When I want to practice my quarter inch seam or other precision techniques, I like to use a kit for two reasons: there are no design choices to make which allows me to concentrate on the stitching, and I am able to quickly learn a new technique. As I often confess, I am a traditional quilter at heart. I love traditional patchwork, and unless you want your quilt to be wonky, you must stitch with precision.
So during the holiday season while life is relatively slow, I am getting back to basics and practicing my stitches. While cleaning and organizing my studio, I ran across a kit purchased years ago at my local quilt shop that has since closed.
The kit is called ”Christmas Bells”. Because most of the quilt is a panel, it comes together quickly, but the border is the thing.
Comprised of many, many 1 1/2 inch squares, I challenged myself to make it all come together perfectly.
It’s not perfect, but the point of the exercise is to practice and improve. Even though the pieced border is not perfect, I added a final red sparkly border to finish the design, and it is headed to Maxine, my long arm quilter.
Always practice! Always finish!
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