Christmas Quilt Ideas

As it's getting closer to Christmas, and I thought some of you might be looking for ideas.  These two look equally well in everyday fabrics, as well as Christmas prints, because they are composed with traditional block designs.

Checkerboard Stars was designed to take advantage of large motif fabric.  I've also made it up as a lap quilt, by adding two more rows, as seen in my other Checkerboard Stars posts.

Christmas Sleigh Ride has a large border, which is also designed to take adantage of large motif fabrics, and would also look wonderful with border prints.

If your local quilt shop doesn't happen to have my patterns, there is a list of suppliers on my blog and website.  I'll be uploading an order form to my website soon, so that you will also be able to order directly from me, and have updated my calendar, begun adding pages for my book and trunk show, as well as adding more large pictures to the gallery.  (It would already be up, except that the computer that happens to have dreamweaver installed on it is currently down.  I'm happy to have my old laptop right now, as I still have access to email and the web!)

Quilt for Donnie / Checkerboard Stars Pictures

I'm back from a trip to visit my family in Pennsylvania, but while I was there, I remembered to take pictures of the quilt I made for my stepmother Donnie.

Since it doesn't have a sleeve, it was more difficult to photograph, but I did the best I could. (I wanted to post the quilt label, but am still looking for the file, and will have to post it when it is found.)

The quilt is an enlarged version of my Checkerboard Stars pattern. Instead of 9 blocks, there are 12.

Donnie's quilt - update

I've finally finished quilting Donnie's quilt, and thought you'd like to see how I decided to quilt the blocks. Although I must admit that it isn't my best quilting, and it took longer than it should have, it's just because it's been difficult for me to work on since she passed away. In a way, I guess no matter how difficult it was, it has also been therapeutic for me to work on it, so I'm glad I kept going. I am planning to send it off to my dad asap, so the edges are trimmed, and later today I'll start binding it.

Quilt for Donnie - top done

The top is complete, and so far, I have the sashing quilted. I'm working on speed a bit more than accuracy, while trying to do a good job, so it can be finished and mailed asap. It really is square, but to get the picture I stood on a step stool and held the camera as high as I could - sorry my arms aren't any longer, but at least I was able to get this, considering I couldn't see into the view finder at that height.

Quilt for Donnie

This week my stepmother was diagnosed with leukemia, and the only good thing is that it has been diagnosed as the most curable type. She is on the other side of the US from me, and while I'd love to hop on a plane and go see her, I'm sick, and know she doesn't need my germs right now.

So what does a quilter do? She makes a quilt! Since it has to be made quickly, I decided to make a lap sized quilt using my Checkerboard Stars Pattern. By adding a couple more rows, an enlarging the outer border a bit, for better proportions, it was good to go. I purchased the fabrics and cut the pieces the same night. At one point yesterday, I thought I might be able to complete the whole center panel in one day. Nope, I was wrong. Since I cut the fabrics when I could hardly think straight I was short sashing fabric, and I knew there wasn't any more at the shop either. Back to the computer. Now I remember, I had planned to use the stripe for the sashing and binding, not the inner border. There was enough fabric to cut the sashing and inner border with this change, so after ripping the other fabric off the blocks last night, I'm ready to attack the sashing again today.

Here's the quilt design that I exported from the computer: And here is a mock-up of the blocks with new sashing and the borders:
I'm hoping to finish the top today, but we'll see.....

Checkerboard Stars

I'm coming down the home stretch with only the label and sleeve to go on the quilt back, and then I can take a photo of the finished quilt!

Checkerboard Stars - slow progress

You probably can't see the quilting very well, but I'm trying to let the fabric sing and the quiting just add a bit of texture while holding everything together. Anyway, since I did want to be able to see the holly quilting design (just not too much), I decided that the only thread that would work was the heavy red varigated Valdani thread (now that's a mouthful), and since I know from experience that this thread will work it's way loose if I don't take the time to knot and bury the thread tails. So...... now I'm busy knotting and burying until I'm tired of it, and stippling in between the holly with a red Isacord thread that I thought looked better than my other choices.

The problem is that I'm down to stippling around the holly in the outer border, and between moving all the tails that are still there (must stop and move them sothey don't end up being quilted in place) , and trying to see the holly quilting (so I don't run over it), it is going slowly - but the quilting will be done soon, hopefully later today, after a few other things are done.

holly quilting patterns

After playing around in the EQ6 program, I was able to to come up with these holly block and border designs. The designs have been traced onto template material from my local quilt shop, and I've used my sewing machine with a thick topstitch needle to perforate the design so that I can transfer it to dark fabrics with the ultimate quilt pounce. I'm hoping it will also show up on the toile, but if not, I'll probably have to use a purple or blue dissapearing marker.

Day on the road, a little knitting, one border quilted

Here's the progress from about three hours riding in the car. The leg and heel are finished (I prefer to knit shorter socks, as longer ones just get scrunched up or rolled down), so now I'm on my way down the foot.





The peach sock only had a couple new rows added, so it really looks the same.





Ann asked where I got my yarn. The peach was purchased at a huge sewing and craft EXPO that is usually in February at our local fairgrounds, can't remember the vendor, but the yarn is Panda Wool by Crystal Palace Yarn, and the sock pattern is a free one on their website (it is shown in this same color). The burgundy / teal, self-striping yarn was purchased at my local Ben Franklin, and is called Sox by Berroco, and they call the color Liverpool (color number 1474).

Since I'm still deciding how I want to quilt Checkerboard Stars, I've started with a border and a ribbon candy pattern. Right now I'm thinking that feather circles, or circular in the middle, and squared up to take up the block, is going to be on the alternate blocks, but I wasn't able to find my blue dissapearing ink marker, so will have to purchase a new one before marking and quilting. Most of the time I'll just mark circles or veins for feather quides, but since I'm working in 12" blocks, I'm considering marking it first, and if I can't get to the store, I'll probably use Sulky Solvy with the design marked on it. The other design I'm considering is a ring of holly leaves to go with the fabric, so I'm going to spend some time drawing, and see what happens. (The charm of free motion quilting on my home machine is that I can quilt wherever I want, jumping around and following the fabric / thread colors instead of quilting from one end to the other.)

Checkerboard Stars - top complete!

Ok, the top is complete, and on to layering and quilting. I'll have to think about the quilting for the blocks on this one, should I go with transparent / blending thread and try to quilt around the fabric designs or maybe feather circles, etc. would be better. It's traditional, so maybe feathers would be best........

Checkerboard Stars - center panel almost complete

I certainly didn't think I would get this far today, but when on a roll, it's best to keep going! The rows are ready to be sewn together, and while I'd love to do more tomorrow, it's looking like a day on the road, so I'll probably knit some more on my socks.

Checkerboard Stars progress

The cutting was done this morning, and the star blocks made in the afternoon. Now time to make dinner, and then maybe, just maybe, I'll have time to start putting the blocks together.

On the cutting board

Just a preview of things to come - Susan, at Gathering Fabric asked me to make up some new samples to display in her shop:

The Terrific Tote will be made from these fabrics, but I'm going to make the pockets plain, to showcase the gorgeous large print.

Checkerboard Stars is a new pattern and it is going to be made with these new red, black and cream fabrics (reminds me of high school, as it is hurricane flag colors).

Checkerboard Stars

Susan, the owner of my local quilt shop, challenged me to design a quilt to feature the large, ~12" birds on the Williamsburg fabric that she got in, so this is what I came up with. She cut some kits and has them at the shop. Eventually, I'll get it made up in something from my stash.