Jennifer (a.k.a KraftyChick)Christmas is done again for another year. Was it a success? I managed to get a gift all quilted up on time, we spent it with family – cooking, eating, and relaxing. So, according to my measures of success, it was a resounding yes! You? Do share!
Christmas Quilt Success
Let’s talk about my quilt success. I’m quite chuffed about it. This is a quilt that has been on my UFO pile for quite a while. (UFO stands for: “Unfinished Object”, and I have a large pile). I bought the quilt at least 3 years ago (I’m being very generous with my timelines here… – yikes!), and I finished the quilt top probably 2 years ago. It was supposed to be gifted last Christmas (or was it the Christmas before that??). I really put pressure on myself to get it done this year.
This is a quilt kit that has old farm trucks on it, so it caught my eye. I can’t for the life of me remember where I bought it. A few years ago I was on a quilt kit kick, and pretty much trolled the online quilt shops for any kits on sale. This must have been one of them.
I remember it came together fairly easily. A bit of fussy cutting for the picture bits. I’m not terribly good at fussy cutting, but I persisted, LOL. Each picture needed framing – so there were lots of different lengths of fabric, and I actually labelled and organized them. I found the leftover fabric strips still pinned and labelled in the kit box. I gave myself a nice pat on the back for such great organizational work! LOL.
Domestic Machine Quilting – Straight line for the Win!
The quilt is likely viewed as more feminine than masculine, and I wanted it to be a quilt my dad would like to use as well as my mom, so I used grey fabric for the backing, trying to pull out those colour-tones rather than emphasizing the more floral tones. This quilt would have been a good candidate for quilting in swirls, but I was not up for doing that on my domestic machine. And besides, quilting in straight lines helps to keep it from being too soft or feminine looking.
The quilt was bigger than I imagined it would be – even though I measured it. When I got it all rolled up to start quilting, I was buried! I will admit my ambition for quilting in two directions significantly diminished when it took close to 3 hours to do only the one direction. It is exhausting hauling a large quilt through the sewing machine over and over again. I can only imagine what I look like with it draped on top of me as I feed it through the machine. Needless to say, I decided the quilting was finished with only one direction done. Finished is better than perfect, and finished is success!
Glue Bast that Binding!
The binding, which is my least favourite part of quilting, actually went on ok this time! I will be bold and say that I am improving! I started using a new method – new to me anyway – where you sew the binding on one side, fold it, and then glue bast it down to hold it in place. My bindings are much straighter and have fewer boo boos since I started doing this method. I use washable white glue. It holds well enough for me to get the sewing done, doesn’t gum up your needles, and then washes out easily too. What are your tips and tricks for making binding easier?
Other Christmas Gift Making Success
Earlier this year I made a bunch of mug rugs this year too out of some paper piecing blocks. I really wanted to try paper piecing, but I knew that I didn’t want to commit to a whole quilt right away, so I just made several blocks to explore this technique. I figured I would figure out what to do with those block later! Well, it turns out, they make great mug rugs! Several were given to my friend and tea business partner – didn’t get pics of those ones. I used patterns from Irene of Sugaridoo – her Happy Notes collection.
I also gifted my handcrafted soaps and lip balms to my Tuesday night quilting girls. We decided to treat ourselves to the Festive Special at Swiss Chalet (IYKYK) and did a spontaneous gift exchange. It was a great break from our sewing and we are all geared up for next year!
Year-End Reflections
I’m happy with how the quilt and other gifts turned out. And I’m ecstatic that I have more items off my UFO pile! I didn’t shrink that pile as much as I wanted to this year, but every finished project is a step in the right direction, so I am not going to be too critical of myself.
All in all, I am leaving 2024 behind with a smile on my face and looking forward to 2025. The tea business (Breakwater Edge) is picking up. We are enjoying having a home at the Brantford Farmers’ Market, and I am still working towards being a morning person LOL. I’m looking forward to exploring new projects with my soap and seeing where that will take me! And maybe there will be some exciting travel in 2025.
Cheers, and happy making!
Jennifer
