I'm joining Elizabeth again this week for needle and thREAD.
Today I quilted the front of a pillow I am making it for my son's girlfriend for Christmas. I have very rarely quilted using free-motion quilting, but because my squares are rather small on this pillow I wanted to do something besides stitch in a ditch. I had fun making swirls. I used one of the squares for inspiration, and the back of the pillow will be a luscious soft purple minky which has the same swirls.
My son's girlfriend loves cats and the color purple, so I hope she likes this pillow and hopefully it will be a bright spot on her bed when she has an apartment at college next year.
My swirls are not perfect, but then it IS a handmade gift. I love what Elizabeth said in her blog post about homemade gifts. I do find that many people, including members of my own family, look down their noses at homemade gifts. But that doesn't change how I feel about the gifts I give. I feel I should give the gift I want to give and not the gift the recipient wants to receive. After all, it is a gift. Hopefully those who are receiving handmade gifts from me, and have in the past, will someday see the love that is sewn, knitted, or wire-wrapped within.
I didn't get a picture of my current read. It's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, a fascinating story about the culture of women and their place in 19th century China. I'm only a few chapters in, but's a page-turner. I only just now realized it's a film -- just shows how disconnected I am from Hollywood!
Book is REALLY good. The movie got a lot of "eh" reviews, mostly because it deviates so much from the book.
ReplyDeleteHomemade gifts are the best.
ReplyDeleteStill treasure the blanket you made for my Ava!
This is just beautiful, Barbara!
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