Christmas gifts make good practice

Last year's mug rugs I made for teacher gifts were so well received that I decided to make them again for the big kid's teachers for Christmas. Since finishing the table runner that goes almost the entire length of my 9' dining room table with Twisted Pinwheels, I made up 5-6 little squares and went wild quilting them in various threads and free motion designs. 

For the piano teacher, who instructs the oldest children on four different afternoons a week, I am making a pillow that coordinates with her front rooms in pretty greens and browns. All I have left to do is get a brown men's dress shirt from Goodwill for the back- the button front means I don't have to put in a zipper or fancy flap to insert the pillow form.   

It has been fun making these because it has given me a chance to experiment with some new stitches that would be daunting to complete on a large bed quilt. 

My next big project is a blue and cream bed quilt for the kid's school auction this spring. After winning almost 50 fat quarters at the quilt group's Christmas party, most of which are fabrics I wouldn't purchase myself (if you get my drift), I will also be making a Project Linus quilt for charity and making up some large practice squares to work on more free motion designs. One of the ladies directed me to Leah Day's website, in which she demonstrates 365 different quilting designs on video. I might not find the time or inclination to try out an entire year's worth, but will be sure to find lots of inspiration and new quilting challenges.