Happy Hanukkah, Wall Hanging finish

Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish Family and Friends.  I hope that you are all having a wonderful start to the Hanukkah celebration.  I just wanted to share my Dreidle Delight Wall hanging quilt finish.  Yes, I got it done and in the mail on time.  It's going to find a new home with my cousin and his wife.

This was my first ever attempt at doing feathers on my home machine.  I think they turned out okay.  I also did figure 8s in the cream border and a stipple stitch in the medium blue.  The binding gave me all sorts of problems.  I did a thinner binding than I usually do, and I did it all by machine.  I usually finish my binding by hand.  It just didn't want to co-operate with me at all, but I finally got it done.  Sorry about the mediocre picture, but I had to get it to the post office in a hurry!

The last little thing that I want to share with you is a tip on hanging a small wall hanging like this.  Because this is so small, there really is no reason to sew on a sleeve.  I just took two 4" squares, folded them in half diagonally and then sewed them into the binding.  This way, I can insert a dowel rod and hang it, or I can lay it flat on a table as a runner without the extra bulk of a hanging sleeve.  I also made sure to include the rod and the wall hook in the package going to my cousin.  I find that if you make people get their own hangers, the project wont get hung.

I would also like to note, that I only used fabric from my stash for this project!  Even the backing, which was a fabric that I've had for awhile now because I only need a 5" piece when I bought it.  I'm trying to use supplies mostly from my stash, the problem is that so many times I need just a bit more fabric than I have for something.  I'm sure you all know the feeling. :)

Hanukkah wall hanging and stitching in the ditch

It's snowing outside.  My kids are thrilled!  

I've got so much going on this week, and in the weeks to come. School, kids, holiday parties, and all the sewing and  crochet that I need to get done before Christmas.  Yes, kids and my schooling need to come first, but I always try to find some time to craft during the day.  It's my "me" time; even if it's just 15 minutes.  This week I'm finishing up a Hanukkah wall hanging for my cousin.  I was hoping to have this out tomorrow morning, since Hanukkah starts on the 8th, but it's looking like it might be going out on Tuesday instead.

*          *                *              *
      *              *                      
*                *                 *
    *                          *
           *          *                 *    
*            *                *          
_n_  * _n_   _n_    _n_  * _n_    
(-_-)   (-_-)   (-_-)   (-_-)    (-_-)   
( . )    ( . )    ( . )    ( . )    ( . )    
( . )    ( . )    ( . )    ( . )    ( . )    

I feel in love with this pattern from last year's December McCall's quilting magazine.  The pattern is called Dreidel Delights.  It's easy to work up and the instructions are pretty straight forward.  There was an error in the pattern instructions when they said to cut 9" strips instead of 7.5" strips, but thankfully I noticed it before I did any cutting.  

I'm almost done with the quilting and I wanted to share a tip with some of you that I just learned!  I usually do all my stitching in the ditch with my walking foot and then go back and do my free motion quilting.  This time, I used my edge stitch foot to do the stitching in the ditch.  It is soooooo much better since the center guide rides the edge of the seam, I get perfectly even and virtually undetectable stitches.  It's awesome.  It's definitely going on my favorite things list.

Cross your fingers and hope that I get this done by tomorrow!  Maybe then I'll have time to clean my sewing area.  Hey, don't judge! I thrive on creative clutter.