Christmas Treasures

As I was decorating for Christmas this year, I got to thinking about how many Christmas quilts I have and decided it was worth a blog.  Many of these have been in previous posts, but I thought it would be nice to have them all together.

I recently completed this Family Traditions Christmas Wreath.  The original pattern by Judy Craddock had different ornaments around the outside which got me to thinking about specific ones that were important parts of our family traditions.  I replaced the ones from the pattern with reproductions of actual ornaments or figures from our family decorations.  I took photos and made paper copies to get them as close as possible.  I knew I couldn't applique the detail on the Santa in the sleigh (snow globe from my dad), so several friends helped me locate the perfect Santa print.  The puzzle pieces came from my novelty stash (we always do puzzles during the holidays), the snowflake (from my daughter's PT) is embroidered, but everything else is prepared edge applique with embroidered details.  I'm glad it's done as I was stressing about it way too much.  I think I made 3 versions of the Santa sleigh and several of the nativity (representing my dad's collection).  I printed a key explaining the significance of each and used it as the label.  I plan to let my daughter have the quilt after this first Christmas as she LOVES traditions.

This Christmas Stars & Chains was just a fun pattern I had seen and wanted to try.  I worried about washing it but fortunately pretreating the fabrics kept it from bleeding.

I had a few extra blocks that I didn't like in the above quilt, so I made a Christmas table topper.  It fits on the ottoman just perfect.

Christmas Frames was done three years ago and won a Judges Choice in a local show and a First Place ribbon in another.  I followed a pattern most in this one, only replacing the Happy Holidays with Merry Christmas and substituting the gift box for a rocking horse that just looked weird.  I really stretched my quilting skills on this one and am pretty happy with the result.  It fits perfectly on the large wall in the living room, pride of place.

Christmas Bargello mantle quilt.  I was playing around with a bargello pattern and really didn't know what to do with it when finished.  It looks strange on the mantle, so I use it as a tablecloth instead.

Fused Christmas Tree.  This was an attempt at machine applique.  It turned out ok but I definitely need more practice.  A fun pattern though.

Christmas Tree wall hanging.  This was one of my very first quilts.  I saw it as a sample at a local quilt shop in Denton in 2000.  It used a fusible grid with 2.5" squares.  For several years it was just a top turned pillowcase style, with no quilting.  I'd hang it each year and think gee I really should quilt that.  And a few years ago I finally did.

Christmas Table topper, now tree skirt.  This was made for my mother in law, but I don't think she ever put it out.  I later cut a hole in the middle for a tree skirt for my daughter's apartment.

Reversable Christmas placemats - these get put out every year and always on the star side.  But they are reversable, I just always seem to like the poinsettias, though I wish there were more contrast in the star.

This isn't technically a quilt, but quilt block that I made into a pillow cover.  Fortunately, I tried making one block before I cut out an entire quilt.  It was way beyond my skill.  I resewed the center so many times the fabric started coming apart.  I have since learned some tricks now that would help.  At some point I really should quilt it, but maybe before next year.

Christmas sampler, hand pieced several years ago.  When I was trying hand piecing, someone suggested using Christmas fabrics, so I gave it a try.  I discovered I really enjoy hand piecing.  When I started, I thought I had plenty of the background fabric, but when I decided to do the lattice sashing, I realized I was short 2 pieces.  Fortunately, once of my VOS friends had some in her stash.  The quilting on this is very basic, long before I had a long arm, but it is still one of m favorite quilts.

Table Topper made from old tree skirt.  When my husband and I first got married, I decided the tree skirts at the store were all ugly.  So, I made one but very quickly.  Not quilted, nothing special at all.  Once I started quilting, I made a very nice one and started using the old one as a table topper under our ceramic Santa's village.  And every year I thought how poorly made it was.  Finally, I told my daughter I was going to toss it and make a new one.  Being the ultimate tradition lover, she was horrified I would throw it away.  So instead, I took it apart and used the fabric to make a nicer one.  The original fabric is the burgundy with small bows.  I was able to pull coordinating fabric from my stash.  My only regret is I didn't measure the table, and it needed to either be slightly larger or slightly smaller as the tips stick out from the table.  Oh well, definitely better than it was.

And here is my "fancy" tree skirt.  When I made it, the stack and whack patterns were popular so I wanted to try it.  It was interesting, but I don't know that it was worth the effort it took, especially since it is hidden by packages most of the season.

