Winter Memories

I like to keep a hand sewing project around for trips or other times when I'm not able to use the sewing machine.  I'm always on the look out for projects and I pick things that don't have a timeline, as my goal is to have something to work on, not to finish it as soon as possible.  But of course eventually I finish the hand work and then it becomes a UFO. I've had the stitching done on this for a few months but was stumped as to how to finish it.  Then I found inspiration in the form of rick rack and it's done now!

The pattern is Vintage Holiday by Tina Lewis and was in the December 2014 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting.  As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it.  It looks like my childhood.  Our side street had a great hill and when it snowed, everyone from the neighborhood would gather at that street and sled down. (This was in Virginia; side streets were not plowed).  One year, there was construction nearby and one of the parents ...borrowed a road barrier and put it at the top of the hill so cars couldn't come down.  Anyway, these happy sledders remind me of sledding with everyone in the neighborhood.

When I finished the applique, I was not sure what to do with it.  Here's what it looked like at that point:

Pretty, but missing something.  I also wasn't sure how to bind it, because as you may be able to tell, this is felt.  So I decided to just add a backing of another piece of white felt.  I zigzag stitched the two together and then I added the rick rack.  I'm pretty sure this was my first time using rick rack!  I love how it looks, and it kinda adds to the vintage vibe.

I changed up the design a little.  The original was a pillow and it had words on it.  I didn't want the text because I wanted it to be winter and not necessarily Christmas, so I removed the words and added another sled.  There was also originally snow on the red background.  When I got to that part, I decided 1) that I didn't need the snow and 2) that I really didn't want to applique teeny tiny circles.  I'm actually really happy with it without the falling snow.  But I had already cut out all those teeny tiny circles.  Anyone need a baggie of tiny felt circles?  There are three different sizes.  They have freezer paper on one side.

Winter Memories (originally called Vintage Holiday, since that is the name of the pattern) was #12 on my list of Q4 goals for the globally-hosted Finish Along.  It was also on my list of UFOs to finish to earn my PhD (Projects Half Done) with Quilting Gail.