Tag: holidays

Countdown to Christmas SAL March Blocks

Here are three more blocks for a Christmas quilt before Christmas! I have nine blocks so far by participating in Mama Spark‘s Countdown to Christmas Sew-Along. The blocks are from the Moda Bake-Shop website, and you can find them by going here. I am choosing blocks that appeal to me rather than doing each block listed. This month I chose Festival, Special Gift, and Christmas Logs. I am picking my blocks from the ones listed in the Moda Index for December 2018 and am enjoying making a different block each time.

Festival

Special Gift

Christmas Logs

I made a mistake by not thoroughly reading the instructions for Christmas Logs. The directions are to trim the logs after each round, and I did not see those instructions! So this block finished at a full 3 inches larger than the other blocks. I will either use it as part of the backing, or it will become a pillow!

Countdown to Christmas SAL February Blocks

Here are the completed February blocks in my monthly goal to have a Christmas quilt before Christmas by participating in Mama Spark’s CTC (Countdown to Christmas). The blocks are from the Moda Countdown to Christmas for 2018, and the links are found here. Click on “2018”, December is the first month that appears, and you can click on the individual blocks. Warning: some of the instructions are not crystal clear! But the patterns are free, so I can’t complain – lol! I am picking and choosing my blocks instead of making all of them in order, and the blocks I chose for this month are Prairie Christmas Star, Wrapped Up, and Reindeer Games.

Prairie Christmas Star

Wrapped Up

Reindeer Games

Jack (tail pictured) is glad Mama Spark initiated this sew-along.

I am enjoying sewing for Christmas early in the year, with no holiday pressure! I am linking to Mama Spark’s February CTC Sew-a-Long Link-up. It’s not too late if you’d like to join in. You can do as many or as few as you like, even just one for a pillow!

Countdown to Christmas Sew-Along January Blocks

“Mama Spark” is a prolific quilter whose feed I follow on Instagram. Earlier this month she issued an invitation to join her in making a few blocks per month from Moda’s 2018 Countdown to Christmas, and I was in. I have an abundance of Christmas fabric and ran out of time to make anything Christmas-y last year. If I make a few blocks a month, then I should have a quilt ready for Christmas this year! The blocks are found on Moda’s website. In order to find them listed, go to their index and click on “2018”. December is the first month in the list, and there you will find links to each block.

The first block I made was Country Winter and is composed of half square and quarter square triangles. I used fussy-cut a glass from Cotton+Steel Glasses in Teal from the Tinsel collection to coordinate with Hometown Christmas Icey Dots by Moda.

This block is Grandmother. This block was a challenge for me as it involves Y-seams. But I liked the challenge! I used another fussy-cut from Glasses along with Courthope in Julep from Savernake Road collection by Free Spirit.

This was my favorite block, Regent Street Star, and I like it so much I may make several for a quilt. I used a generic red with white dots from my stash.

The completed quilt will be a sampler, and Moda has included suggestions for layout. There are 12-inch and 6-inch block instructions. I am starting with 12-inch blocks but may do a few 6-inch so I can include some of the blocks from Moda’s 2017 CTC. My colors will mainly be teal and red.

I am linking this to Mama Spark’s link-up. It’s never too late to join in!

A Quilt Like Dad’s Flimsy #2 Finish

My daughter’s “quilt like Dad’s” flimsy is complete. My design inspiration was this pattern from Jedi Craft Girl. As of now it is 46″ x 67″ but should end up a tiny bit larger with the binding.

I think she will like the fabrics I chose, especially the plaid, which is from one of her Dad’s old shirts.

Next is to make the backing from some Hobby Lobby flannel and a “Woolies” piece left over from my son’s quilt backing. Then I will sandwich with “lofty” batting, hand-tie, and bind it. I anticipate another 2-3 days to finish. I have an extra day to work on it, because our kids will all be here the day after Christmas. I’ll post photos of my kids with their quilts. Hopefully they’ll be smiling – lol!

My husband gave me an early Christmas gift. I’ve wanted a wool pressing mat since I read reviews of one on Elm Street Quilts. I chose a different brand than the one Pattie reviewed. This one is by Glaciart and measures 19″ x 26″, and so far I am very pleased with it. Wool enables the iron to press more crisply and stay pressed. But I’ll have to keep it covered so the kitties won’t use it as a scratching pad!

