One Last Gift

I used to be notorious for making last minute gifts but I've (thankfully) gotten out of the habit. Don't need the added stress around the holidays. But for some reason, when I saw the pillow tutorial by Lella Boutique using her Reindeer Xing pattern I just had to try and get it ready for little Lena in time for Christmas.

Unfortunately, it coincided with the weeks that I was dealing with my cold so I operated in a bit of a fog, but I just did a bit at a time and then went back to it. After getting everything cut I couldn't turn off the light without at least making the ears.

The pattern is well written and easy to follow. The only issue that I had was self made. When cutting the pieces for the antlers I inadvertently used a pure white scrap for the long vertical pieces rather than Kona Snow, which I had used for the smaller bits. At first I thought that it didn't really show that much but it bugged me so I ripped it out and remade those pieces.

The biggest challenge was resizing the pattern from an 18" pillow to one that is 20". Oy. My brain was almost moving in reverse at times I'm certain, but I got there.

I followed her idea of using a diagonal stitch to quilt it. It looks like an oversized zig zag and results in a very nice finish, looking almost knit.

The backing was a simple envelope closure, which I appreciated (no zippers!) and it gave me a chance to use mom's tailoring gauge. It's always on my sewing table and it was nice to be able to use it for this project as I just know that she would have adored little Lena.

I had picked up the fabrics on a whim so didn't really know how much to buy. Unfortunately, I didn't have quite enough to do the backing in the same grey and white pin dot so I used a larger dot and it worked well.

I also liked her idea of using clips instead of pins when sewing the back to the front.

Stuffing the pillow had its own challenges because for whatever reason, the pillow for manufacturer didn't feel that it was necessary to fill in the corners of the form. I say again - oy! In the end I made it work, but not without a little gymnastics.

And, seeing Lena open it on Christmas Day was proof that sometimes its worth acting on those last minute gift ideas. A pretty good way to finish of my year.

So now it's New Year's Eve. I hope that as you look to the coming year you do so with optimism and that it brings you much joy. Happy New Year!....M