Holidays Archives - Page 10 of 62

Ireland Flag Mini Quilt :: St. Patrick’s Day Placemat

March 8, 2017 jennifer Holidays, Quilting and Sewing

With St. Patrick’s day just around the corner, it’s fun to think of simple ways to celebrate. Last year I made some of these cute little mini quilts. And since many St. Patty’s traditions are centered around a meal, they also make great placemats! I had some of this fun Luck of the Irish fabric by Dear Stella , and it inspired me to make little Irish flags!

The Irish themed print made these placemats really cute, but you could easily substitute another low volume print, or plain white for the center strip. For that matter, these would be really cute with all solid fabrics.

I combined the Ireland print with a green and orange fabric, also from Dear Stella, and cut one piece of each fabric, making all of them the same size.

For a placemat, I would cut each piece at least 12 inches tall and 6 inches wide.
Then I sewed them together to mimic the color placement of the Irish flag, and in two seams it was ready for quilting! Simple straight line quilting every couple of inches made this a very fast but festive project.

I chose a simple binding for mine; a black swiss dot on white, and I opted for machine binding to save time.

I have gifted my creations to a couple of friends (both readheads) who love Ireland and teach Irish dance. It was fun to surprise them with a small gift that celebrates a passion of theirs. I’m tempted to whip up a few more just for fun before St. Patrick’s Day.

Happy sewing!
Jennifer

Lincoln’s Autograph Mini Quilt

February 11, 2016 jennifer President's Day, Quilting and Sewing

I had a box of embroidery supplies I’d been looking for and finally found, and inside it was this project from 2 1/2 years ago…

I had entirely forgotten about this, but what perfect timing! With Lincoln’s birthday falling on Friday, I decided to finish the project. When I originally enlarged his signature and embroidered it, I thought I would make a pillow cover, but in the intervening time, mini quilts have become a fun small project, so I changed course.

My embroidery work was done on a much larger piece of cotton with batting underneath, so I opted for a QAYG (quilt as you go) approach, and in honor of Lincoln, chose a quarter log cabin style.

I enjoyed choosing fabric for this mini quilt, but didn’t put too much time or worry into it. There are a number of favorites in there, plus a few others. A Japanese bird print makes a great back!

I bound in a stripe print I’ve had for years, and been saving to use as binding. I love how it looks, and especially how it frames the plain white in the top left corner of the mini.

I’m so glad I made a mini quilt instead of a pillow. I don’t use as many decorative pillows as I did years ago, as I’ve learned they spend most of their lives on the floor and I spend most of my time picking them up. I think I’ll enjoy it longer in this form.

Happy President’s Day!

Pixelated Heart Mini Quilt

February 10, 2016 jennifer Quilting and Sewing, Valentines Day

Valentine’s day is just around the corner, and I’ve pulled out my Scrappy Pixelated Heart quilt to enjoy.

I had made a smaller version of this quilt block and decided to turn it into a mini quilt. I’m pretty happy with how cute it is.

I decided to quilt it with the same falling heart quilting I used on my original quilt, and it’s even better tiny! I like the vertical lines of the quilting because they break up the strong horizontal lines in the piecing, and the tiny hearts seem to match the cute little block. It makes me smile!

For the backing I used a cheerful Jane Sassaman print that I’ve been saving. Her work is really intriguing to me.

At the last minute I remembered some adorable little woven tags that my sister gave me a while ago.

I think they’re a scrapbooking product, but I decided to add one to the quilt when I was binding it. I’m trying to #sewmystash this year, and use all the random cute stuff that I can because it’s more fun that way, right?

Instructions for the mini block:
The construction is exactly the same as the original block (find the full tutorial with lots of pictures here) , but re-sized for 2″ squares. To make just one block, here’s what you need:

If you want to make more than one block, multiply these numbers by the number of blocks you need. To lay them out, follow this image:

Sew together in horizontal strips and then sew the strips together to make a cute little heart block! Again, if this confuses you at all, please see my original tutorial .

To make my mini quilt, I added a 2″ x 14″ strip of white fabric to the top of the block, and then cut two more strips 2″ x 15.5″ and added them to the sides so the heart is centered in the mini quilt. I then basted and quilted it. So quick and cute!

The idea to reduce the block came when a friend of mine decided to invite several ladies to contribute quilt blocks for a mutual friend who has a baby on the way. She wanted smaller blocks so I re-worked the measurements. Please excuse the night-time photo, but isn’t the quilt adorable? I’m so glad she had the idea.

Happy Valentines Day!