Saturday Sewing

Today's plans got changed not just once, but twice!  But for me it's all for the good and will make this coming week a lot more relaxed and easy going.  First I had to cancel out on the annual church Ladies Christmas Tea.  I was super sad about that, but I was scheduled to work at the quilt shop and had already switched days earlier in November.  I decided to make the best of it, even though I was going to miss out on a fun event. 

Then, when I arrived at the shop, the other person showed up!  Turns out that somehow we were all mixed up and she asked me if I wanted to go home - Yes, Ma'am I do, I have two quilts that need to be finished this weekend and mailed out.  So now I get to spend my day catching up on some computer stuff and working on my quilts - it's a win for me for sure :)

First of all, I basted this candy cane quilt -

Sweet, isn't it?  Oh, that paper piecing was a challenge!  Then I really wanted to make a pinwheel border, but only had so many charm squares to work with.  In the past I've always thought that the quick method of making pinwheels by sewing around the edges of two charm squares wouldn't really work very well because of all the bias.  But I took a chance and was delighted with the results! I used a little Best Press on them and they came out perfectly.  In the end I miscounted and was still 4 squares short, so I made the cornerstones from a pretty green fabric - now I have some spearmint pinwheels to go with my peppermint ones!

Isn't the green with candy canes perfect for this quilt?  The candy cane blocks are a mini quilt pattern - Peppermint Twists.  They were very tune consuming, but super cute.  The pattern includes those little candy corner blocks as well.  If you like foundation paper piecing, you have to check out the whole website - so many fun quilts there!  eQuiltPatterns.com is the address.  You'll love it!

Next I added the borders to this quilt:

I was a little distressed about finding something for the borders on this, and that red plaid was just the ticket.  This is a delightful and cozy looking lap quilt now - or it will be after I get it quilted up as well!  The pattern for the block is also a mini quilt, this one by Quilt Doodle Designs called Snow Much Decorating.  I did two the regular way, and reversed the other two to make it a little more interesting.  This was a fun project and I totally recommend this pattern as well!

Do you have your Christmas music going as you work in your sewing room?  I am enjoying listening to mine, and am looking forward to more fun holiday projects when I finish these.  I love this time of year!