Christmas Projects

Sharing a couple of Christmas projects. How I wish I would start my projects back in the summer. I so enjoy working in my quilt shack.

I needed a Christmas runner for the table and saw this table runner on a blog (that has since been removed from that blog) and knew it would be quick and simple. I was not quite prepared for the appliqueing--it takes time and patience. I used my Accuquilt to cut shapes but had to improvise the star.

My next project was to be for our "Dirty Santa" but after making it, I decided it looked so "me" and my taste is a little bit "old-fashioned" for my daughters-in-law and nieces. I saw this pillow with red ticking, burlap back, and a strip with an outline of the our state in red paint at Mistletoe Marketplace and thought "oh, I can make that"--and I did.  I may make other strips to change--heart for Valentine, flower for May, last name initial, map of state, etc.

The next project -- I have been intrigued with the painted signs on Pinterest and wanted to give it a try. (My projects never seem to match up to Pinterest photos--oh, well.) Here's my try at a sign. What makes it so special is the wood is from our torn down (fallen down) tractor shed. I will treasure my signs. I also plan to make more signs and will hang in a prominent home in my kitchen. The nail holes and texture add to  the message and makes it unique.

1600 Jellyroll Quilt At Last

I heard about the 1600 Strip Jellyroll Quilt when visiting at my parent's assisted living home. This super lady who owns a quilt shop comes to the assisted living every Tuesday to share with the ladies and just have a good time sewing and talking. Many resident ladies just sit and give their opinions. When the leader of the quilting bee shared the idea of the 1600 quilt, I was intrigued.

So I bought Moda "Hello Luscious" jellyroll that I just loved. I sat down to the sewing machine and had a quilt top in two hours. I was amazed. So here is that fun quilt.

The quilt began by sewing strips end to end--ending with a 1600 inch strip.

 

The process begins-- (if you need tutorial, search Google for 1600 quilt pattern.)

The quilt measures about 58 x 64. I used one jellyroll, 3 yards of fabric (but would buy a little more next time), and 1/2 yard for binding.

Wanted to share my label. I think it is so cute. I chose not to put a large label.

This was such a fun and quick quilt and could be finished in a couple of days--start to finish. I chose to quilt in an all-over pantograph, but one friend just quilted it by stitching on the seams with a fancy/fun stitch.

Good Morning

I decided to post a new comment today because I am get tired of seeing the same post for months. Sonny and I have been busy. I am not sure what we are doing, but quilting is not happening around here. Makes me sad--I have so many projects in mind and started. I really have been working on a queen size quilt, and it has lots of applique, so that has slowed down progress on the quilt. I cannot wait to get it on the quilting machine. Quilt photos later.

You would think I had a "Bucket List" with my experiences since June:

First, Sonny and I, traveled on my fourth (his fifth) Peru Mission (June 2012). We love Peru and our friends there. Here is a photo of me as I arrived at the top of the Sun Gate (8924 feet) at Machu Picchu.



Then in July we traveled to one of my favorite places to visit--Shipshewanna, IN. We met our son and his family there and had a great time. The highlight was having our grandson, Nikolas, traveling with us.

Cousins getting together.

Andrew excited about getting to ride in Amish buggie.

Nikolas exploring on Natchez Trace. 

On Labor Day weekend we traveled to Michigan to camp with my son and his family. First time in a tent.

We spent a day on Mackinaw Island where we enjoyed an 8-mile bike ride around the island on Lake Huron.

Relaxed to sunset on Lake Michigan.

Visited White Fish point on shores of Lake Superior. Loved this star quilt displayed in the LightHouse.

Maggie and I on the shores of Lake Superior.

This is me at the finish of the 5-mile walk across the Mackinaw Bridge on Labor Day. Fun time had by all!

Six days and over 2000 miles in a car -- Home Again!

My Crosses Wall

I have been wanting a crosses wall for a while. Think I will enjoy it. The examples on Pinterest really had no rhyme or reason to them. This arrangement is angled by choice. I may change that as I add new crosses.

The two larger crosses were gifts from two of my daughters-in-law. The rest of the crosses are a collection -- two from a former student who shares her ceramic skills; one ceramic cross made by my daughter-in-law; the rest are from the collection of my mother-in-law who is now with the Lord.

One Day at a Time

I have been absent for quite a while. I have been working on a large quilt that I cannot post or show progress. But I took a little time today to work on a craft.

Have you ever seen items in a store and said, "Oh, I can make that."? Well, a friend of mine received a small towel embellished with a cross. I went to my stash to see if I could make this towel with a cross. The following picture shows my creation. Again, awful picture. I just do not have a skill in photography. Think I will try a smaller cross but you get the general idea. I think I can work on this and maybe makes some for gifts.

Samuel's Quilt

This is a photo of a baby quilt for my new grandson, Samuel. He is so precious!!!

I am still in love with the Farm Fresh fabric and the tumbler pattern. This is very similar (almost a duplicate) to the quilt I made for my nephew, Jonathan. Remarkably enough--the two boys favor each other; hence, similar quilts. Samuel was born in December and Jonathan was born in February.

Not too long ago I found a label I really have fun making. Print or hand write your label, add a border, and sew on a backing then turn it right side out and hand sew to a back corner of the quilt. So easy and neat!!

Jonquil Poster Quilt

I have been wanting to create this quilt for a while. I had a full photo of yellow jonquils (daffodils) to use for this quilt, but then found a photo of the jonquils in the foreground and my parents' home in the background. I just had to create this for my parents since they live 200 miles away in an assisted living home and cannot see the flowers. I printed the photo on white material backed with freezer paper. I did not treat the fabric since this is a wall quilt and will not be washed. I cut the material slightly smaller than the 8.5 x 11 piece of freezer paper and it printed perfectly on my inkjet printer.

I created the word "jonquils" by typing in a Word file. After printing, I then used my light table to trace the words on freezer paper. I ironed the freezer paper to top of fabric, and then ironed the fabric on fusible web. Then cut the words out and ironed on fabric. I loved the whole process. My biggest problem was how to quilt the photos. I chose to only quilt the black fabric.

First Quilt of 2012

Oh, I have forgotten how I enjoy making a quilt. I wanted to make a boy baby quilt for my niece's baby--expecting in February. I wanted a blue, soft color. However, when I went to fabric store I saw this precious fabric called Farm Fresh. The cows and the pigs had me at first sight. I had seen a precious tumbler quilt on Accuquilt and wanted to make one. The Accuquilt quilt was made from 3" tumbler die cutter. My die cutter was a 6" tumbler--Oh, such as life. I still like it. I have added a few photos. Just had to show the back with those cows and pigs. I also "heart" the red and white polkadot binding.