Two Mini Wonderland Cottage Quilts Finished!

 The kids headed back to school this week so I took advantage of some extra time to myself and finished up these Wonderland Cottage quilts!  They are too cute and I can't wait to hang them up on the wall. 

I decided to keep the quilting simple with 1 inch spaced straight lines.  I used painter's tape to help me keep my lines evenly spaced.  This is a trick I learned a long time ago when I was first learning to quilt, and I've used it ever since.  I've also learned I can line up the inside edge of my walking foot with the edge of the painter's tape which allows the stitch line to fall slightly to the right of the painter's tape and I don't have to worry about my needle getting stuck on the tape.  The hardest part is getting your tape perfectly straight the first time because all other lines will be based off of the very first quilt line. But once you have the first line quilted, you just move your tape and keep going. 

After quilting about half of the quilt, I usually need a new piece of tape because it does lose it's stickiness after sticking it and re-sticking it several times. 

The quilting on these mini quilts went super fast, especially since I quilted them at the same time.  And I already had the binding prepped and ready to go, so I was able to bind them both in an afternoon.  These Wonder Clips also make sewing the binding onto your quilt so much quicker.  Thanks to my mom for introducing me to these magical clips...I used to use the metal hair clips that snap, but they weren't nearly as easy to use as these Wonder Clips!  I like to keep them close by in a cute tin next to my machine. 

I start back with teaching next week and I'm feeling a bit anxious and uneasy about what this school year is going to bring.  Sewing helps keep me grounded and calm, so I am super grateful to have this time and space to create and regroup before life gets crazy again.  In the coming weeks and months, my goal is to retreat to the sewing room often...even if it's just for an hour here or there.  

It's so important to find time to do the things you enjoy, and I've had plenty of time lately, like a lot of others cooped up at home.  But I think it's even more important when you're busy to make the time for the things you love.  Making time is a conscious choice...it might mean putting aside the laundry or the dishes or the other million and one things on your to do list.  Will these things get done eventually?  Yes. Will I resent having to sacrifice time I could spend sewing in order to clean my house?  Most likely, yes.  But I've never regretted making the choice to do things I enjoy, which I think speaks volumes about our ability to affect our mood/happiness with simple everyday choices.  I'm suddenly feeling so much better about the mountain of laundry that is currently piled on top of my bed!  Today I made the choice to sew and I'm so glad I did.