Quilting the Herringbone

I started basting this (old school style with safety pins) so I could start hand quilting it during my stint as chief question answerer at our exhibition, but things didn't go as planned.

I thought I might as well try machine quilting it. So I ruled 1.5" from each lengthwise seam. If I had more skill, I would like to have quilted it along the herringbone lines.

The backing is a $6 Spotlight special called Gumboot Garden. It was inches too narrow, so I added a strip of purple sketch. (I am not a fan of pieced backings.)

It is my best machine quilting to date ... not that there is much to compare it to and it is only straight lines. But this time there are no puckers anywhere, my stitch length is nice and even and the tension on the back is pretty good. What I like best is two hours of work versus about one month! If I could machine quilt for real, I could make loads more quilts.