Blocking a quilt

The day before yesterday, I finally finished the quilting on my most recent piece--the one I can't post a picture of because I hope to enter it in a show.  This has taken over two months to quilt, after it was dyed, and prepared as a whole cloth hanging.  Just finding the "right" colour of silk thread for quilting proved to be a challenge. But "tis done.  Because the quilting was somewhat uneven, the piece had to be blocked.  

This has never been a problem, as a friend gifted me with a professional blocking board that she had used for years with her exhibition quality crewel embroidery.  In turn, I used it for a number of years, during which I worked as a needlework finisher.  For the past few years, I've used it for my mixed media and fibre art wall hangings.

A quick glance told me that the board would be too small for the current piece.  A closer look told me that it was time for the board to retire. This meant finding a board that would take multiple uses involving Tee-pins, and could be covered to prevent contamination of the fabric blocked on it, and to minimize the chance of any watermarking of the fabric.  The original board had been covered, first with a waterproof layer, and then with 1/4" Gingham.  The Gingham provides straight lines and right angles, so that the piece being blocked can be carefully squared up during the process. Gathering the necessary materials took two long days of shopping in unusual places,  I found the necessary board, and then, after having bought clear vinyl to use as a waterproof layer; instead of cotton Gingham, which was too narrow for the board, a length of flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth that had been printed with a Gingham pattern.  Thank Goodness the clear vinyl was on sale, and I have no regrets in putting it aside for another project.

So the board is together, and the piece blocked.  We had to use brass thumb tacks instead of the Tee-pins, as the board was a little harder than expected. (brass to prevent staining from rusty tacks). And we had to deal with a recalcitrant compressed air stapler, but the job is finally done.