Category: Christmas

Playing with old projects and digging through fabric scraps lit something in me.  The “candy shop” sort of Christmas color scheme with lots of pink and mint made me want to sew more!  I settled on stripes, started sketching, and then got sewing.  The result?  My Christmas test block, an idea I definitely want to chase further.

I started sewing with the pale pink (surrounding the star) mixed in with the green stripes.  But the pale pink couldn’t hold it’s own.  Sometimes the best ideas come from what’s within sight – the Elea Lutz floral was nearby and I cut strips on a whim.  And ta-da!  I love this floral mixed with solids.

The moment of truth is always when a design goes from sketch to real life.  I am really pleased with this block.  It was fun to make, and much faster/simpler than it might appear.  I keep walking back to my sewing room between other holiday tasks to look at it.  I’m SO curious about putting multiple blocks together; the secondary pattern will be fun!

The block did require two partial seams in order to set the star in the center.  Gratefully I dealt with plenty of those back when I made My Heart, Today, so it was no big deal.  Partial seams are one of those skills that really only slow you down a tiny bit, but are so useful to master.

On a whim, I also hung the block on point.  It’s pretty like that as well.  So many thoughts swirl in my head for this one!  Okay, deep breath.  I’m hoping to get most of my list knocked out today so I can sew some more.  I would also love to work on this project, just for fun.   I’ve got company coming next week and am running out of time!

Hope you’re doing well and that the sun is shining where you are!

All of a sudden it’s mid-December and the Christmas season is in full swing.  My lists of “need to do” and “want to do” things are still long, but I’m trying to pause a little here and there to enjoy it.  As I looked for fabric scraps to coordinate with my Whimsy Lone Star blocks, I came across this Christmas tree block made from curves.  I decided on the spot to make it into something useful.  Now it’s a new curved Christmas tree pillow.

I remember making this block one year as part of an online curves workshop.  Honestly, I thought I’d posted about it way back when so I didn’t bother taking a picture before I got started.  I used all solids on a shimmery gold background.

I quilted my block with loops in a gold thread.  It reminds me of strings of lights and feels appropriate for a tree block.

After I quilted the block, I decided to make a pillow.  This Grinch fabric was a great match for the solids in the block.  I think the mid-century style of the tree also lends itself to a Dr. Seuss style.  Double the reasons to use Grinch fabric!  Once upon a time I always used zippers for my pillow covers.  Now my grown up children often start pillow fights and I always feel bad when someone gets hit with the zipper.  So I usually make an envelope closure, which is what I did here.

I bound the block with more of the Grinch fabric.

We have a stuffed Grinch and a stuffed Max that are treasures to my children.  They played endlessly with them when they were little.  Now their nostalgia is part of our Christmas decor.  The curved Christmas tree pillow will be a good addition.

It’s nice to have years of holiday projects out to enjoy.  I folded and stacked our everyday quilts to make room for the Christmas quilts, like my Swooning for Christmas quilt.  I laugh every day, however, to see that the #1 favorite is my Christmas flannel rag quilt.  I’m glad it’s still in great condition after 13 years of Christmas snuggling.  Lots of memories in these threads.

It’s a small finish, but it feels good!  I took one thing out of storage and made one useful thing with it.  Perhaps more importantly, I took a break to be creative.  It feels good, and helps me relax.

I hope you’re enjoying the Christmas season!

While sorting through old Christmas projects recently, I came across some extra Whimsy Lone Star blocks.  While pretty, these blocks didn’t make the cut for my Whimsy Lone Star quilt, so they’ve been waiting patiently for a very long time.  I’m in a “finish it up” mood, so I decided to do something with them.

I squared up the blocks and sewed them together in a 2×2 grid, which now measures about 44″ square.  As I worked, I remembered why I didn’t include them in the original quilt.  Each of these blocks has some bias stretch going on, a by-product of my trial and error efforts to master the lone star block.  In fact, some of these lessons led to my popular Lone Star Block Tutorial, which includes a free PDF for making your own blocks in several sizes.  Seeing these blocks makes me grateful I persisted and mastered the lone star block.

These Whimsy lone star blocks are made using 2″ strips.  I’m hoping to find a few scraps from the original project to use with this one.  What should I make with this?  It could become a small quilt, a table topper, or even a wall quilt of some kind.

I might add borders, and some whimsical Christmas applique in the center where the blocks join would also be fun to play with.  But for today, while I hunt for scraps, I am admiring the lovely morning light on my blocks.  That lovely light has been scarce lately.

I confess these blocks represent my favorite Christmas color scheme.  Multiple greens and reds, crisp white, with some pink and a dash of blue or yellow thrown in just for fun.  It’s interesting to work with this collection again and discover that it still makes me smile.

Hopefully I can free up an afternoon for some experimenting.  The Christmas season always makes me want to sew more.  I’m usually pulled away by the many other commitments of the season.  Fingers crossed I can change that this year!