Paper Panache Nativity.  Oh my, doing this was like doing a 2000-piece puzzle.  It was quite a challenge.  It was one of those patterns that was very difficult but not many who look at the finished quilt realize how complicated it was.

When my dad, saw the above nativity, he asked for one.  Sorry, not going to do that one twice.  But I found another pattern which he liked better because of the stained-glass effect.  This was machine applique with lots of thread painting.  I learned that old thread doesn't work well on thread painting.  My dad always loved decorating for Christmas and had a large collection of nativity figures.  When he moved to a retirement apartment, he gave them all away.  So I told him this quilt folded up small enough for his apartment.  He hung it for Christmas and never took it down.  It was still on the wall when he died almost two years later.  It hangs in a special place in our home now and makes me smile to remember how much he loved his Nativity quilt.

And here is the main room, with many of the quilts (and the cat).  I worked at Pier 1 Imports for fifteen years, so a lot of the decorations are from there.  I do enjoy having them out and usually decorate in mid-November just so I can enjoy everything a little longer.   Merry Christmas!

A busy quilting week

 Last week was a Quilting week of note for me.  I pieced four quilt tops - yes four.  I also finished up the embroidery embellishment on a "forever" applique project (almost two years in progress) and started quilting it.  More on project that in another post once completed.  How did I get four tops pieced in one week?

On Tuesday I attended a monthly sew day where I pieced a fun and quick I spy kit I had put together previously.  I put the blocks together and added the border in the evening.  Quilt top number one done.  I am really pleased with how it turned out and definitely will be making this one again.  I didn't have a pattern, just decided to frame a center square with strips, which I did in a partial seam method so that all the strips were the same size.  Easy to cut and relatively easy to sew.

On Thursday I attended the Quilter's Guild of Parker County annual retreat at Rockhouse Retreat in Santo, TX.  I brought five (yes five) kits with me.  I knew I wouldn't get them all done but wanted some options in case I got frustrated or bored.  Well, I finished two of the kits, and one the third I only needed to put the rows together.  Of course, now I need to make more kits.

This design by Kim Brackett is called Tiles.  Lots of fun to sew, and I love how it looks.  I was able to use up a bunch of patriotic scraps.  I might try it in novelties, but the tile sizes are not "standard" - cut 3", finished 2.5" so I would have to figure out different ratios.  

This next pattern is also by Kim Bracket, called Touch a Star.  It really came out dramatic in the patriotic fabrics.  But I had to press the seams between blocks open and oh my, there are some thick ones.  Quilting this one is going to be a challenge.

This friendship star design adds half square triangles at the corners.  The secondary pattern of diagonal white ribbons is really interesting, but again there is a lot of fabric at the block intersections even when pressed open.  I have another kit cut in patriotic fabrics and I think I'll try adding narrow sashing to that one to make it easier to put the blocks together - hopefully that won't disrupt the secondary pattern too much.  The idea for this one came from a FB post, no pattern name.

So, I now have four new tops to quilt and four less kits in the drawer.  It was a very productive week! According to my quilting spreadsheet, this puts my yearly total to at a record 53 quilts with two months left to go.  Thirteen are unquilted, three were gifts, two are mine, and the remainer were donations - lots of fun!

Hanging around the house

 As previously mentioned, I keep a spreadsheet of all the quilts I've made through the years.  One of the pieces of information I keep is the quilt owner.  This way I can keep track of where all those I spy quilts have gone.  But it also shows me how many quilts I have stashed around my home.  According to my spreadsheet, I have 64 quilts, 9 of which are novelty.  Wow, I know I have quilts hanging in pretty much every room in the house but 64 is a lot.  Most of these have been documented in previous blogs, but there are some that have been left out.  I'll put the Christmas ones in a separate post, but here are the others.

AZ sampler.  The blocks in this quilt were pieced by the hostesses from the VOS quilt group.  The first year I went to a retreat with this group in Phoenix, they had a "name the quilt block" contest and I won.  I put the blocks together for this quilt which lives on our sofa, protecting the front edge from dogs leaning on it.  Not my usual style but it reminds me of the wondaful friends I have made from the yearly sewing retreats to Phoenix.

Circus Fun.  Years ago, I found this dancing guy pattern on the internet.  I made several then added the weird applique shapes to offset all the spiky little figures.  My daughter liked it so it hangs in her room.

Chain Letter.  I've made this pattern several times over the years in novelties, but this was the first.  It was made using left over fabrics from a quilt kit (discussed below).  I added the dark blue batik, but all the rest was leftovers.  It hangs above the sofa in our den because it goes well with the shades in the room.

