Last day of the month

We had a busy today as we drove down to London (and back!) to apply for a passport for Baby Girl, always an experience but we can't go home without it. Anyway, it all went as well as it could despite the nearly 4 hours in the car... With so much time spent in the car, I managed to do some sewing of course. I made one hexie flower for the craft forum swap which will be on its way to Sandra very soon! She wanted a blue and cream flower.

I have also started on my flowers for the Inchy Hexie Swap but these are not quite finished yet.

When we finally got home tonight, I was quite tired and decided to sit down and do a little bit of sewing rather than rush around the house to do countless jobs... And that was good as I managed to finish one UFO! My first and only OPAM for the month... In November 2010, I participated in a swap for a candle mat. The instructions given were for making 2 at a time. So I finished and sent the first one out then but the second one was only partly pieced and it slowly made its way to a plastic bag as a WIP where it stayed until last month. I got the pieces out of the bag in December and finished piecing the top before Christmas.

I was hoping to quilt it and finish the mat by year end, but that was without knowing that Baby Girl has other ideas and decided to arrive on Christmas Day. So the top had been patiently waiting since then. I picked it up tonight and quilted it on my machine before sitting in the sofa to sew the binding by hand. I actually cut the backing bigger and folded it twice at the front to make the binding.

Now this mat is finished I have a present ready for a friend's birthday later in the year. Amazingly, I won't have to finish it the night before hurriedly!

Today I also received a swap back, I got my blocks from the mini-scrap basket swap.

This definitely makes me want to make more to have a decent size quilt. The next round cut off date is 10 March so you can join the fun if you wish.
 

I haven't fitted as much as I was planning/hoping this month but I am glad I have been able to do some sewing with a tiny baby in the house!
Celine