Since I will be cutting the borders, before I start the top. Kind of backwards from how I usually work. I guess if the top is larger than the borders, then I can add corner blocks or some other form of piecing to fill in the lengths if needed.

Well I am off to cut the borders, and add the freezer paper. Wish me luck!