Fun with Quilt Backings

It all started when I didn't have quite enough fabric left to make a backing for my quilt.  It was an ivory tone-on-tone and I didn't want to buy more, so I put a wide strip of gold right across the middle of the backing and called it "done!"  Not real clever, but I kind of liked it.  

The next few times I just wanted to use up scraps and not spend a lot of money on fabric for backings.  Hmmm, a little more interesting this time. 

Okay, now it's getting intriguing!  It's starting to look like a reversible quilt.  This time I played a little more with arranging the scraps.

I just finished piecing two backings for quilts I want to complete at Retreat in a few weeks.  I had fun with these.


The blue backing was another one where I just wanted to get rid of scraps.  You know...fat quarters I don't really like, fabrics people gave to me after they found a sack of material in their attic or basement and thought I could use it, pieces I picked up off the swap table at quilty get togethers even though I didn't need them....that kind of thing.

I'm really liking the pink backing.  I decided to use up some pretty small scraps on this one, and I've been wanting to try my hand at some Crumb Quilts.  It was fun.

Here's a close-up of the crumb part:

One negative to piecing a backing is that it takes a long time, usually an entire day.  So I don't do it a lot, but it is a fun way to use up scraps, make your quilt a little more original, and feel like you're being creative. 

And speaking of being creative, one day soon I'll show you the fronts of these quilts!