12 Quilts of Christmas: Home for the Holidays

Home for the Holidays is my third Christmas Quilt.   Also made in 1995, this traditional Irish Star pattern was for our son's bed.  The center of each star was fussy-cut and is a little house decorated for Christmas.  I used that same fabric for the first (red) border.  

 

12 Quilts of Christmas: Sister's Choice

The second Christmas Quilt features poinsettia and holly prints. The pattern is a traditional Sister's Choice and I made it in 1995 for our daughter.  Every little girl with a pink bedroom needs a pink Christmas quilt, don't you think?

I have mail!

Today there was a package in the mailbox for me.  I don't usually squeal with delight, but you should have heard me today!  It feels like Santa came early to our house!

The package was from none other than Vicki Welsh at Field Trips in Fiber.  She and Judy Laquidara at Patchwork Times have been having fun selecting a color palette each month this past year and challenging quilters to make something using those colors.  It's been a lot of fun, and I was able to play along a couple of months this year. 

In November I made a small quilt that used the colors from their challenge.  I wrote about it and there's a link to the free pattern here.  Here's how it turned out:

I linked up a photo at the end of the month just because I was so excited that I was able to finish the challenge on time - plus I love how the colors turned out.  I wasn't even thinking about entering a contest or winning a prize. Was I ever surprised to find out that they drew my name to win a pack of Vicki's hand dyed fabric!  It's my first 'prize winning' quilt!  (snicker) 

Looking through all the beautiful fabric choices at vickiwelsh.etsy.com was a delight, and it was nearly impossible to choose.  But with some help from my daughter I finally chose Makassar.

The package came today.  Three beautiful rich blues!

Now I have to decide what to make.   I've never used hand dyed fabric before.  But, I know this needs to go into something special. On my 'quilty bucket list' is an Ocean Waves quilt.  So many possibilities......

Thank you, Thank you to Vicki and to Judy.  What a wonderful Christmas surprise!

12 Quilts of Christmas: My first Christmas Quilt

It's that time of year to pull out and display all the wonderful Christmas Quilts we quilters have made.  If I have enough, I'd love to share Twelve Quilts of Christmas with you.  And I'd love to see your Christmas quilts too!

Now, those linky things just aren't in my blogging repertoire yet.  So you'll just have to leave a comment with a link to your post, or the name of your blog.  We'll see if that works.

My first Christmas Quilt was pretty awful.   From later posts you will be able to see just how far I've come as a quilter - so perhaps that's the one positive thing I can say for it.

This Christmas quilt was made way back in 1984!  I had some Christmas themed pre-printed blocks and thought this would be a great way to use them.  No pattern, no quilting experience, no quilters in the family and all self-taught.  Clearly, I had no idea what I was doing!

At the time, a cozy fabric called velux, or something like that, was popular.  It was like a velour but used for blankets and bath robes and such things.  I had a 'brilliant' idea.  Use it for the back of the quilt!  It would be soft and cozy.

 I used satin blanket binding on three sides and ran out so I just folded over the top.  The blocks were quilted 1/4 inch around on both sides of the seams, but that was all the quilting in it.  See those huge areas with no quilting?!  This was the first quilt I tried to machine quilt.  I'd never heard of a walking foot - perhaps they didn't even have them at that time.  But quilting this monster was so difficult that I did the bare minimum and stopped.  I only used it a few Christmas seasons.

I didn't even use batting - which in the long run was a good thing.  Because, over time that backing fabric completely disintigrated!  Eventually I pulled off the backing - (it just came off in my hands!) - took off the blanket binding and started taking it all apart.

I'll use the printed blocks in some other crafty projects.  (Yes, there are two of them hiding in the back row made into pot holders.)  The red and green pin-dot will go into future quilts - finally ones they can be proud to be a part of.

Advent Candles

In all the hustle-bustle of retail Christmas whatever happened to Advent?  That time of year we wait in joyful hope.  That time of year we prepare our hearts as well as our homes.  That time of year we light one candle, then another, and the light of faith in our darkness grows brighter each week.

Star of the East Advent Candles - original design by Jean at QuiltAwhile

Saturday night I couldn't get to sleep - too much chocolate before bed I think.(wink)   I was dreaming about making a quilt and this is what it looked like.  I sketched it up yesterday and headed for the scrap basket.  The result is this 17 inch square wall hanging.  (The dark greens under the candles don't show up too well in this photo.)  The star in the corner is a traditional block called Star of the East. Appropriate, don't you think?  I just had to put it into the open spot in the corner and it balanced the candles nicely. 

Wishing you the peace and joy of Advent this year.

Friday update:  Linking up with other quilters this week at confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/  and crazymomquilts.blogspot.com .  You should take a look at all the other wonderful holiday quilts that follks have completed this week!

Easy Street and Bison Football

Spending the afternoon working on Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Mystery Quilt and listening to the NDSU/SDSU playoff football game on my computer.  Several family members are at NDSU or have graduated from there in the past few years, so I've become a Bison fan.

I'm finally getting started on Easy Street.  Thank you, Bonnie, for not using the full two yards of grey called for in your original instructions!  My black-on-white substitute is navy-on-white and I wanted to use a shade of blue in place of the original grey. But, I just was not coming up with a satisfactory 2 yard piece to use.  So I stalled, and stalled...

Then in the second installment, Bonnie wrote that not all the grey was used.  So I did some math, and broke into some fabrics I had set aside for a different quilt.  Found a great piece of dark blue and had just enough.  Only a 4 inch strip left over!

Modern Rails

This quick little quilt was just the thing to use up some one-inch strips that had accumulated in my scrap bags.  Now, I have no idea why I started saving strips so small.  I'm not typically one to use them in anything.  Too small and fussy - and the likelyhood of things not matching when they go together is HUGE.

This quilt called 'Modern Rails' from Lyn Brown is perfect!  There are no seams to match with the little blocks and it went together quickly.    You can find the pattern by clicking here.

I've just got the main field of the top finished.  It probably needs another border, but I'm not sure what color.  Any suggestions?  The grey is all used up, and the rest were just tiny bits of scraps.  I might have to (gasp!) go to the fabric store and buy some fabric to finish it up.

I'm going to use it as my November color project so I'm linking up with Patchwork Times to show it off.  If you've come from there, thanks for stopping in!  If not, hop over and see what some of the other quilters have made.  It's well worth a visit!