Category: Quilting and Sewing

I set a goal last year to make more Christmas quilts.  In my mind I picture my family curled up with festive quilts as they watch our favorite holiday movies.  I also picture a Christmas quilt on every bed… doesn’t that sound wonderful?  The trick is, I have eight children, which adds up to a lot of beds and a lot of quilts.  It may take me a few years to reach it, but I’m working on some holiday quilts and this is one of them.  Meet my Prosper Christmas quilt top.


Made using my Prosper Quilt pattern , this bright and cheery version has a completely different feel compared to my recent one using Conservatory fabrics .


Most of the fabrics in this quilt come from the Swell Christmas collection by Urban Chicks for Moda.  I added in some pieces from the original Swell collection that inspired this one, leftover solids from my Peppermint quilt , and prints from a few other designers.


I will probably quilt this one myself, but I’m not sure how I want to do it.  Any suggestions?  When I finished this it seemed like Christmas was so far away, but now that it’s October I need to make it happen.  This is a quilt I can’t wait to use!

Sewing creates scraps.  It’s the way life goes.  My scraps were getting out of hand recently so I sorted them into two categories:  colors and low volume.  I’m trying a new approach to managing scraps.


I put all my low volume scraps into on bin regardless of shape or size.  It sits on my sewing table and when I have 15 minutes I sew pieces together randomly to make “me made fabric.”  That’s a term used by Victoria Findlay Wolfe to describe scraps that are sewn together to make new and unique fabric that you will cut up again to use in a quilt.


I set several creative goals this year and one was to sew for 15 minutes every day.  Have you noticed that when you don’t sew for a while, it’s harder to start sewing again?  It happens to me, and I want to find ways to avoid that block.  Sewing a little bit every day seems like a good way to combat it.  If I don’t have time or energy to get my brain into another project, I can sit down and sew scraps together without a plan.


I start by pairing scraps similar in size to each other and sew a bunch of pairs together.  Then I press and add another piece, and then start sewing all my pieces together.


I don’t measure my “me made low volume fabric” when I sew it together, but most of them are about the size of a fat quarter when I finish.  I use scraps of all sizes for variety and interest.  And to save time.  I also add a few bright colors here and there just for fun.


These will be fun to cut up and use in a quilt someday.  I’m excited to keep making them until my low volume bin is empty, which might take a long time!


Or perhaps I’ll use them as background for a scrappy applique quilt.  I have so many leftover pieces from my Carolyn Friedlander projects that a scrappy applique project might be in my future.


What do you do with your scraps?  I have a good friend who throws all of them away so she doesn’t have to worry about them.  I like them too much for that!  This method of managing scraps has been fun for me.  I’m finding it to be relaxing, productive, and creative.  It keeps me sewing regularly, and that’s a very good thing!

I am enjoying sewing my Lone Star Tree Skirt along with many of you, and filming it has been a lot of fun.  One result, however, has been guilt over an unfinished lone star project I have.  After I released my Mod Lone Star pattern , I started another one in Anna Maria Horner’s Sweet Dreams fabrics. Life intervened and I put my carefully cut strips of diamonds in a box.


I got them out this week and sewed them together into diamonds.  I can’t remember which print I intended to put in the center, so I am testing the diamonds in both directions.  This is something I like to do every time I make a lone star, just to see what the star would look like both ways.  Nearly half of the time I end up sewing the star together opposite from how I planned it!


I like the purple in the second round of diamonds above.  It really stands out.  It’s interesting to see what the fabrics look like together at a distance compared to the greater contrast they seem to have up close (below).


Up close it looks like I have a great variety, but when I removed the color I learned that most of the fabrics are medium in value.  I have very little light and dark in this star.


That’s not a bad thing, especially since my goal was to work in a narrow color scheme.  But it’s an interesting lesson in value.  How does it look with the yellow points in the center?


I like this layout because each round of diamonds in the middle seem to stand out more.  I like the light pink.


The value is still mostly mediums in both layouts and there is no right or wrong choice.  I took a photo of both options below.  You can see how the value will be different with each option.


Either way, this quilt is going to be beautiful.  I want to participate in the Anna Maria Horner sew along on Instagram (#AMHsewalong). Sewing this star together will be a great way to do it.  It’s also making me wonder what it would look like to applique on top of the star….


What do you think?  Would you choose the yellow/gold center or the purple?

Happy Sewing, Jennifer