I’ll close with two collages – one of the “down-sized” decorations we do since we retired and one of my favorite ornaments. (Click on the photos for a closer view) I gave the remainder of our family collection of ornaments to my daughter last year.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

November OMG – Mercyful Quilt and Christmas Project

I had been undecided about which of my UFO quilts I wanted to finish for November when I saw Bernie’s post about a need for quilts at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento. She is organizing a drive for quilts to comfort dying patients at this hospital which is renowned for cardiac care. My Mom had CHF and received such incredibly compassionate and expert care at Oklahoma Heart Hospital when we lived in Oklahoma, and my husband had a heart attack in 2012 and was blessed by angels-in-disguise cardiologists and caregivers, so cardiac units are very special to me. I told Bernie to sign me up. I know I can send at least one and possibly two quilts in the next few months. If you are interested in contributing, leave a comment on Bernie’s post.

The quilt I hope to complete this month is Flower Power, a quilt I first blogged about here. The pattern is by Kelli Fannin. I started it with good intentions last year, and it has become a UFO since my SIL changed the colors in her house – lol! So it will become a quilt of comfort instead.

I also want to finish something Chrismas-y this month. I LOVE Christmas fabric, so I have several Christmas UFOs and love all of them. At some point I will decide on one and complete it.

I am linking to Patty’s One Monthly Goal for November

Toddler Apron and Good-Bye 2017

As one last finish for 2017 I made my 20-month old granddaughter an apron for Christmas. I found a pattern but pretty much cut it “my own way” as I texted my daughter to measure certain widths and lengths on Delaney. So it was guesswork that turned out well! Delaney would not be still for a photo – lol! The few pictures I did take of the apron did not turn out well because we have had cloudy weather for sooooo long.

I used a “Darling Little Dickens” mini-charm pack and loved the soft pastel greens, peaches, aquas, and taupes.
The binding/tie was a bright green print from the Gooseberry line.
And the back was a cute little Japanese print by Megumi Sakakibara that coordinated nicely.
Here is Delaney’s initial “D” on the pocket. My Janome does not have embroidery capabilities, but it has a cross-stitch that I used to outline the D. (2018 goal: new sewing machine!)
We had a wonderful Christmas filled with food, fun, and laughter. Here is a Christmas day photo of our “original four. It is rare to get a picture of just the four of us!

As 2017 draws to a close, with several quilting and sewing projects in various stages of (un)completion, as well as many plans – quilting, gardening, bread-baking, house projects, etc – for 2018, I find myself more and more unmotivated to blog. I’m not quite ready to give up blogging, but if you don’t see anything here, look for me on Instagram.

Happy New Year!

Patchwork American Flag – New Projects and Old

There is a wall space in my kitchen that just begs for something quilted, and I think this patchwork flag is going to fit nicely. Julie of Running Stitch Quilts posted her Scrappy American Flag Quilted Wall Hanging, and this is my version.

Julie is working on a pattern, but I am impatient and worked it out myself using a photo of an American flag and a photo of Julie’s wall hanging. She used Freedom by Sweetwater, so I ordered six mini charm packs from Fat Quarter Shop and got them for $4.48 each. I picked out the ones that were in the right color scheme, and now I have enough left over for other projects!

Yesterday I was looking for some fabric I had purchased back in early 2016 for a quilt called “Tapestry” that is in the Fat Quarter Style book. I found the fat quarter bundle, but I am missing the yardage I purchased for this project. It is possible that I used it as cushion for packing something else when we moved last July, but I’ve looked in as many unpacked boxes as seem reasonable, and I still can’t find it. I am hoping it is hiding somewhere I haven’t looked yet, because it makes me sad.

Farm Girl Vintage blocks today

The start of Farm Girl Vintage in May 2015

However, while I was looking I came across the Farm Girl Vintage blocks I started in May 2015, and I happily put them on the design board to see how they all look together. I started off making 12-inch blocks before I realized that if I wanted to use all 45 blocks in a quilt, I needed the 6-inch blocks. When I lay out the blocks for a quilt I will try to have a mix of both. I still have about 10 blocks to go, so I pulled and cut fabric for them and will try to finish those up this month.

I have to include photos of some of the harvest of our first garden here on our acreage. It was an experiment to test the soil, and it is a success. We have 7 tomato plants, and they are loaded with juicy beefsteaks! We have 2 squash plants, 4 pepper plants, and onions that have produced, and corn, okra, and green beans that haven’t matured yet. We can’t wait to increase the size of the garden and quantity of veggies next spring.

