January Wreath (Almost)

I new in November what I wanted  to do for the January wreath. It is now January 8th and the wreath is still sitting on my work table waiting to be finished. Now that the tree is down and the kids are back at school I may actually have it up by February.  I still have some quilting to add and the binding before I can hang it outside.

Something about January always makes me think of Snow. Doesn't it just scream SNOW DAY!  Living in the South now after growing up in the North, snow is the one thing about winter we don't see, much.  Not that I am complaining but, my kids do.  Apart from seeing family and friends we have not seen in months, snow is their favorite reason for driving north.  I'll admit appliqueing snowflakes onto this mini-quilt while my kids played outside in 55 degree temperatures, without jackets, was a bit weird, but I got over it.  (No snow pants, boots, hats, mittens, scarves or wet slush covering my floor.  OH YEAH.  I am so over it.)

This block is actually a combination of two patterns.  The first is the Snow Flake Wall Hanging from Allpeoplequilt.com.  The second is from Quiltmaker Nov/Dec '08 called Hats & Mittens.  And yes the hat and mitten are paper pieced.  I really am very pleased at how well the two went together.  They have been calling out to me to make them into a pillow, so far I've done a really good job of ignoring them.

A-frayed

I find quilting unlike most art forms.  That is to say it is very basic in the "necessities" needed to quilt. Quilting in it's most basic form requires fabric, thread and a needle.  You don't have to have a fancy sewing machine to crank out beautiful quilts.  For years and years all quilting was done by hand, a simple running stitch used to hold scraps of material together.

The more I quilt for others the more I am aware of this one fact even idiots can quilt.  Somehow quilting is seen as an "easy" project.  I can't tell you the number of people I have run into over the years who tell me things like, "I want to make a king size quilt for my bed.  I have never quilted before but I don't think it will be that difficult."  What a great idea!  While you are at it why don't you lay an egg.  Chickens do it and it doesn't look that difficult.

The fact is that it isn't "that" difficult but it does require basic knowledge of fabrics and what you can and cannot use.  And that is what I thought when I picked up a client's quilt top in late December.

The top I picked up was beautifully done in Oriental Silks and Drapery Fabric.  I was so awed by the design that it didn't dawn on me until I got home that I might not be able to quilt it.  A thousand doubts rushed through my mind. Could I quilt it without running the silk or poking large holes in the quilt top?  What if the loose threads get pulled down into my long-arm machine and create a hole in the backing?  Will my machine even quilt though all of those thick layers of drapery fabric?   And how in the world do you keep this drapery fabric from fraying?! Basically I was afraid to start this project.  OK, not afraid but Terrified.  I was so worried that I became doubtful of all that I know about quilting.

"Quilt" is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as A coverlet or blanket made of two layers of fabric with a layer of cotton, wool, feathers, or down in between, all stitched firmly together, usually in a decorative crisscross design.


A quilt for many is just that, a bed covering.  For others it is for babies and small children to be carried in, covered with and play on.  Still for others quilting is not just a blanket it is ART.  That's when it dawned on me, quilting is much more than the definition leads us to believe.  Quilting is experimenting, learning, researching, exploring and challenging what we thought was the right way to do things.  Did you know that the word quilt is thought to have derived from the Middle English word quilte which means mattress.  So how did we get from mattress to bed covering?  I believe by trying, creating, and doing. 


 Sometimes our new and brilliant plan doesn't work out.  Yet, once in a while it does, and quite happily it did in this case.  Instead of worrying and fretting over the "what ifs" I experimented, changed needles,  changed threads, slowed down and clipped a ton of frayed edges and it worked. Was I still afraid?  YOU BET!  But, I didn't let it stop me.  How apropos that my New Year should start out with a challenge that forces me to grow, develop and learn.  

Santa knocking at the door.

It's getting down to the wire now.  Christmas is just around the corner and I believe this year all of the presents will be completed before Christmas!  Christmas Miracles do Happen!  This weekend I managed to finish up the last of my last minute gifts.  Yahoo!  The first is this adorable Santa Door Banner. 

