Wedding Quilt Center is Done

Good progress on this quilt, all being well I should be finished well ahead of the wedding date later this month. The center is already 78"x103", with the three WOW borders it will be around 115"x120". 

BTW, I asked the Bride-to-be not to look at my blog between now and her wedding, I don't want her to see the quilt until it is finished.

I had to order a second backing from my favorite online fabrics store, Thousands of Bolts and Only One Nut! I thought it was 118" wide, turns out to be 108" - it's quite hard to find the extra wide backings over 108" especially if you need a specific color.
I ended making extra blocks because I decided to extend the design over the pillow area instead of a band of the WOW. So six more blocks made it 6x8 then a few more blocks for the panel in the backing because 108" isn't wide enough for a 114" wide quilt.

I really like the feather motif on the backing especially since the quilting will be mostly freehand feathers, the color is a little more steely than shows here. The backing will still not be wide enough so I plan to insert a 14" strip alternating pieced blocks and squares of the grey backing- I have the extra blocks ready to go. Thousands Of Bolts ships really fast Priority USPS and my orders normally arrive promptly in two days so I will be looking for the second backing by Wednesday. I have recommended this site to many and have purchased from them for years with nothing but the very best first quality brand name brand merchandize, exceptional service and a huge range of everything you could ask for fabric wise.

 Good thing I am ahead with the quilt because our Navy DGS brought by a set of his blues that need a bit of help in the form of stitching on his rank [a 5 minute job which includes thread change] and hemming the pants. He was charged $40 last time he needed an item of rank sewn on, is that outrageous I wonder, is that the best we can do for our military? I am putting on my flame proof panties now because I know that every business needs to make a profit but could they not make an exception for the military? At least offer a discount, and I don't even want to think what they'd charge for hemming the pants!
Disclaimer- we are a military family for generations and I have sewed on patches and hemmed uniforms from BTU's  to Mess Blues and Whites for DH and our Army son and now I have another generation to proudly support in his service for our great Nation.
No complaints here!