Workshop in Progress

This is my first time joining in the Workshop in Progress.  I'm excited by the chance to get feedback from a wider group of people.

I am working on my prep for my wedding signature quilt blocks.  There are two issues that I keep coming back to.

The first is making sure that guests sign on the right part of the block, inside the seam allowance.  What I've come up with so far is adding a freezer paper backing on the part that should be signed.  When I made a mock-up, I realized that I could write on the back of the freezer paper to explain.

Back side

Front side

The question is - does this make enough sense?  Eric suggested I add a border to the back of the freezer paper in dark Sharpie to make a clearer frame.

The second question is pens - I've narrowed it down to a Sharpie or a Pigma pen.  I've tested both and found that the Pigma pen bled a little bit but had a bolder result.  The Sharpie looks faded but doesn't bleed.  Any advice or thoughts from people who have done this large-scale?

Wedding Quilt

In my very first post, I mentioned one of my current works in progress - making a signature quilt as a guestbook for our upcoming wedding.  Blogging about the process on this might be s-l-o-w going, since we won't make real progress on it until after the wedding in June.

The Excel sketch of the planned layout for the quilt.

We are requesting scraps of fabric from our families to make up the patterned corners.  We are hoping to have it filled with pieces of family history.  We have a good start - fabric from a dress my mother made me and from maternity clothes she wore.  But the rest is yet to come.

I've designed the quilt based on several different sources of inspiration.  I started by searching Google images for signature blocks, and decided I liked the basic diagonal signature block.  There was one image that stuck with me and resulted in the layout I've planned above.  Of course, just now in trying to track down that image, I couldn't find it.  (Edit: Found it!)  Instead, I stumbled on this quilt that adds four-patch blocks into the mix.  I like it, since it makes it bigger and adds visual interest.  So perhaps the layout won't be set until I have the signature blocks together and up on my design wall!

This tutorial at p. s. i quilt for siggy blocks provided the shape that I wanted with the most straightforward description.  I made it slightly bigger (five inches finished instead of three).  I made up some sample blocks out of stash, and decided that the tutorial instructions are the best.

The blue and tan blocks on the right are the mock-ups.

The problem with this form of assembly is that we will be receiving most of the patterned fabric later - after the blocks need to be signed.  That's an issue for another post.  I also discovered that I'll have plenty of half-square triangles left over.  I plan on using them to identify the stories behind the fabric, either as a border or maybe as a pieced strip on the back.

So far, this is what I have: fifty-odd white 5 1/2" squares.

Not the most exciting process post, but it's what I have!  I'm really looking forward to playing with all the scrappy fabrics I hope my family and friends send my way and pulling it all together into a cohesive final product.