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Road to Llano Backing

Let me start off by saying this:  I’m not asking for your opinion.  I already know . . you’re going to think I’m totally nuts when you see the backing I’ve chosen.  I can explain . . maybe!  It’s one of those things that seems right in my head . . today.  Tomorrow I’ll probably second guess my decision.  It’s done!  The backing is loaded on the longarm.  I am not changing it.

You’ll remember how much I struggled to choose the right fabrics because I wanted this quilt to be absolutely beautiful for my friend.  This is top (as if anyone doesn’t know exactly what this top looks like . . you’ve seen it 100 times in the last week!):

Road to Llano for a Friend

Road to Llano for a Friend

The first potential backing fabric I pulled would have worked nicely.  There’s only 3 yards because I used part of this fabric for the vet tech’s baby quilt.  I was going to add lavender or yellow to make it bigger.  It’s very pretty . . very feminine, right? The colors are soft and . . well, it’s just pretty!

Possible Backing

But . . this is what I chose for the backing!

Backing

When you’re done laughing, we’ll continue our discussion!  You are laughing, aren’t you?  There’s nothing pretty about this fabric!

I was raised in southwest Louisiana, which isn’t exactly the heart of cajun country, though now it’s more “cajun-y” than it was when I was a kid.  But, I am not cajun.  My family came from north Louisiana.  My friend who is getting this quilt is 100% cajun.  Her parents were cajun.  She’s very proud of her Louisiana cajun heritage, as she should be.  She would never say it but she will probably love the back side more than she loves the front side!  When I came across this piece of fabric, I immediately knew this was the right backing.

Even though it wasn’t planned to be so, I think the quilt is going to be perceived to be an LSU quilt with all the purple and gold and then with this Louisiana food on the back, I can’t help but believe she’s going to love it!

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. You’re right the first one is pretty but I love the Cajun one and it sounds perfect for your friend! I can tell you put a lot of thought into this, just like I always try to do!! It’s a gorgeous quilt and I know she’ll love it!

  3. I think the back is perfect for this quilt. A little trivia, did you know the Llano High School colors are black and gold?
    Llano Yellowjackets if I remember correctly from my high school football days.

  4. Backing looks lovely!!!!!!!! She will enjoy it!!!! Love to know what you are using for binding with the two different fabrics.

  5. Sorry, I agree with you. I like a wild and out of the box backing. Works for me, but I bet it works for the receipiant also.

  6. Yes, I was laughing. =) However, I completely agree with your reasoning. I’ve never been the person who thought front and back had to match in any way … anyway.

  7. I love funky fabrics for back and fronts… but Itend to use them in large pieces on backs. I did the exact same thing with some beautiful pink flamingo fabric that I put on the back of a jewel-toned quilt for a wedding gift. The bride totally understood the joke…. not sure if she shared with her new groom!

  8. Great choice! The front is bright, even if the background is light, so the backing needs to jump for joy also.

  9. That is why the people we love get hand made..just for them colors, patterns and backing as the case maybe…
    They are so lucky to have folks like us!

  10. it shows you gave great thought as to what she would like best. that is a great reason to use anything you know they would love, no matter how it “looks” to others…..

  11. I wasn’t exactly laughing–more like, uh, wincing? But you explained it perfectly, especially when I started thinking about a particular Spider Web quilt on my closet shelf. I’ll only say that one comes out only when the temp is -10 and the heat goes out, and then it is in the middle of the stack. You, however, have come up with a perfect choice for your friend, who will love the bright colors (mine are NOT bright, just hideous). BTW, we are having another thunderstorm here. What happened to the sun?????

  12. Who says the back has to match the front of the quilt?
    Yes, I laughed at the back. It is such fun fabric and sounds perfect for your friend. Don’t let anyone make you doubt your choice.

  13. She will feel all the love and care that has gone into this quilt. God bless your heart.
    Adrienne

  14. That is a great story to go with the quilt, I think the backing is perfect! What counts is that you like it and you think your friend will love it.

  15. She’d have loved it no matter WHAT you would’ve put on the back. But now that you’ve explained, I think it’s perfect!! LOL

  16. I have that fabric….LOL….oh, wait…i might have used the last of it in the I Spy quilt and the latest scrappy quilt. perhaps i HAD that fabric.

  17. Being from South Louisiana, I didn’t even need an explanation. I even have several yards of that fabric in my stash.

  20. I did laugh! Then your explanation made perfect sense to me! Now I can’t wait to see what binding you come up with to match both sides!

  22. Judy, as soon as I saw this quilt, I thought ‘oh wow! an LSU quilt!” I’m a Baton Rouge girl- grew up 15 minutes from campus and graduated from LSU and although I live in the Memphis area now, my whole family is still in LA (the hubs is from Shreveport). I love, love, LOVE your backing choice, and I needed no explanation. Awesome choice!

    🙂 Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

  23. I love the backing! It will make her smile and that’s what the quilt is all about.

  24. From one chicken lover to another——-it’s an egg-cellent choice!

  25. It’s perfect! I love making quilts with different lives on the front and back. Your friend is going to love it!

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