Last Saturday my friend/Quilt Pusher and I willingly stepped into the pre-Christmas shopping madness. Fortunately, for us, there was a quilt shop open on the way to Rochester and we were able to assuage our angst about buying the correct gift for others by buying a few things that we really, really needed for ourselves at Material Rewards.

What did I need, you ask?

Well, the always creative and reliable Ms. G let me know that my Drops of Rainbow quilt was off the long-arm machine and ready for pick-up. Ms. G selected a lovely, spring-like motif for the all-over quilting pattern. Although this project is not planned as a Christmas gift, the fact that I picked it up did create an emergency, as I had no suitable material for a binding.

QP/Friend is very good with color choices so our first order of business at Material Rewards was to find the right binding. She helped me discover a subtle blue print that looks like water droplets. I bought a couple of yards for the binding and “other uses” (future use TBD).  I spent a bit of time on Sunday cutting and pressing the strips. Soon I will be “bonding with my quilt” as I tack down the binding by hand.

Nathena’s quilt is experiencing a total re-design after I fell in love with fabrics that don’t support my previous plan. On our trip we found a shimmery gray/white fabric called Magical Moments by Stof Fabrics that will help support my new plan.  The gold fabric is is called Sweet Dreams Little One by Pink Chandelier for Wilmington Prints. These new additions to my stash will help make Nathena’s quilt really special.

And finally, we both fell in love with a wool applique pillow project that jumped off the wall and into our stacks of purchases. It’s going to be a cozy project on a snowy day.

After we finished our personal shopping, we continued on our trip to Rochester and spent the rest of the day focusing on others. We had the chance to have lunch and dinner together and enjoy the sights and sounds of last-minute shopping. Sometimes I cannot believe that my friend and I were children together and now we are talking about our grandchildren. How did this happen?

Stay focused people: you only have 6 days to complete your Christmas tasks. Enjoy this busy time, and feel free to treat yourself a little bit too.