"Anything Worth Doing... Borders"

Becky's Judy Niemeyer Double Wedding Ring

Dorothy's 30/s Stars

  When I was a kid, I heard this phrase,  "Anything worth doing, is worth doing well!"  That idea was so ingrained in me that I have a lot of trouble with perfectionism.  Not all bad, but there is one area where I tend to fall short of meeting that standard...Borders!
  My attention span tends to be pretty short.  When I start a new project, I almost always dream of great things when it comes to planning my borders.  I think about chasing geese, applique, fancy block designs...oh, yes, I have beautiful plans.  Guess what happens?  By the time I get to the end of making my quilt, I want to be DONE!  All my grandiose schemes usually are for naught, and I end up either slapping on the traditional "stop" border plus one or two wider borders, depending on how big I want my quilt, or (GASP) lately, I have been throwing my binding on and calling it a day.  My quilts are definitely lackluster in the border department.
  I have been inspired of late by some of my customer quilts.  My cousin Becky brought me the beautiful double wedding ring, and I had so much fun quilting it for her!  Imagine that quilt without the applique border...it would have been pretty, but that border sent it right over the top in to "drop dead" gorgeousness!  It took her a long time to applique the border, but it was so worth it!  Don't you agree?  Another customer brought me this fun little string quilt made out of 30's prints.  I love the setting, but, again, the border is what truly "makes" the quilt.  If Dot had just done the Sandi method and slapped on a couple of borders, her quilt wouldn't be the stunner that it is.
  Here's a thought...maybe for my next quilt, I should make the borders first!  I will let you know how it goes!