VOS Purple Row Robin.  This was a group quilt made with friends from the VOS quilting group.  We each purchased the fabric we wanted in our quilt, then mailed it to the next person who made 4 blocks of their choosing.  The fabrics I chose coordinated with our living room furniture at that time which included a dark purple leather sofa.  Not my typical colors, but it still lives in our living room, draped over the sofa for the cat to sleep on, though that purple sofa is long gone now.

Midnight Garden.  This is one of my guest quilts that gets pulled out when family visits.  I love these colors and really enjoyed the working on the combination of pieced and applique.

Autumn Splendor.  This was a Judy Niemeyer pattern & kit that was on clearance at a local quilt shop many years ago.  I initially purchased it because I wanted the wonderful batik fabrics.  But when I got home and looked at the pattern, I decided to give it a try.  The pattern was extremely well written and organized, making it fun and easy to do.  The construction method was paper piecing, and the pattern included the papers and fabric cutting templates.  This quilt has pride of place, hanging on the large wall in our living room.  I have it tacked to the wall using lathe strips at top & bottom with velcro to hold it firmly in place.  The screen for our television rolls down in front of it. 

Blessings from the Hollow, pattern from Kim Brackett.  My quilting cousin had a box of red/black/white strips that she didn't want, so I used them for this quilt.  It is one of my personal favorites and is used to cuddle on the sofa in the den.

Misc Orange & Purple HST.  This was an attempt to use some of the waste triangles from a previous quilt.  It hangs on the glass door between the den & mud room because when we first built the addition, my husband kept running into the door.

Purple & Orange Feathered Star.  I also used some of those orange and purple waste triangles to try making a feathered star.  And the baggy still isn't empty.  Eventually I'll toss them but there might be one more small quilt.  This one hangs in my sewing room.

Hawaiian applique round robin.  I wanted to try needle turn Hawaiian applique.  I look at this now and kind of shudder at the jagged curves and the quilting is ....well, let's just say I've gotten much better over the years.  But I love the four patch & pinwheel borders, and it reminds me that this quilting thing is a journey. 

Storm at Sea.  This was another "bucket list" quilt like many of the quilts in this post.  The very first quilt show I attended, there was a storm at sea pattern that really caught my eye.  I decided to make a small wall hanging to put in the bathroom of our new addition.  I see it each morning when I get up and it makes me smile. 

Fused Star Clock.  I wanted a quilt themed clock for my sewing room, so I pulled out favorite colors and tried a fused construction method.  I didn't think about how difficult it would be to see the small black arms against the black fabric, so I added the white cardboard tips - not the most professional but it works.

Friendship Stars all over town.  I wanted to make a house quilt and found this simple pattern by Missouri Star.  It was fun using up scraps.  It needed to be a bit larger, so I added friendship stars in reference to the new friends I was making at the quilt guild I was able to join after semi-retirement.

Grey Sofa modern.  After purchasing a new sofa, my husband was worried our cat would scratch the upholstery, so he wanted me to make a quilt to cover it.  I didn't want it to look like an obvious quilt, so I chose a number of low tone fabrics similar to the upholstery fabric with a large half square triangle pattern.  This was the first and only king-sized quilt I've done on my long arm.  I thought I would never finish quilting it.  It has protected the sofa not only from the cat, but from shoes, food, pens, etc.  Though I do spend a lot of time straightening it.

One year at the VOS quilt retreat, Ellen Born led a bargello class.  I had wanted to try the method (another bucket list) but was intimidated to try it on my own.  So about 10 of us did it together over the weekend.  Only Ellen could have managed to teach that many a complicated pattern in one weekend.  I really love how this turned out, but don't want to try another.  

Other Misc. Donations to catch up on recent projects

I've received a lot of donation fabrics in the last year.  I've enjoyed taking the scraps and leftovers and making something pretty that someone will enjoy.  Some of these will be donated to nursing homes or dialysis centers.  Others will be donated to a local crisis pregnancy center.  Just because I like making up rules for myself, I have tried to make do with only the donated fabric.  Sometimes I will pull from my stash but typically only fabrics that are so old I can't remember where they came from.

These flannel scraps were so cute but there was just barely enough.  I pulled coordinating fabric from my stash and added some easy pieced borders.  They did turned out very cute.  I call the pattern spinning attic windows and have used it several times now.

Some more cute flannel left-overs found on the scrap table and a pattern to stretch it out to baby quilt size. 

