Hurray for the first finish of 2019!! My goal was to link this up as a finished quilt during the Fireburst celebration over the New Year’s weekend. Alas, that didn’t happen.

However I happened to have a bit of sewing time this week and I finished it up.  I started the spiral quilting which is always a bit difficult and wonky for me at first. I was following along at the width of the walking foot but after several full spirals, it started to look a little too tight.

I decided to stop quilting and I set it aside.  My main concern was whether the quilt would be stiff if I continued to quilt it with this density.  I am not a huge fan of dense quilting unless it is a quilt hanging on a wall.

After waiting a bit and asking for input on Instagram and Facebook,  I started working on it again.  I did a somewhat gradual widening of the spirals such that by the outermost edge, the stitching lines were two full inches apart. I like this so much better.  If I could have, I would have started to widen the spirals earlier but I think this looks really nice.

The quilting took very little time.  After the spirals were finished, I used a fun, decorative stitch on my machine for the orange border. I really like the way it looks.  There are so many cute stitches available on the machine and I rarely remember to use them. Anyway, that was a lot of fun.

For the backing and binding, I shopped downstairs, where I keep the Needle & Foot bolts.  It didn’t take long to choose Folk Fleur and Homespun from the Meriwether line by Amy Gibson. I think these fabrics are so sweet.  Plus, a bias plaid binding???  Any sort of bias cut binding is the best.  When a fabric is a plaid that is already on the bias, so much the better.  What do you think? This quilt looks great from the front or the back.

I am really happy with this sweet baby quilt. I am unsure where it is destined to live as of yet.  But I am sure it will go to the perfect place. That usually seems to just make itself known. Thank you to Tish for hosting the Fireburst mystery QAL.  I enjoyed the whole thing! This was also my January “One Monthly Goal” for the event held over at Elm Street Quilts so I will happily link up there when the linky opens!!

Finally, want to see another cute finish from this week?  You might remember I spent some time in Vermont over the holidays. One of my favorite ways to spend time was having a tea party with H.  When I posted this picture on Facebook, my friend Karen, Kaholly.com, suggested I make some little tea bags for her to pretend with. What a great idea!!

I came home and made these.  Using little scraps, I stitched up these squares with a bit of batting inside.  To make the strings, I braided three strands of Perle cotton thread. Aren’t these fun!  Lemon team, strawberry tea, pineapple tea, and…… kitty cats??? I don’t know why I made that one – I think I will tell her it is so she can make kitty tea for Jenny and Polly (their two cats). Clearly I didn’t think this through but it should work out.  Maybe her cats want a spot of tea?  Those poor cats – I can just see H following them around with a cup and this tea bag hoping they will want a sip. These were so fun to make. I hope she has as much fun using them.

Wishing all of you a great weekend. I know there are some huge storms threatening the Northeast.  Stay safe and warm in your sewing room.  we are expecting a lot of rain here so I will be doing the same thing!

I have had a sale running in the shop all week.  It ends tomorrow which means there is still time!!  Save 25% off on all Michael Miller fabrics.  So many pretty prints and cozy flannels to choose from!  Come take a peek. Remember shipping anywhere in the US is always $6.99 no matter the size of the order.  Quite a deal

 

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