I’m feeling just a little bit smug right now. You see, I’ve finished not just one, but two big projects this weekend!

First, here are my Chevalier mittens:

The second one went so much faster than the first. I’m sure that happened because I no longer had any need to agonize over fit or pattern quirks. I love the mittens and have worn them out several times. They keep my hands toasty warm.

The second project I wanted to share with you is my polar bear quilt. It’s a pattern my mother had used several years ago to make a gift for a friend. I admired it at the time, but my son’s developing appreciation for polar bears inspired me to make my own version of the wall hanging.

You might be wondering why Sam is interested in polar bears. He learned about the fascinating creatures from an Earth Day presentation describing their struggle to survive on the melting ice caps. This really upset him, and since then, he’s drawn many pictures, created “Save the Polar Bear” signs and written a report for school on the subject.

You can read more about this issue on the NRDC website.

National Geographic has some fascinating footage of polar bears in the wild.

This is what has been depriving me of computer time for the past few days:

Yes, I finally finished this quilt, which is destined to be a Christmas present for my son. It took me a little over a year to complete Why so long? Hunting down the perfect fabric for each part occupied a lot of my time. I also discovered that my old sewing machine just wasn’t cut out for creating a bed-sized quilt, so I had to shop for a nicer machine–and I do love my Bernina!

Then, there was the episode where I tried to quilt the thing myself, broke four needles and injured my shoulder. As much as I wanted to do the whole thing myself, I just couldn’t. I sent it out to the Quilting Loft for long-arm quilting. I’m so glad I did! They did a fantastic job! If only the lighting were better, I’d show you a close-up of the border. It’s amazing…really. The quilter stitched little cars and “beep beep” along the top and bottom portions. The sides are decorated with little airplanes and pilots.

If my son isn’t totally ga-ga over it when I give it to him on Christmas day, then I’ll gladly keep it! I not-so-secretly think this is the best thing I’ve ever made.

The pattern is by Hot Possum, an Australian company. They offer a number of patterns for cute kids’ quilts. Now that I see how this applique thing works, though, I’m more likely to try drawing my own patterns in the future. The technique would lend itself well to personal expression.