Nosebleed

On Wednesday I had every intention of buckling down and getting a bunch of prep work done for all the classes I'm teaching and then going to the gym. ...Then I got a headache. After a while of that, it turned into a nosebleed that just would not quit. That made me realize that I would get no work done during my 6 hour break between classes, so I drove home pinching my nose and finally got it to stop after a while at home. I still had a bit of a headache, so work and working out seemed out of the question. That of course left napping or sewing but I'm an insomniac so if I took a nap during the day there would be no chance of sleeping at night. Logically I chose sewing!

I finished basting the houndstooth "quilt."(FYI, it is a "quilt" and not a quilt because it will be the upholstered cover of the cushion on my cedar chest.) This might just end up being my Lovely Year of Finishes goal for February.

I also successfully made my first mitered corner/self binding napkin! I have tried to do this several times and it always comes out as a horribly lumpy mess that doesn't look squared up at all. Maybe my heart wasn't in it before because this time I read through many [10+, so not joking!] tutorials and fiddled with 3 attempts out of cheapo fabric before I could do anything that even remotely made me consider trying it with nicer fabric. It still isn't perfect, but if I make a few more, it might very well get better! Here is the best corner of the four.

And here is the backing/binding fabric. It is roughly a 14" square, which means I started with a 12" front square and a 16" backing/binding square.

The napkin was needed to complete my little lunch silverware rollup thingamajig since I love to take my lunch. Here it is all rolled up and adorable. Oh gosh, I love these lambs.

This is what it looks like from the inside with rip stop nylon for the lining. I need to whip up a few more of these since they are machine washable and will get thrown in the laundry upon my return home every day. Here's hoping the lambs and elephants get along!

On a completely unrelated note, it would appear that winter is officially here in South Texas since it *almost* froze last night!  Despite the frigid weather facing us, this was a view from my backyard this week. I am very proud of my sunflowers. They just get bigger and better every year, though this is the first year they have decided to pop up again in winter.  Luckily it is cold or else I would be outside not getting anything done.

EDIT: Please help! I am making a baby quilt for my bff's brand new daughter and I need some input on which color layout to choose. Here is the fabric (crosshatch for background and black for binding) followed by the two possible layouts. Which do you prefer: Left or right? 

Thank you so much for your feedback!