First Finishes of 2016

I rang in the New Year by doing an epic sort and clean out of my sewing room. When you move countries with pretty much only checked in baggage, every gram counts… and so far, the tally of what has been culled is over 11.4kgs. And that’s just what’s good enough to sell or giveaway, so the trash bag is probably another 1-2kgs on top of that. It also uncovered a few WIPs that I’ve had lying around from anywhere between a couple of months to a few years. Time to finish them and get rid of them!

First up was turning this free motion quilting mandala into a pillow cover. It almost became a mini, as the back looks just as cool with only white thread on the luminescent Oakshott, but a pillow cover is more useful – it’s destined to become a farewell/thank you gift for a colleague. It’s hard to see the quilting detail in photos, as it’s quite soft compared to the grey, so with a little photo editing, you can see it a bit better now.

Second was to turn these leftover Wombat Stew bee blocks into a pillow cover too. The clever girls made these kimono blocks with free reign over the fabric choices, and they did GOOD! I added a darker grey border to bring it up to size, some light straight line quilting to secure it, and an envelope closure with a black and white Japanese sakura print.

These blocks were supposed to become a wall hanger, but they sat around for far too long, so I used some for a baby quilt backing, and these last 4 ones for this pillow!

And the first “true” finish of 2016, as in, started and finished, was a lined drawstring bag for my daughter’s princess dolls from Christmas. She selected the fabrics for each part (exterior, casing, interior) and I found the perfect little floral ribbon to finish it off. She, and the dolls, are very happy with their new home!

A great start to the year, if I may say so myself! I’m now trying to finish off a couple more old, old WIPs, except it’s pretty darn cold in my sewing space now, so the motivation is pretty low… like the temperatures.