Christmas Flannel Rag Quilt



While many people were out shopping early Friday morning, I skipped the Black Friday action and treated myself to a few hours of sewing.  I managed to put together this Christmas rag quilt for my family to snuggle under for the next several weeks.


This quilt is made entirely with flannel prints from a Christmas collection that was available two or three years ago, of which my favorite print was the one pictured above.  I’m sorry to say I can’t remember the name of the collection or the designer.  I cut the pieces last year but never quilted them or pieced them together.  This year I quilted each square with a star in the center and then pieced the quilt.  You can faintly see the star quilting above.


At the last minute I decided to turn the squares on their point.  I’m glad I did because it gave me an opportunity to practice working with triangles, something I want to get better at.  I think it adds a bit more character to the quilt.  The seams were then snipped and the quilt was thrown into the wash.


The edges frayed nicely and I’m happy with it.  I haven’t made a rag quilt for two years, and while I usually prefer a traditional quilt, it was the perfect project for this fabric.  I’ve also learned that sometimes people are afraid to pick up a nice quilt and snuggle under it, but I’ve never seen anyone hesitate to grab a rag quilt (especially a flannel one) and use it.  I have a few quilts I’m careful with, but I really believe that there’s no point in making a quilt unless you love it and, therefore, use it.  Rag quilts just seem to beg people to use them, and I’ve yet to meet someone who won’t oblige.


This one went directly from being photographed to being loved, which made for a happy quilt, happy Mom and happy kids.  It’s been constantly in use since then.

Do you have a favorite quilt you snuggle under?

Jennifer

Jack-O-Lantern Mini Quilt



Two years ago I pieced this mini-quilt, appliqued the stem and nose, basted it, and set it aside… unfinished.  I completely forgot about it until this week, when I spent all of 30 minutes finishing it.  {Question to self:  why do I do things like that?}


I’m sorry to say I don’t remember the name of the pattern or the name of the fabric line I used to make it, but I do know that it only required a charm pack.   After quilting, I added the rick rack smile and some huge black buttons for eyes.  I must say it’s amused me how many of my children have told me I messed up on the eyes because they’re crooked.  They all looked at me funny when I informed them I did it intentionally.

Tucked away with this quilt I also found a little 4 x 4 inch Halloween embroidery that I remember working on while I waited in the pick-up line for kindergarten two years ago.  I bought it as a small kit in a local shop and it was intended to become a mini-pillow.  My interest in little knick-knacks has largely disappeared so I no longer wanted to make a pillow or put it in a picture frame.  So I finished it and appliqued it to the back of the Jack-O-Lantern quilt.


The backing on this mini quilt is a solid orange, so the embroidery is a little piece of interest back there.

And there you have it, two Halloween projects finished.  The quilt now hangs in my dining room window, the only Halloween decoration up at our house (which I hope to fix later today if I can rescue my poor house from the Halloween costumes all over the place).


What project are you working on right now?

Hopeful Homemaker

Early Bird Quilt Top

Remember my stack of fabric from last week?  It’s now a quilt top.


This is one of two quilts I promised myself I’d make in/for the fall.  I intended to do it in September, but as you can see, I’m running behind.


The pattern I used is Merry-Go-Round by American Jane .  I also bought their set of equilateral rulers because I didn’t have any.   It made the cutting fast and easy.  Rather than purchase three jelly rolls (yikes, expensive!) I used yardage I already had.  I made the quilt a little bit smaller, taking off three rows, but it’s still a big quilt.


One of my favorite elements of this quilt is the addition of tape measure prints from the Tailor Made collection.  They add a lot to the quilt and I’m glad I chose to include them.


The big question now is how to quilt it.  If I knew how to do free motion quilting, I’d probably opt for that, but this quilt would be too big to learn on, and I’m sure I’d ruin it.  So I’m going back to finish another quilt while I think about this one.

Hopeful Homemaker

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