Progress Report - Sofie's Quilt

 I do a lot of different kinds of crafting and sewing and I'll admit that there are very few times that something actually turns out the way I planned it in my head. Most of the time, the projects work out alright, but somewhere during the process I end up "winging it". This is one of the rare times that what I envisioned in my head is actually working out the way I hoped it would :)

This weekend I finished all the hand applique work on the 4 large flowers on Sofies' quilt top :)

I fused them in place with Wonder Under and then stitched them down with perle cotton using a blanket stitch. This first photo is the largest of the 4 flowers and the focal point so I wanted it to stand out from the others.  I fussy cut one of the flowers from the fabric and fused it onto the flower center circle to make this layered flower and then I stitched each layer separately to add texture.

Once I had all the applique work done I was able to sandwich the quilt and begin the actual hand quilting.

I traced one of the flower shapes from the Riley Blake fabric onto thin cardboard to make a template for the flower shaped quilting. Every other square will have a flower hand quilted in the center.

It's coming along pretty well so far. The backside of the quilt is looking cute too with all the flower shapes.

I'm lovin this whole quilting adventure so much that I'm only sorry that there aren't more hours in the day to work on it! The hand quilting is so relaxing. I love the feel of the quilt on my lap as I stitch and my hubby loves it when I sit next to him in the evenings while he watches TV.

I have another question for all you seasoned quilters:

Spray baste or not? I bought some at Joann's but because this is for a baby, I didn't want to use anything at all. But I have a larger quilt for my next project and the pinning is a pain....I'll be honest.

So what are your suggestions and experiences with spray basting?

Thanks!