Christmas 2016

While decorating the house for the Christmas holiday, I decided I needed another Christmas quilt. 

What? 

Adding another thing to an already busy time is nuts! 

But...I did it! 

I found a gift block pattern on Pinterest and started making packages from Christmas fabric scraps in my stash. Originally, I planned on just making a 4 x 4  lay-out but as I was playing around, this arrangement immersed. 

I'll try to find the link and edit this post later. 

The quilt is about 56" x 64". 

I straight lined quilted through the gifts to make like a Christmas tree. 

You can see better from the back, below. 

The background is FMQ in stippling. I love the texture that it gives to the quilt!

The backing and the background were larger pieces from my stash which I inherited as was the red and white stripe I used for the binding. 

I just love it when I use fabrics from my stash! 

My stash is quite extensive that I barely make a dent, or so it seems.

I also made a new garden banner from a Christmas panel inherited from my mom's stash.

 

Our annual Norwegian Christmas progressive dinner (we call it the Troll Stroll) was this past Sunday and the usual characters showed up for some festive activities and gift giving. 

Do you have some crazy traditions?

My wish for you is to have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year spent with family and friends! 

I'm linking up at Let's be social.

My daughter's first quilt!

My DD1 is very close to finishing her very first quilt!

 A while back she asked me to help her make a quilt. I showed her some orphaned printed foundation blocks that a friend gave me. I thought that she would be able to do them pretty easily. 

She liked the idea so once school was out (she is an Art teacher), we started putting fabrics together. She bought some at the International Quilt Festival and used some from my stash. The block is of a crazy square and she wanted it in low volume fabrics with just one piece in either a muted blue or muted purple.

This is a copy of the foundation piece that we scanned into my computer.

After I taught her how to do foundation piecing, she went to work sewing and completed the 15 blocks about a week and half ago. After working on a layout, I then helped her sash them. 

On Friday afternoon, we sandwiched the quilt and I taught her straight line quilting around each block. Yesterday afternoon, she was ready to learn FMQ! 

At first we were going to follow a template of swirls but it was more difficult for her to get the hang of it see the lines. She decided she would rather try without following any pattern. She finished them in record time for a first time quilter! We took a break and then she FMQ the borders. 

Just look at that quilting!

We were on a roll with all the quilting done so we decided to make the binding. We squared up the quilt and determined how much binding was needed. 

A mini lesson on how to make a scrappy binding with mitered piecing. She wanted to use mostly the blues and purples from the top with an occasional low volume thrown in. We cut enough 2 1/4" strips with a little extra. It was getting late but we really wanted to get the binding sewn on. And she did it!

Here it is hanging on my design wall with the binding attached. A lesson to hand stitch the binding will be next. She did a fabulous job on this quilt! 

I am one proud mama!

With more orphaned blocks from the lady I mentioned in my last post, I put together a garden banner. The theme of these blocks was birdhouses. However, the colors were all over the place and I just couldn't see putting them together in a quilt. So I cut them down to 8.5" x 10.5", cut backings from my stash, stitched around, turned them and sewed them onto a 1/8" double fold bias tape. 

The size of the flags was determined by the largest birdhouse in the blocks.

Now they hang in our garden!

It's my turn...Day 8 of the Ghastlie Blog Hop!

Thank you all for visiting my blog during Madame Samm’s Ghastlie blog hop. I hope that you all have visited and enjoyed my sistah’s from last week and found some Ghastlie inspiration. I know I did!

I don’t know about you, but I tried to resist the Ghastlie’s sew many times. I had a couple of encounters with the family before succumbing down with the FLU. There is something disturbingly enticing about this family. When Madame Samm announced the Blog Hop I knew that I had been bitten. 

So without further delay....my first projects relate to the ghastlie chore of laundry! That never ending chore. As soon as it is done, it starts appearing again.  I  like to hang my laundry outside in the fresh breezes of summer, so I made a clothespin bag.  I had an old bag from my grandma that needed to be replaced and the Ghastlies were the perfect fabric. I just reused the frame. It just makes me smile!

I also found this cute clothespin apron pattern. The front features the Ghastlie family as they dine. 

The pocket is deep to hold many clothespins...or maybe some treats for the trick or treaters! 

