The "I love 'Merica" quilt or the last project of 2011

I truly am a slacker. This quilt was supposed to be for a Christmas gift, but I didn't get it done in time. Since I missed the Christmas deadline I decided that the quilt had to be done before the end of the year. I finished it with six hours to spare!

This is another one of those quilts where I can't say who it is for because the person reads my blog. What I can say is that the person loves the color combination of red, white, and blue (like me!), so hopefully this quilt will be well liked.

The back is a red fabric with very subtle red flowers.

Yes, I quilted this one myself, as usual. I stitched in the ditch for the majority of the quilt, but on the border pieces I used my free form foot and just did whatever I wanted. I made loops around the flowers and leaves. Every time I use that foot I am reminded of how hard quilting is! It is difficult to time how fast the needle is going with the speed you are moving the fabric with your hands. I feel like each time I am getting a little better. Practice makes perfect?

I did a confusing binding technique the first try, all by myself! I was so proud :) It's the technique where the two loose ends of the binding are joined. When you stack the pieces on top of each other it looks bulky and obvious. When the ends are joined at an angle it is so much cleaner looking.

Luke took a photo of the quilt, but I think you see more of our living room than anything else.

Now that the last Christmas gift is out of the way I can get to sewing for myself. Happy New Year!