 

And another spinning attic windows.  This one I was trying to use up some questionable yellow fabric with pink dots and several yards of Sunbonnet Sue.  

And the last of Sunbonnet Sue.  The pattern is just a 9-patch alternating with a snowball block.  I've some several variations of this and always enjoy seeing the secondary pattern.

This is another version of the Strips and Stripes pattern from Krista Moser.  I'm not sure but I think I've had that rainbow strip for about 20 years.  I had thought I would use it with novelties, but it always seemed too bright.  But it looks great in this layout. 

Still playing with Novelties

 Just so no one thinks I'm neglecting my novelty stash, I am still playing with novelties in between the other projects.  

This first quilt is a novelty version of Krista Moser's Ribbon Twist pattern. I think I like this one a bit better than the patriotic version.  I think just doing a 90 degree corner with the zigzag works just as well and is easier to cut with no waste.  But this was fun to try.

I got the idea for this next quilt from a FB post so I don't know the pattern name.  It was a fun one to do, though it did generate a large number of waste triangles (which seem to reproduce in my scrap bin).

Another great pattern by Kim Brackett, this one is called Off Course.  Great way to use 2.5" scraps.  I think I'll probably do a patriotic version of this one as it was lots of fun to stitch, and I love the broken effect when you put the blocks together.

This pattern is by Ledine Watson of Sugar Stitches.  So fun and easy, I loved being able to make the entire thing with novelties.

These next two are repeats from years ago.  But they are so fun to do and look so great.  I love picking out the tone-on-tone colors to coordinated with the novelties.

Quick and easy donation quilt.  I need to make about 300 more of these to use up all those precut strips!

I saw this pattern in a catalog in pastels and thought I'd try it in novelties.  The pattern gets lost a bit unless you stand back but it is sort of interesting.  Probably won't do it again tho.

Recent Patriotic donations - fun with Red White & Blue

I have gotten involved in a local quilt charity through one of the guilds I attend.  The program is called Roll Call, which supports local veterans.  Originally, I had volunteered to quilt the tops which other quilters had pieced.  But I love piecing so much I decided to try out some patterns I had found, but using red, white & blue fabrics.  I asked the coordinator if she had any scraps left over from backings, etc.  And she dropped off several bags, including some yardage and 2 bolts of backing fabric.  Whoa!  Now the pressure is on.

I went back to one of my favorite authors, Kim Brackett and chose some patterns from two of her books. This first one is called Blessings from the Wood.  Kind of a strange name but I do love the pattern and have made it before in red/black/white colors.  I found out later that this was auctioned and raised $200+ for the Roll Call program.

This next is called Fireworks.  Definitely appropriate for a patriotic quilt.

This last Kim Brackett pattern called Scrap Basket Blues is one of my favorites and I have made it several times, including with novelties.  So fun and easy.  Like many of her patterns, the block is deceptively simple, and the sashing is built into the block.  When you put the simple blocks together, you get all sorts of great secondary patterns.  In this particular quilt, I mistakenly cut the trimmed rectangles going one direction for the blue ones, and another for the red.  Hmmm.  Which means the stars spin in opposite directions.  But no one will ever notice, and I even ended up with an additional detail that the sashing lines up and makes a basket weave pattern.  I had so much fun, I'm going to make another novelty version.

Last year at one of the guilds I attend we had a program by Krista Moser.  If you aren't familiar with her, definitely check out her blog & patterns (the Quilted Life).  Her "thing" is large diamonds and hexagons but used in very modern ways.  These next two patterns were free on her website.  The first one called Strips and Stripes was ridiculously fast and the result is very dramatic.  I also made a rainbow version for a baby quilt that I'll include in a later post.

This pattern called Ribbon Twist (also by Krista Moser and free on her website).  I discovered that I really have a mental block when the patches aren't symmetrical.  Krista's instructions are very clear, but you do have to read them carefully - and follow them exactly.  So, this one "grew" a bit when I cut a bunch of the blue strips backwards.  I also did this in novelties.

In the bag of scraps I was given, I found a stack of 10" precuts so I went looking for a fast pattern that used that size.  I found this one called Alter Ego on the Missouri Star website.  It was fast and fun to do, but it's a bit too scrappy for me.  Or maybe it's the muted colors and beige.  I'm not as happy with it as the others.  Maybe once it's quilted.

This pattern is called Hitchhikers' Star by Hunter Designs.  It was a well written pattern, but I did struggle with pressing as there are several places with lots of points.  I ended up pressing the column seams open in order to get them to lay flat.