Yep, that’s what it was used for this Halloween!  

Edit: I had many request for the apron pattern. I followed the tutorial here with a few adjustments to the pattern.

Next, I made this clever cover for a bucket. 

It has plenty of room inside to tote your projects around.  It is big enough for more than one project! The pockets around the outside of the bucket keep all your supplies close at hand.

It is cleverly made to slip right over a standard bucket (I purchased at Lowes).  This bucket has already been on several outings!

Miss Helga Broomswell is watching over my projects.

Hmmm...what’s next? 

Before I really began quilting, I made garden banners for the many seasons/holidays. 

I thought the I would welcome the trick or treaters this Halloween 

with a new Ghastlie welcoming banner. 

I wonder what brew those witches are cooking up!

Some of my smaller Ghastlie projects include these pin cushions...one starring dear Prudence and the other features the knitters...and a small zippered bag.

Gotta love Prudence and the knitting sistahs!

This pattern was adapted from the Sweet Zip pattern by Terrie Atkinson. I made it bigger to accommodate the Ghastlie characters and added the handle.

I hope you enjoyed my Ghastlie projects.  Now be sure to comment on this blog post as I will be randomly selecting one name from them to forward to Madame Samm for today’s grand prize drawing. That name will be drawn tonight and the winner will be announced tomorrow over at Madame Samm’s blog, Sew I Quilt. The winner will need to pay postage. 

I will also be having 2 giveaways right here. 

The first giveaway is the pin cushion starring dear Prudence. The second giveaway is 

the small zippered bag. If you would like a chance to win one of these Ghastlie creations, 

tell me so in your comment. Although you do not have to be a follower of my blog to win, 

I surely would love you to become one. 

Please make sure that I have a way to get in touch with you (or I will need to select a new winner). 

I will draw the winners (for my giveaway) at 10 pm Nov. 4th (CST). 

The first random number will  get the pin cushion and the second number generated will get the zippered bag. Good luck to all!

Be sure to visit the rest of my Ghastlie sistah’s blogs posting their Ghastlie creations and leave comments to win prizes. Here is today’s links.

Mrs. Jane Ghastlie
Mrs. Laura Ghastlie  ( sadly she will not be available)

Mrs. Mary Ghastlie

Mrs. Michelle Ghastlie

Mrs. Dawn Ghastlie 
Mrs Mary Ghastlie

Edit: The grand prize winner for Day 8 is Duff from Mrs. Jane Ghastlie's blog. Congratulations!


Thank you for all the wonderful comments...still coming in :D I probably won't be able to get back to each of you individually but I read them all and really appreciate all the love.  Stay tuned for my drawing  this Friday. 

Special praises to Madame Samm for all her effort in putting 

together another FUN blog activity! 

She is kind!

She is smart! 

She is important!

Snow Day 2!

Just a quick update on how I spent my 2nd Snow Day.  I have  been slowly working on this very cute wallhanging...Give Thanks BOM...by Jenny of Elefantz.  

I would do some stitchery when I wasn't in my sewing room or working on the extreme wedding dress makeover.  Now that the wedding dress is done, I and I caught up on the Block-A-Palooza blocks, I concentrated on getting the stitchery done.  

The first verse is hanging in its spot and the second verse is now being stitched.  Yay! I love getting things finished! And I really like how this turned out.  

I also completed the 4th Block-A-Palooza block...Gingham Pinwheel by Cherry House Quilts.  

One final note...here is a picture of my blizzard 2011 casualty.

Before I really started quilting, I use to make these little garden banners to hang out in my front garden.  I made one for just about every holiday, birthday, season or celebration.  They are actually hand quilted using a preprinted fabric (the snowman).  

This one was hanging in the garden and was swept away with the gale force winds we had Tuesday night.  20.2" of snow later, I realized it was gone and probably buried under the snow somewhere down my street.  

As the snow was being cleared by my neighbor and his handy snowblower, guess what he found?  Yep...my banner was picked up by the blades of that snowblower and spit out.  My neighbor was kind enough to bring my little snowman back to me. 

Although I really liked my cute little snowman banner, I am grateful that he was our only casualty of the blizzard of 2011.