Grey January

Well, thoughts of Spring last week banished this week by rain, rain and more rain!  Shan't be sorry to see the last of January this year: I thought the old saying was 'February, fill dyke'?  Maybe there will be more rain to come, but let's hope for a few dry days so I can photograph and share my finishes.

I have been quilting mostly this month as I sorted out my WIPs and there were far too many tops finished but waiting to be quilted.  Actually, after putting off this final stage of the process for too long, I have found it really enjoyable to focus on finishing, and having the end of the month as a self-imposed deadline has been useful. 

I am not keen on deadlines but they do work, so I guess I should set a few more targets in my life and try not to get distracted by new fabric/ideas....

So here is a glimpse of what I have been quilting the past few days: more photos and info will follow next week, I hope.



I can share a small project finish though: here is a quilt-as-you-go thread catcher which I made last Friday using this tutorial from The Sewing Chick.  Very enjoyable and all from scrap, though the blue linen I used for the main part of the outside shifted like mad when quilting despite being spray basted.



It is larger than I had anticipated (mine came out slightly larger than the tutorial said), standing 5 1/2" tall and nearly 6" in diameter, so it will hold a LOT of threads!  But being so large means it will not tip over easily and it would make a useful basket for other things eg spools of thread, small tools, keys if you made one as a gift.



The tutorial is very clear and I definitely recommend you have a go.  If you have everything to hand and don't spend too long agonising over fabric choices (!) you can make it in a couple of hours.



So linking to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.  Good luck with your finishes this week.