Pre-Christmas: My Christmas Quilts

The Christmas decorations are not complete until Christmas quilts are up. This year there were little late getting up because I wasn't feeling well and we were very busy with the Nutcracker. Most of the quilts were up by the fifth or sixth of December and the last few small ones were up by the 12th.

Here is a link to another blog post called How Many Christmas Quilts Do You Have? This doesn't include all my quilts so I will add those pictures to this post.

I am sure you have seen these quilts one time or another on my blog over the years. I felt like sharing them again.

 Machine appliqued Angel.












My Believe in Santa, I gave this away one year, also machined appliqued. 

 My Christmas Charm, machine appliqued.












My Dear Jane Swap Christmas Quilt. I forget how many blocks I made for the swap.  I made a couple of extra to make the layout I wanted.  This quilt was in the AQG show and the judges liked how I did my corners, that it followed the line layout.  They thought it needed more quilting but I didn't agree.  My first attempt at free motion feathers. They are definitely free motion.



I made two of these also, I gave one to my big daughter and put Halloween fabric on the back.  She loves Halloween.  When we were at her home for Thanksgiving she proudly showed me she has the quilt on the wall with the Halloween side out.  I told her to turn it around for Christmas so she can use it all year long. 



This was a kit I purchased in Colorado one year when I was there with my job.  I loved the fabrics.  He is on the same hanger as the Santa quilt and he is straight I just hold the camera crocked.








 
This is a winter quilt and I leave it up until February, the others come down.  It was also a class sample for 9 Patch Pizzazz. 








And last but not least is my Stick Santa made this year. I finally brought him home from the quilt shop.  He was a class sample but no one took the class, but he did sell patterns. 

I hoped you enjoyed the Christmas Quilt show.  

Have a Merry Christmas and please remember the real reason we celebrate the season. 

I guess I have been because I have been tearing up a lot when I hear Holy Christmas songs and see some of the videos made by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

Project # 3 is Done!!

I finished the Stick Santa on Sunday evening.  Monday was a busy day and us three girls went up to Payson AZ to visit with Mr. B. overnight.  He is working up there for two or three days for three weeks.  So today, Tuesday is my first day back to my computer. 

Remember my mistake that I had made Santa too tall.  

Well here is my solution and it worked great. 

It looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa in this picture 

but it really is straight.  I added a cleaned out soup can to the top.

I had to soak that can in vinegar water over night to 

get the chicken soup smell out. 

Here is a close up.  The blue tape was used to hold the can in place, than I used packing tape to make it very stable.  

Here he is!!

Here is a close up of his face. So cute and I am glad he is done!

Below is the progress I have made on Little Bit's stocking.  This seems to be taking forever! I know it isn't but it just seems that way.  I am loosing hope that they will be done in time to be made them into stockings for Christmas, but it will be what it will be and I will just keep plugging away.  

Started My Third Get RR Done Project

Yup I am working on this project and I was on a roll!!

I cut out my squares.  I started with the Non Red Squares first.  I sewed the half square triangles together. 

Then I cut out most of the red squares.  I left about 100 to do after I had some of them laid out. Just in case I wanted more or less of a color.  I used 12 different reds.  

The top half is done!

The bottom half in progress.

All Quilted.

Close up of the quilting.  I tried to do free motion quilting on it but the seams with the interfacing grid behind the top made it too hard to make good shapes.  So I when with my cross hatch.  Yes, I used my favorite iridescent thread again.

So I was merrily thinking I just need to sew the eyes on and sew the seams closed and I can be done soon.  A quilting friend came over today and I was showing her how he would look on the tube.  I thought his face was a little high.  It was at the very top of the tube and part of it was above the tube. 

So I went to the pattern and counted the rows of red, I counted the rows of red on my piece.  Guess what I have two extra rows of red.  No wonder he is so long looking.   

You may be wondering how I made this mistake. I drafted my Stick Santa in EQ7, and I must have added the extra rows in there. I didn't count all the rows, I just counted to the white trim on his hat and face and then just filled in the rest with red and I went by how long it was suppose to be. 

So I have to decide what I am going to do.   

Can I buy a longer mailing tube?  

Could I just turn up his boots? But then he would 

have very short boots.

Can I tape something like a empty veggie can to the top of the tube I have?  It would have to be very secure so it doesn't fall over. 

Should I take it apart and remove the two extra rows, they are at the bottom of the top. 

That sounds like a lot of work. 

I just went and tried the cans, a veggie can is too fat but a soup can is just right.  I am going to duct tape that sucker on and be done with it.  Now to get my little people to eat a can of soup.
I am so relieved I found a simple solution.  No one will know my Stick Santa is taller.  Well you guys do but you won't tell.  

Get RR Done Club

My local quilt shop has a Get RR Done Club that 

meets once a month for 6 months.  It is hosted by the 

fun and lovely Debbie.  Here is the link to her blog where she posts everyone's progress. So I decided to sign up for the 

club and see if I could get some projects done. 

We had to write down six projects we want to get done.  

I listed mine in the order I wanted to finish them.  

Which is not the order they will be finished in.  

Each month Debbie pulls a number from one to six and that is the project you have to finish in the next month.

My projects are as listed:

1. Design and Sew  Quilt
2. Stick Witch 
3. Stick Santa
4. Borders on my Dear Jane quilt
5. Pink Princess
6. Free Motion Sampler Skillbuilder

Guess what number got pulled first.  Number Six.  

That is right, the one I wanted to do last.  

Oh well in the spirit of fun I will do it first.  

Before I can really get started I need to clean my sewing room.  I am having some creative explosion in there. 

While at the meeting I did sew on my Design and Sew quilt, I finished one block.   

Here it is in the EQ7 version and in the real fabric

EQ 7 Version

The real block


Here is my Dear Jane, started in 2001
I have the backing and batting, and even have one border almost constructed and maybe 3 more triangles to do and 2 corners.  I just got overwhelmed with the borders and if they are going to fit.  So I put it down for a bit, which turned out to be a lot of years.  I have put too much work into it not to finish it.

Here is part of the top border of the quilt.  

You can see the last year I worked on this was 2007.  

I am so close!

This is from an online class from Crafty and it is the first in 

a series on how to make a quilt without a pattern.  

I don't even remember when I started this, but it was sometime in 2014.  Something about the random size of the center strips that is really hard for my structured nature.  I wanted to do it so I can learn to be more free in my style.  So far it hasn't worked,  I couldn't even work on it.  Little Bit will love the pink and the theme fabric matches fabric in her pillow case I made for her.  It has princess words all over it.  She is a little princess.  

So I call this Pink Princess. 

It is simple enough to make, I can do this!

The next two are projects I want to make.  The Stick Santa pattern I have had for a couple of years and the Stick Witch I picked up this year.  Halloween quilts are my second favorite quilts after Christmas.  I also want to work these up as classes this fall.  I can't wait to work on these.

Last but not least is my Free Motion sampler Skillbuilder.  I like to retake quilting free motion classes every now and then as I learn something new from different teachers. This last one had us buy a panel to help us do different designs.  I have done three of the details but I want to Get RR Done, so it was added 

to the list.  This is #6 and has to be done first by the June meeting.  

So wish me luck getting these done and I will keep you 

posted on my progress.