Christmas Project

Whoops - this was supposed to go up while I was out of town a couple weeks ago! 

I don't think I've ever made something for Christmas before - other than cloth gift wrapping - and certainly nothing this far in advance. Usually, I'm not much for thinking about holidays before the month of, but this year I'm trying to get a Christmas quilt (or possibly quilted tree skirt) made far in advance.

Progress is slow and tedious. Patchwork and half-square triangles are not my strongest areas. I feel as if I've unpicked more lines than I've sewn, and eventually I've had to give up on chasing perfection. Which means that every time I look at it, I see all the areas I wish were better - and it makes it harder and harder for me to consider using as a gift. I'm hopeful that I'll feel more kindly towards it when it is a little more finished. I do often seem to have these moments of supreme doubt part way through the project!

I do think it looks better from a slight distance than from up close - but that can be the way with projects in the part-way point. This is one of the reasons I am so glad I take the time to photograph projects along the way; it is a great chance for me to take a step back and reassess. It's probably also saved me from undoing a perfectly acceptable project more than once!

I still have a very large pile of 5x5 blocks left for the patchwork border around the outside. I've started piecing those together, but a little more Pinterest window shopping has me wondering about turning them into 5x2.5 or 5x3 rectangles instead. I like the look, but would rectangles look out of place next to all those squares and half-squares?

As for a backing, I'm leaning towards a red minky type fabric, but I'm not sure I'm up for the challenge of quilting with it. The additional movement can sometimes be a pain, and I've had better luck working textured side up (at least with things as slick as minky). Maybe I better save the added challenge of minky for something that won't be a gift... hmmm... Decisions, decisions...


As an update - I made some of the border at 5x5, but haven't attached it yet. Then I went two weeks without turning on my machine. So, I haven't actually made progress or decisions at all. This is one of the things I hope to spend a great deal of time on this weekend!