Originally Posted by Qbee

OK....first let me say a huge THANK YOU to everyone on this board! I found this board a month or so after I lost my father back in July...ya'll have not only given me GREAT quilting help but have also given me friendships to help me through difficult times. As many of you know, my mother became ill last week and passed away on Sunday. I must say that losing both parents in 4 months has been the most difficult challenge I have faced thus far. Without this board and my "Midnight Owl Club" friends on chat, I don't know what I would do. So again, my sincere thanks!

Now....my latest call for HELP! :D Because of everything that has occurred, I am VERY behind in getting quilts made for my family for Christmas. We were already having a difficult time financially so I was doing quilts...now with Mom's funeral cost, I really need to do quilts! So...I am changing the patterns to make some very FAST and EASY quilts. I just have a couple of questions that I need clarified mainly because I think my brain is on "pause" LOL!

1. When doing a Rag Quilt, can I use cotton on the top and then flannel on the bottom?
2. Also with rag quilts, I remember some said that they left a little over an inch for cutting. How much did you cut? Like 1 and 1/4????
3. If I am tying a quilt, what type of batting would allow the most room between ties in order to save time? I was thinking of using decorative buttons for the "ties" in order to make it cute but want to make sure there are enough ties.
4. I'm afraid that there is no way I will have time to hand bind the quilts before Christmas given that I still have to go back to Texas for my Mom's "Celebration of Life" service on the 18th. I know some of you have done binding by machine. What do you think of me making the backing big and then folding it to the front and using a decorative stitch??

Thanks ahead of time for your help!!!