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.

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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.