the most wonderful time of the year

It's that time again. The time of the year when it feels like everything gets away from me. There are so many things to be made, birthdays to attend, foods to be prepared, that I feel like all my energy is focused on doing and not documenting.

Which makes me feel guilty.

It also makes me feel wonderful.

I'm kind of conflicted.

But I love this time of the year regardless.

This week we're heading up to North Carolina to see my youngest brother get hitched. The past couple of weeks have been a flurry of the aforementioned cooking, birthday attending, and sewing, but I've finally finished the quilt I made for my brother and sister-in-law-to-be.



They wanted something super simple, and while part of feels like it's almost embarrassingly so, I'm glad to give them what they want. Since it's a wedding quilt, I felt like it was important to make it as nice as possible. I am not a fan of cutesy labels, or tags, but I thought that hand-binding would be a nice touch.



Although I always hand bind my mini-quilts, I have to admit that the idea of hand binding a queen sized quilt was a little daunting. But I honestly found it so comforting to sit on the couch with a needle and thread, a good movie, and a quilt spread over me and sew by hand. It's been a long while since I've wielded a needle and I really needed that quiet, focused, slow time. Especially with things being so busy lately. It makes me feel connected somehow to the generations of women who have sat on couches or chairs or the floor of a tent and done the exact same thing--patiently weaving needle through fabric to make something beautiful, or practical, or both.

Anyway it took my mind off the hives I've had for no apparent reason for over two weeks now.



Thinking of my quilting, I realized that while I enjoy doing some intricate, interesting FMQ on smaller pieces, I've yet to branch out beyond stippling and swirls when doing larger quilts in my quilting frame. Maybe I'll change one day. But it is not this day. IT IS NOT THIS DAY.



Here's to the moments of quiet stolen in the midst of craziness, and here's to my little brother, all growed up. Cheers!