Two Finishes, a Minor Disaster, and the Curse of the Reindeer Cat

If that title didn't draw you in, I don't know what will. :)

I spent the few days before Christmas in a flurry of sewing activity and was able to finish two gifts for my mother. Since my mom bought me a beautiful machine this year (see Tobias' debut here), I felt it only right that she get the first fruits of my sewing efforts.

So I made her this table runner:

This project is also significant to me because it is the first time I have EVER tried FMQ on an actual project. It is actually pretty fun, as I'm sure most of you already know. :) Some of it turned out quite pretty:

And some did not:

But that's ok. It's a busy enough quilt design that the quilting doesn't show up much anyway. The fabric I used is a "Christmas Spirit" charm pack by Holly Taylor, which isn't really my taste, but it is definitely my mom's. The pattern is from Keepsake Quilting and can be found here.

My second finish is in some ways my first quilt! Several of these red and white blocks were made during the beginning quilting class I took almost a year ago (love that 9-patch, eh?) This was the quilt I referenced last month as being intended for my grandmother. Events happened, and my mother ended up being the recipient instead.

I finished this quilt quickly. I'm back at my mom's place for Christmas break, so it was tough to sew with her around (she's a teacher, so she wasn't at work either!) She went to a wedding last Saturday night, and I finished the top, basted it, and quilted the sashing. Sunday morning, I got up and didn't even shower or get dressed, and finished the quilting on all of the blocks. I bound it, trimmed threads, and tossed it in the wash (with several color catchers, as you might imagine with this color scheme) five minutes before she arrived home. I think she was very happy to unwrap that on Christmas Eve!

Cat nap approved.

But as we know, the course of sewing does not always run smooth, and I also botched some placemats I was making for my grandmother. I was binding them on Christmas Eve, hours before we were due at her house, so I suppose it served me right for my procrastination (I've had that fabric since July.) The binding on the one I got done was not a thing of beauty, and then this happened. Sigh. So Grandma got one placemat and an IOU for the rest.

Also, I did this to my cat. Rest assured, I do not normally dress my cat up, I'm not that crazy. But my brother and sister-in-law got this outfit in the $1 section of Target a couple of years ago for my mom's cat as a joke, and I decided my cat needed to try it on. His opinion differed.

Christmas Spirit, by Bingley

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts!

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