Aahh, only three sewing days left before the in-laws move in for Christmas!
But thankfully I’m pretty much on schedule with finishes. I have 3 batches of cookies baked and in the freezer, so one trip to the grocery store on Monday should be all I need to stock up on fruits and vegetables for a few days, and the pork roast for Christmas dinner (we’re going to have pulled pork, because I’m cooking, so I get to decide, and I decided that a crock pot meal is perfect). What’s that? You want to see what I’ve been sewing, you say. Well, okay.
Finish #1 is the camouflage jacket for my daughter. It turned out pretty well although with the fleece lining I added, it’s a bit bulky in the sleeves. We’ll try to get some use out of it in the spring. And having a child stand on a chair is fairly effective at keeping her still. Smiles would be extra. Hurray for another finish from my Q4 Finish-A-Long list!
Finish #2 is a pillow for my niece, for Christmas. Not that I needed to start another project 10 days before Christmas. I have started a quilt for her in the pink-yellow-gray colour scheme (she’s 11, of course pink is her favourite colour, but the yellow and gray give it a nice edge and tone down the saccharine sweetness of the pink). The aqua was added due to the inspiration colour bundle from Chrissy at Sew Lux fabrics, so I am also linking this finish to the Ladies Night Challenge. I think I like it, and I shall have to see how to incorporate aqua into the quilt.
I started with a pile of various fabrics from the quilt, and decided to make the Joel Dewberry a feature in the centre. Then I improvisationally started added fabrics, until the cover was the right size. For the quilting I outlined the JD flowers, and pebbled in the yellow. Not perfect, but I improved a lot even over this small area. Take a look at the stitches on this flower–fairly regular, no? I almost wimped out and used diagonal line quilting, but I think the FMQ really sets off the piecing and I’m so glad I tried!
And finally you can really see the quilting on the back (a piece of fugly fabric from my stash). Batting is Warm and White, with a concealed zipper in the back using this tutorial from Adrianne at On the Windy Side. I used a variety of cotton and polyester threads depending on what colours I had, but I have to say that the Aurifil 50 for the pink flowers was probably the best for tension.
Linking up to the other last-minute sewists at TGIFF with Gingersnap Quilts!
Lisa in Port Hope 
Lovely quilting on the pillow. I love Aurifil thread.
I wasn’t quite sure if I believed in the hype, but since I finally figured out how to get the spool to fit on my sewing machine pin, I will continue to try it out. I would like to find a bricks & mortar shop where I can buyAurifil, ordering it online is not so useful.
Beautiful finishes, I too love Aurifil threads.
Congrats on your finishes Lisa! Love the jacket and your cushion is fabulous! Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!
My trip to see my sister got cancelled today due to freezing rain, so at least I get to admire my cushion for another week before I give it away. Thanks for stopping by!
Okay, first of all, your daughter is a doll!!!! Secondly your pillow is wonderful! I am inspired to fmq in the new year…it’s been hanging over my head long enough!!!!
Thank you! Just like any skill, FMQ takes practice, so I really hope you jump into a small project like a pillow and give it a try!
I love the pillow you made, the fabrics and the quilting are just beautiful.
Nice jacket! Looks great 🙂 Your flower quilting is really good! I’m having a lot of fun messing with my free motion foot lately too.
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