Kathi's Quilt - Just Finished

I took a hiatus from this quilt while working full / overtime at my previous job(s). Now that I am unemployed and up north where it is freezing, I have had more time to work on projects. I sat down over the past couple weeks and knocked this one out. It's amazing how much sewing you get done when you have no husband around, you cannot drive, and you have no job. It's the silver lining to the situation!

Well, here it is:

I'd say that it turned out absolutely lovely! I am very happy with it. No handmade project is perfect, and this is no exception. There are a few spots where say the machine stitching shows on the front, and my hand quilting stitches are definitely not perfectly spaced. I did get much better at that though, along with huge improvements on the binding. 

Here are details of the quilting. Above is a close up of some of the stitches on the front. The photo to the right shows how the pinwheels look on the back. The photo below shows that my hand-stitching on the binding is getting more even. I didn't take a photo, but my corners look much better on this quilt too (compared to the last). 

I'm especially happy with how the quilt wrinkled up all cozy in the wash. It also got rid of the cat hair...since the cat thought I was making the quilt for her.

All that's left is getting the quilt to Kathi! I will be starting on some Christmas presents for my sisters-in law and my mother-in-law tomorrow. I'll be working on something new, so I'll be taking advantage of my mom's help while I'm staying with her! They are each one or two day projects, so I should have them all done before I leave to visit TJ. After that, I'll be starting on Jessica's baby quilt. I have the pattern picked out along with all of the fabric. Hopefully I'll finish it significantly faster. Maybe even in time for the baby's first birthday.

I won't be posting any photos of Christmas presents until the recipients receive them, but I'll make sure to share them each on here after! For learning to sew less than two years ago, I'd say that I'm improving greatly. I'm excited to share the next few projects. Hopefully sometime this next year I'll figure out how to sew some clothes. That's my longterm goal. Sewing clothes is more complicated. I have made two attempts so far. The pajama pants turned out alright (a little short-like capris, but otherwise good). The shirt was a disaster. I'm going to wait until I have a cutting table and am settled in Florida before the next clothing attempt. I also have been doing some digital scrap-booking -- but those are also gifts that I can't share until after the holidays.