We've reached that weird in-between time where Christmas is over, but the new year hasn't arrived. Is it actually a work day? Are cookies and cheese still a "balanced" meal? Do I need to put on pants, or can I just hang out in pajamas on the couch all day? No one really knows the answer, and we're all kind of stumbling around dealing with our post-holiday hangovers just trying to round out the year.
You know what this time is perfect for? Clearing a last WIP or two off your list.
Hear me out - I know you want to lounge on the couch binging The Crown or you're just trying to keep your kids from destroying your house before you can send them back to school. But these days are basically already a write-off anyway, so making a bit of progress on your WIP list will make you feel like you at least did something while dealing with the weird time vortex.
If you recall from the fall, my "binding chair" was getting pretty full before I squirreled everything away to make space to host Thanksgiving. The pile sat on the (now decorative) radiator in my bedroom, and looking at it every day for a month made one thing clear - with a bit of effort, I could finish most of the projects there in a few days. Reaching back to one of my favorite WIP Camp tips I picked 2 that would be quick wins. They came back from Barbie at The Quilting Mill all quilted and I'd already trimmed the edges. One even had the binding made already. These were the easy picks:
The Overpass Quilt designed by Ashelyn of Urban Dwell Studio:
Love Notes by Tamara of Remi Vail Studio:
I quickly stitched up some additional binding and spent an afternoon with my walking foot, bottle of Roxanne's Glue Baste-It, iron, and by bedtime I had 2 fully bound quilts. I'm still perfecting my machine binding technique, so I added some hand stitching to the corners for stability, but I never would have been able to bind 2 large throws by hand in 5-6 hours. Now I get to check them off the list, and I don't have to move them forward onto my 2024 WIP list!
Now, there's nothing better than sharing the joy of a finish - join the TGIFF party below, and share your time vortex finish! Check out what others have finished in this weird, in-between time, and celebrate! That's one less thing to carry into 2024!