I can't believe it's been almost two months since I shared anything. There have been things to share, but not as much as I would like. My current job involves shipping and as you can imagine, it gets a little hectic at work around Thanksgiving and lasts through Christmas, and if I'm being honest, January is a little crazy as well as everyone stocks back up on things after the holiday rush.
I was able to sneak a few things in quilting wise over the last month, but it's been quite sporadic and it takes a minute to figure out where I was when I pick it back up again. I started my first big stitch hand quilting project right before thanksgiving but haven't picked it up since. I did finish that last baby quilt (more on that last part later), All was going really well until I was joining my binding strips. Would you believe, while cutting the excess binding away so I could join the ends of my flange binding, I cut the quilt top? I was so upset with myself that I set the quilt aside for a few days.
In the end, I ended up patching both sides as the cut was about an eighth of an inch past my binding. And somehow I was able to match up almost perfectly the front pattern. When asking for help on how to fix it, one person suggested I use a bite shaped patch in a different color as there were dinosaurs in the prints used. And while that sounded like a great idea, my skills are not there yet so I didn't want to go for it. But I will keep that in mind for a future oops. Not that I'm planning to make that kind of oops again. This one was handed over to my brother for delivery on Christmas and he has said that the couple is very appreciative.
Oh and as far as that last baby quilt? I got a text on New Year's saying that another friend is going for a first ultrasound in a few weeks so he's going to need another one by the end of summer. At this point, I really should just make a few tops for either gender and maybe a neutral one so they are ready to go when he needs one. But before that, I need to make one for my friend. I have a free pattern picked out and fabric was delivered so I can't wait to dive into that.
I think it was a day or two after Thanksgiving that I decided I wanted to make a Christmas table runner to put under my nativity set since it's porcelain and I am always afraid of bumping it and knocking them over, so off I went and whipped up Baking Day from the Barnstar Sampler book. In an attempt to make the table runner as flat as possible, I tried matchstick quilting. Which I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would, but unfortunately the seams were too think in the table runner for my nativity pieces to stand up. Those little sheep are just too small and light to handle anything slightly bumpy. But it found a home on the table and made the dining room a bit more festive.
Let's see, what else? I've been working on the Quiltville Winter Mystery. I mostly kept up through the whole thing and decided a few weeks in to make it the full size, so I did end up ordering the rest of that beautiful backing. Now just to finish the quilt as the reveal has happened.
And then, while I was super impressed with myself for finishing 14 projects in 2024, I decided last minute to try to finish my Ice Crystals quilt. So I spent the Saturday after Christmas crawling around on the floor basting the quilt and then Sunday and Monday quilting it. Binding went on Tuesday and it was washed and dried before the clock struck midnight, which brought my 2024 finishes up to 15. Wow, I was busy last year!
Ice Crystals does not have a pattern. Yet! I'm trying my hand at pattern writing and finding that it's not as easy as you would think, but also I'm not sure if I'm just wordy, but with lots of pictures and diagrams I think the pattern is around 26 pages. Included are a cover page and a coloring page, but directions, materials, and diagrams make up the remaining 24 pages. And I still need to find at least one pattern tester before I figure out how to go about publishing a pattern.
Which has led me down another rabbit trail of how to go about opening an Etsy shop, and while that part looks easy enough, it's the tax and legal side that is currently mystifying me and giving me a headache. My goal for this year is to be able to open an online store, so don't hold your breath that it will happen in the next month, but cross your fingers I figure it out at some point this year. I have a bunch of patterns I have doodled out that I want to make and if I'm going through the effort of figuring it all out for me, why not make it available for others as well?
Happy quilting! My sewing machine is calling me!
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