A Tiny Little Quilt

I love these days of Christmas holidays.  There is nothing to do but relax, read and craft.  Sometimes I push the Hoover around in a half-hearted manner and when it stops raining, I hang washing on the line.  That's about it really.  I am bored stiff with the television though, as there is nothing on that I either haven't already seen or would not watch anyway.  So it is to my new craft knife I turn today.

I wrote about paper cutting before Christmas and had a little go at it, with rather poor results.  Bit difficult to know what to draw, really.  Mum and dad were given a gorgeous paper cut Christmas card that she kindly gave me today.  So I copied the design, which was simple but beautiful, and set-to.  I loved every second and though I say so myself, I am rather chuffed with the finished article.

I drew the design on the reverse of this patterned paper, as it is white and therefore easier to see where I was going with the knife.  I like the doily-like pattern against the cream card and I added a bit of lace ribbon, just because I wanted to!  I have no idea what I will do with it, other than prop it up on the dresser and look at it.  I think I want to do more now.  I think I may need to buy a book...

And speaking of such things..

I love quilts.  Making them, the feel of them wrapped around me on a cold evening, I love the cosy look of them folded up on chairs or the end of a bed.  I love the essentially hand-made essence of them.  It is time I made a quilt again as a whole year has gone by since I finished my last one, but I'm not ready yet for a full-scale quilt.  I just wanted to make a mini one that could be done in an evening.  But what purpose would such a small item have in it's life?  Umm, it could keep a book warm!  It could be the sort of hand-made book you can stuff into your bag and drag out for scribbling a note or sketch when inspiration strikes; it could have pictures stuck in it, or scraps of fabric and paper; a recipe or poem, anything and everything!  Here it is.

I made it in semi-darkness last night.  The light in the dining room is pretty bad for sewing and I could hardly see what I was doing, so it is far from perfect.  Also I'm not happy with the way the pages have gone in, it was too fiddly, so next time I will do it better.  I like the quilty feel of it and it reminded me of the soft baby books the children had years ago, but with real pages!

Of course it was crying out for some buttons and an old piece of lace that I've had for years.  It wouldn't win any prizes for beauty nor perfection, but for once, I'm trying not to care.  I made it in the dark, for God's sake!

The sun has finally come out, albeit a bit late in the day, but I feel I must go out in it, just in case I wither up from being indoors for too long.  Have a lovely day and thank you for reading. xxx