Happy Holidays Christmas Pillow and Buntings

A few weeks before Christmas my daughter sent me a link to a Christmas pillow on Amazon and mentioned she would love a seasonal Christmas pillow like her Thanksgiving pillow. She gave me creative license, and away I went!

Using a combination of different designs from Gail Pan (inspired by Christine) and Maggie Robertson Design, I fashioned a Christmas pillow with embroidery and a bit of rudimentary applique.

I used a bit of glittery embroidery thread for the garland hanging off the house and simple embroidery stitches for the pillow.

I added a kitty and bird for my cat and birdie-loving daughter!

The back is from Riley Blake’s Postcards for Santa collection and was my daughter’s favorite of the fabric photos I sent her.

A few days after her pillow request, she also asked for a bunting for her fireplace as well as a smaller bunting to hang above her daughter’s crib.

For the fireplace bunting I used the same pattern as for her nursery bunting and fabrics primarily from Postcards for Santa.

The baby’s bunting was composed of Christmas fabric from my stash and white felt with buttons purchased at Hobby Lobby. I am particularly fond of the Frosty Fun by Clothworks fabric (upper left and lower right). Oh I might as well as admit it – I am fond of most ALL Christmas fabric!

Now I already have my eye on a Christmas pillow to make for her next year.

Happy Holidays everyone!

End of Year Giveaway

In honor of the lovely friends who comment so kindly on my blog, I am sharing part of my Christmas bounty with one of you. I am giving away a six-piece fat quarter bundle of Sweet As Honey by Bonnie Christine, a mini-charm pack of Prairie by Corey Yoder, and Rebecca Bryan’s book: Modern Rainbow – 14 Imaginative Quilts That Play with Color.

Prairie, according to creator Corey Yoder, features “warm, sherbert-y colors with small scale patterns”. The mini charm pack contains 42 – 2.5″ squares. I love all these colors together!

Bonnie Christine’s Sweet as Honey has “tones of powdery umber, sun-kissed tangerine and corals, and hints of leafy green and sky-blue”. The bee and honey-themed prints are so cute!

I LOVE Modern Rainbow (I received two copies for Christmas!). I love rainbow quilts and gradated color quilts, and this book offers both for me. It has beautiful eye candy and clear, step-by-step illustrated instructions. So far I want to make every quilt in the book.

If you’d like to be the recipient of these goodies, just comment below – nothing else is necessary! Giveaway will be open until January 7, 2016, and I will announce the winner by separate post on January 8.

A big thank you to all of you who have visited and commented on my little blog. I feel that I know you and would welcome the opportunity to meet you in person. Your support and friendship have encouraged me more than you’ll ever know. I wish all of you a productive, peaceful, happy, and healthy 2016!

Jingle Bell Rock Quilt – Completed!

One year after starting this Jingle Bell Rock quilt, it is finally completed. I thought I was going to finish it for Christmas 2014, but I ended up putting it in the closet for Christmas 2015. I’m only a few days late!

As I posted about it here and here, I just had to make this pattern because of the name. Jingle Bell Rock is the song my husband and I roller-skated to (yes really!) on our first date on December 17, 1962, and it has become our Christmas song. This quilt is in honor of that long-ago night.

The back is an adaptation of Crazy Mom Quilts Mini Trees Quilt with simple strips of color representing a Christmas tree. I drew the design on graph paper, did the math, and somehow got it right – it was fun! Dimensions ended up at 57″ x 68″.

I completed sandwiching the layers in December last year and started the quilting, but I put it away because I knew I couldn’t finish it in time for Christmas. When I got it out recently to finish quilting it, it was a case of “what was I thinking?” I had started diagonal quilting on each block, and now that seems like way too much diagonal. I wish I had quilted each block in opposite diagonals instead, to add more interest.

But I’m pleased with the way the quilting looks on the back, and overall I like the result. This is first Christmas quilt I’ve made and kept and is the start of a collection I hope to add to every year!

Because of the riot of colors in this pattern, I was able to pull from a variety of stash and scraps and not limited to Christmas fabrics. Binding is from Sweetwater’s Elementary collection, blue and white striped inside border is from Nancy Halvorsen’s Curiosities, and outside green border with birdies is from Ann Kelle’s Jingle collection.

I have a weakness for Christmas fabrics, and I might have asked Santa to bring yardage from Riley Blake’s Postcards for Santa collection (love it!) and a few dark green Christmas fabrics.

Linking this week to Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework