Quilting and Sewing Archives - Page 101 of 143

A Star

December 27, 2012 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

I promised myself some sewing time the day after Christmas, and decided it would be wise to work on something that would push me a little.

I pulled out two things I’ve been looking at for a while now:

Christmas, by Pillow & Maxfield, is a bundle of fabric I bought on a great sale a few months ago. I did a lot of Christmas themed sewing this year, but didn’t get to this stack. It’s bright and bold, and how could I resist one of my all-time favorite prints in new colors?

After Camille’s post , I picked up this pattern (and let me just say that I have NO IDEA how it is that it was MAY when I read that post???!!! I was SURE it was September or something. Oh my, was 2012 a blur!):

After thinking about Camille’s block (for a lot longer than I realized, apparently!) I decided to try it in the Pillow and Maxfield prints. I was a little worried about how the large scale prints would read in this quilt, but I decided to try it anyway.

I think they look just fine. I’m using Heather Bailey’s Hop Dot print from the Nicey Jane collection as a background print, because I’ve been itching to make a quilt with a pattern for the background instead of a solid. The Hop Dot is a nice compliment to the Christmas prints.

I’ve never made a quilt with diamonds before, so this was a good exercise for me, especially in figuring out a way to pin everything so my points matched up perfectly, which I eventually did. It was also an exercise in getting comfortable with “Y” seams, another thing I’ve avoided in general. After doing eight of them last night, they’re not so bad.

So, lots of pins, lots of Best Press, slow sewing, and I’m thrilled with my first block. I’ve got the second one sitting on the table waiting to be pieced. I wonder if I can come back to this once a month until all 16 blocks are done…. it’s tedious enough that I’m itching for some kind of quick finish project.

Are you like me, with 15 quilts or patterns dancing around in your head, just waiting for you to make? I sat down the other day to list them all and I was shocked by the final number. There is so much I want to do, it’s hard to decide where to start! What’s on your sewing list for 2013?

Jennifer

One comment quilting

The Last Stocking

December 13, 2012 jennifer Christmas, Quilting and Sewing

The tenth stocking is finished. It was one of those projects that took only an hour or two to finish, but three years to start! So silly of me.

Years ago when I started making stockings for my children, I knew we wanted to have a large family. I also knew I wanted stockings that would somewhat coordinate and I needed something I could add to over the years. I settled on plaids. Each stocking is made with a different Christmas plaid, and I simply tucked away the fabric for the toe, heel and name across the top.

And so all ten of them are finished, after some very persuasive, loud and insistent demands from the little girl whose stocking didn’t match.

Now she is happy.

Christmas Star Quilt

December 10, 2012 jennifer Christmas, Quilting and Sewing

In addition to my Scrappy Swoon quilt , the Vintage Holiday quilt , and my Chevron Christmas pillow , I also made a Christmas quilt for my mom. It’s a Christmas take on the Turquoise Star quilt I made this year along with the Made in Cherry Quilt along.

Once again, I made the 60 inch square size quilt. The squares are 3 1/2 inches unfinished and I had fun cutting into Christmas fabric I’ve had for years to make this quilt. My mom likes traditional Christmas colors and I hope she loves it as much as I loved making it for her.

For the backing I used a large piece of fabric I had which coordinates with most of the fabrics in the quilt. If I remember correctly it’s an April Cornell collection from years ago. I added a red floral and a green floral to complete it.

The stripe is a pretty holly pattern which I’ve always liked.

For a binding I opted for a low volume fabric, one that adds a hint of color while mostly blending with the cream background of the quilt.

And so it’s done. A bright, crisp, traditional yet modern Christmas quilt.

It went home with my Mom on a plane last week to be part of the holiday festivities where I grew up. I hope very much that it contributes to a feeling of warmth and love there in the next few weeks. Much as I’m happy to be in my own house with my own large family for the holidays, there is always a brief wave of homesickness that washes over me when I think of who’s gathered there, a wish to join them, to somehow be in both places at once, a longing for those safe happy Christmases of my childhood where the days and hours flowed perfectly because I was a child and my Mom was hard at work. I miss it and I long for it, and then I look around and realize I’m still living it, just on the other end, the giving end, and that it’s part of life’s great circle for me to be where I am. And I wasn’t making quilts then, either. I’m not sure I could give that up.:)

Isn’t it wonderful the memories we can wrap ourselves in while warm quilts warm our toes?

Merry Christmas!
Jennifer