Chai and Binding

Our screened-in porch is one of my happy places, calm and breezy with the voices of the woods. This morning I get to finish hand-stitching a binding out here with a mug of chai latte. Have you ever bought chai concentrate? It's practically the cost of one chai latte and makes almost ten cups! Bliss in a carton.

Yesterday I finished my Lone Star to the tune of Gossip Girl. I may or may not have finished six episodes of season two as well. Watching the series for the second time lends new hilarious insights. Serena asks to meet with GossipGirl in the season finale and he (or she...) actually shows up but you don't realize it...ha! I digress.

Sunday I had a slow and steady afternoon of quilting a baby quilt on which my mum and I collaborated. I'm excited to show y'all once the binding is attached. All in all a great week so far. I do seem to be accidentally sewing several quilts in the same color scheme, but oh well. The heart picks fabrics as it may.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced and Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Lone Star

I read a thoughtful article in Darling magazine about taking a step back from social media and our phones, so I decided to go cellphone free for a day. It was lovely, much more peaceful and relaxing than the five days before it. I truly enjoyed the quiet time quilting without shallow distractions. It was better for my heart, not to mention my creativity. Every day can't be a cellphone-free day, but every day can be less cellphone conscious, and that is one of my New Year's resolutions. Be present where you are.

As for quilting, it was also a day of revelations. Not only did I realize how miraculous and wonderful strip piecing is, but I lost my fear of Lone Star quilts and fell in love with starch. Yeah, that sounded weird, but let's hear it again. I fell in love with starch. All my half-square triangles and bias seams have led to many stretches, warps, easing ins, and missed corners. Then starch swooped in (sprayed in?) and saved the day! The corners line up and there's so much less puckering and pulling. Great day if you ask me. Not to mention, I finished a whole block from pencil to pictures in one day!