Hello - I know I said I'd be back last week to post pics of my recent Christmas quilt finishes, but... the week just got away from me... and then we did Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and I totally lost track of what day of the week it was (thank goodness my phone tells me the day and the date...sheesh)... So I'm here now and I do have pics of the quilts and I have some thoughts about my tentative crafty plans for 2021... which I figured I should talk about this Sunday since by next Sunday it will be 2021 and I will again not know exactly what day of the week it is unless I look at my phone... and hey where is my phone??? Oh there is it... stuck in the cushion of my chair... big sigh... I misplace it several times a day... and it doesn't do me any good to call my phone because I always have it on silent... so unless I'm close enough to hear it vibrate I'm out of luck... oh well
So here are pictures of the 4 Christmas quilts I finished for this holiday...now the first two I started last year and early this year...
This is Meet in the Middle... a free pattern you can see here... now it was jelly roll friendly but I made it with a layer cake because there were a lot of directional fabrics in the Basic Grey Kringle & Klaus collection I used and I didn't want my ornaments or my Santa's laying on their sides... so I just cut everything into 2.5 x 10" strips and it worked fine...
and here's a close up of the quilting from Quilting by David...
The pattern is Piece of Cake 3 from Thimbleblossoms...you can see it here... I'll be making this quilt again... easy construction and it shows off the fabrics nicely...
And last but not least a scrappy quilt ... I started with wanting to use up the border and other fabrics I had from the Heather Ross Sugarplum collection... I added in a bunch of other Christmas fabrics from my stash and I'm very happy with how it came together...
Now these are different pictures of these quilts from what I posted on Instagram... but if you want to see more you can find them here...
And with these quilts complete I thought I'd play in my sewing room and somehow I started another Christmas quilt... my thought process is that I'll be ahead for next year... that is if I stick with it... but there is always a possibility (actually a very STRONG possibility) that it will end up in a plastic bin before I truly finish it... I'm already having second thoughts about it... here's a pic of what I've done so far...
the pattern is Jelly Roll Dash, it is a lovely pattern, and you can see it here... now the pattern is written to be strip pieced but I'm not fond of that method because my strips get wonky and there is too much repetition of fabric placement... I like things all mixed up (kinda like my life.. but that's another story...LOL) so I'm sewing individual squares together... and yes it it going to take about 4 times longer this way... but then I'm not thrilled with how it is looking... I like mixed up... but... this is looking too mixed up to me... I think I'm going to unsew what I have and just do simpler blocks... like a nine patch or maybe a rectangular block that is pieced and alternated with a solid block... hmmmm....oh I LOVE the fabric ... it is the Oh Deer collection by Urban Chiks... along with some leftovers from their Christmas collection of 2 years ago... here's the Oh Deer collection
And I did some cross stitching last week... I was in a holiday mood so I started (are we seeing a pattern here... I am such a GOOD starter... we will not discuss finishing at this time)... a Christmas piece from Prairie Schooler book No. 63 called Christmas Samplers... you can see it here...
I needed some simple stitching... all DMC and a mystery piece of 32 ct linen from my stash... it is a nice warm tan... I didn't feel the need to paint or dye it as not much of it will show when the whole piece is complete...
But I put it down yesterday and picked back up my Heart & Hand sampler from With Thy Needle & Thread...
I LOVE this sampler... I LOVE that berry filled vine and the white flowers and the birds and the big house and the lady gardening... I'm using the called for flosses and the fabric is 32 ct I dyed with Rit dye... I think I might be able to finish this by the end of the year... and if I can I am not going to put the last stitch in till 2021 because I will NOT date anything 2020 ...ok I did date one piece 2020 but it was a tombstone for Halloween... I can't think of any year I want more to be behind us and I don't want to be reminded of it by my stitching.. there will be plenty of other reminders ... so I that's the plan...
And then there is the rumination of what to work on in 2020... I like to start a cross stitch piece on New Year's Day and I like to do a bit of sewing and a bit of knitting and I want to eat something very tasty... my philosophy is you need to do things on New Year's Day that you want to repeat as much as possible the rest of the year... get things off to a real good start... and the Lord knows we need a nice good start for 2021!!
Sooooo... what to start... I have a couple of samplers I want to do that are already kitted up... but this sampler is also calling my name... it was the Linens & Threads Mystery Sampler for 2020... now I never like to do a mystery piece until I can see enough of it to be sure I want to join... and I didn't find this one till about October... and I love what I see... here's a link to the project and it is free...and this is a finished version that I LOVE...
HA!! You sound a LOT like me! I leave my phone all silent and leave it somewhere and have to search and search and I get so aggravated at myself. I downloaded Meet in the Middle when I saw it and I think I even laid some fab aside for it but no start yet. Love the Snowfall as well. I've been cleaning out magazines and books and in going thru those found several more I want to do...not good. I also found a partially made green and red so I'm trying to finish that up. I had those Prairie Schooler samplers in my cart but don't think I bought them (LOVE PS) but am currently working on the small piece from book #167 (And to All a Good Night). I don't knit but do crochet although not often and nothing complicated.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post, Carol. So much inspiration. I am going to start the Meet in the Middle. Yours looks awesome. Great New Year's philosophy on starting things you want to do throughout the year. I hope you have a wonderful New Years. Hugs, Melisa
ReplyDeleteA needlework shop is essential to mental health! You've got some lovely projects finished and some new ones to start. Definitely start 2021 with some fun and enjoyable activities. Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteYou are always an inspiration! My first inspiration is to complete cleaning my sewing room(s), eek! But I did find all those quilts I need to bind, so.......we'll see!
ReplyDeleteCarol, you make me feel so much better. Because of the Christmas holiday I have been confused on what day of the week it is ever since. Now with New year's coming it will be another confused week!! The quilts are absolutely beautiful. That quilting adds a special touch to what is already a very pretty design. Sounds like some good stitching plans. I am thinking of doing Teresa Kogut's patriotic sampler starting in Lent. The bookends of Lent help keep my on track. I feel exactly like you about politics. My DH likes noise and used to have the tv on all the time. I am slowly teaching him to appreciate music. The news is horrible no matter what you believe. Well, let's hope for a better 2021! I find myself looking at Instagram and You Tube too much. It is what I call escape!!But you are correct, nothing gets done!
ReplyDeleteLove your quilts and quilting. The first one is actually my fav. Already starting a quilt for next year... You're good.
ReplyDeleteMy comment disappeared before I was finished--but hooray for finishes and love the stitching in the queue.
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