A little non-traditional tool

How's this for a non-traditional quilting tool.  Cookie cutters!  Let me explain....

December 3rd, Bonnie Hunter shared this link on Facebook to a tutorial by Jenny Bartoy at Stumbles & Stitiches for adorable strip-pieced Christmas tree ornaments.  Who could resist giving them a try and making a few?  Not me!  But after my first attempt I decided to tweak the pattern a bit and use the 'quilt as you go' method.  My ornaments will not be two-sided, but have a muslin back where I can ink in the date and maybe "To: and From:" for a gift tag.

So, I layered 5x7 squares of muslin and batting.  Then raided my 'under 2 inches' bag of scraps and strings.  Layering the first two fabrics right sides together I stitched a 1/4 inch seam through all the layers.  Flip it open and finger press, then add the next strip.  In no time I had a nice little 5x7 piece.

Then I cut out the Stocking Ornament from Jenny's pattern.  From an old bit of clam-shell packaging I made a clear template so I could see where the stripes would fall. Just before stitching 1/8 inch all around the edge I tucked a ribbon loop in the top corner for hanging.  I used a colored thread on the top that matched the stripes.


Here's where the Cookie Cutters came in.  Jenny's Christmas stocking is adorable, but why not use some other shapes too?  Using the Cookie Cutters as patterns I made these:

Linking up with the REAL Studio Tour with Vicki Welsh, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? with Sarah Craig and  Finish it up Friday with AmandaJean.