Pinned for Trapunto

I got it pinned this morning, thankfully it took less time than I expected. Note how the pins have been left open. I cannot remember whose idea this was but I am eternally grateful. Whether you pin on a table or the floor, just get the pins in place. Then sit comfortably on your sofa with your favourite TV program and close your pins. This cuts your kneeling time or bending over time by more than half and it's kinder on your fingers as you are closing the pins at a far more easy angle.

You will see that the centre lines of the feather are not the most elegant. This happens when you trace through rather than drawing directly onto fabric. No problem, these lines are a guide not written in stone. When I come to stitch, I will follow the natural line not the marking.

Have you noticed, I'm not showing you all the quilt at once? This is so you'll stay with me on this journey. My poor friend Marion has had to listen to me going on and on when I do my large quilts. Sometimes it's just because I get bored with doing loads of background, sometimes it's just because it takes so long. This time it's your turn (grin).
The quilt fabric is 80" wide and the quilt is probably about 3-4" inside this so it's not the biggest quilt I've made but it's not tiny either.
If I can get them I buy the kingsize bats. This is because I want those left over big bits to practice on. They are also handy for smaller quilts. I put the leftovers straight back into their original packaging so I don't loose track of what they are. In this case the trapunto batting is Quilter's Dream Poly in the the De Luxe weight. This batting is unlike any other poly bats as it is made with microfibres. It feels like a lightweight felt with better drape. And it sticks to the cotton of the quilt top and the backing just like cotton if not more so.
I will use Hobbs wool batting for the quilt itself. One reason is I've found it dries so much more quickly than other bats and the other is the colour. It's cream not brilliant white. I'm hoping there will be a subtle difference in colour between the trapunto areas and the background. It should be subtle enough than you are unaware of it, but enough to draw the eye to the trapunto areas (I did say I get quite anal about some of my quilts, didn't I?)
I'm also still considering what to use as backing. I have a lovely royal blue and the white stitching could look brilliant on this. One thing is holding me back, when you do really fine quilting with really fine threads the lines of stitching on the back are not always placed exactly where they are on the front. I will stitch either side of the lines in the 'lobes' of the feathers like Diane Gaudynski recommends. This not only looks better than going over the previous line of stitching, it is also far quicker. But I noticed that when you have rows of stitching 1/16" or less apart, the parallel lines are not as parallel on the back. I have to decide whether this matters or not.
Another consideration is this backing has been prewashed as I needed to see if the colour ran. It didn't but it had to be done. I like my backings when I'm doing fine quilting to not be prewashed. It's nice if they can shrink a little when the quilt is washed and then allow a little more of the quilting to stand out on the front. This idea is from Barbara Barber. I have a roll of some truly lovely unbleached muslin but this would require a seam. I could use the same sateen on the back as it on the front, but then there would be no 2nd side. I have some cream lightly marbled fabric backs..... and some patterned ones which are totally forgiving on the back, but that would be cheating (grin) and anyway this quilt is supposed to be an heirloom so it should be worthy on both sides.
Decisions, decisions......