 I am going to have to make another for sure.  This a a Debbie Mumm pattern with great directions and tons of cutting.  Once the cutting was over the piecing was a breeze.

She mentions in the introduction to the pattern that this is one of her most requested patterns and after completing it I can see why.  Too cute!  You can find this pattern here.  I played around quite a bit with the quilting on this wall/door hanging.  I quilted holly leaves around the scrappy boarder, snow flakes on Santa's hat and coat and swirls on the beard.  I even added trapunto to the mittens and boots for extra fluff.

The second project I completed  were these two throw pillows.

  I got the idea from this post over at Crazy Mom Quilts.  I happened to have just enough of my scrappy boarder left over to make this pillow sparkle with holiday charm.

The pillows ended up being a bit bigger than I originally thought coming in at 20"X20".

I did quilt the top of the pillows using a basic meander just for time conservation.  I think they would have looked just as cute with the snow flake or swirl background.

 Just to be sure they recipient stayed in the holiday spirit I finished them off with red piping and red and white striped backs. HO. HO. HO.

Let us Sew, Let us Sew, Let us Sew.

I have had Christmas Carols running through my head for weeks now.  You really cannot escape the tunes that seem to play constantly from Thanksgiving through Christmas.  It has been helpful keeping me motivated, and in the "holiday spirit."  I find myself humming tunes at random intervals through out the day.  I have worried, only briefly, that at some point while out in public someone else has noticed my humming as well.  Perhaps I only imagined the woman at Wal-mart stepping back ever-so-slightly from me as I loaded groceries onto the belt.  Maybe it is normal for people to choose a longer line rather than stand behind me.

The one song I find myself being drawn back to over and over is the classic Christmas carol Let it snow.  Only in my world I hum, Let us sew, let us sew, LET US SEW ALREADY!  Sewing for many, and I am no exception, is a wonderful form of escape.  It provides a creative outlet, as well as giving one a sense of accomplishment.  As an extra bonus if your sewing machine is loud, as mine is, it provides a means of drowning out the screaming children and the excessive volume of the Wii.

If you stop and think about the lyrics to the song, they really convert quite nicely to any sewing application.  Just take a look.

Oh the weather outside is frightful 
But inside it's so delightful 
And since we've no place to go 
Let us Sew! Let us Sew! Let us Sew!

We don't show any signs of stopping
And my machine, it still is hopping
So, turn up the lights and go!
Let us Sew! Let us Sew! Let us Sew!

When we finally stop for the night
My quilt will be bound and warm! 

If you really don't want a fight 

I suggest you go back to the dorm.

The bobbin is slowly dying
And, my friend the quilt needs tying 
But as long as you love to sew!
Let us Sew! Let us Sew! Let US Sew!

Quilting "In the Memory"

I've spent the last few weeks since Thanksgiving completing a custom order for 2 t-shirt quilts.  My client was having two t-shirts made for family.  His older brother had past away this fall and he sent me his items to have made into a quilt.  I must admit I was honored to have been trusted with this task.  I was not however prepared for how difficult it was going to be for me to cut up the clothing.  It was a daunting task to look at these items that meant so much to his man.  I believe I just looked at the shirts for days, worried about how to start.  I had a pattern, that was not the problem.  The problem as I saw it was that, These used to belong to someone. These were special to the family of this man.  Now, I was responsible for preserving the memory of him in fabric.  HEAVY STUFF

Eventually I just jumped in and started cutting.  Once the shirts were cut up I could just look at them as fabric and things proceeded quickly.  I am proud of the way these turned out. I can only hope I did the man they belonged to justice.

Ho-Ho-Holiday Wreath

Here's my Jolly Happy Holiday Wreath Santa, just in time for the end of St. Nicholas' Day.  I had every intention of posting this morning and then, life happened.  The wreath has actually been hanging for several days.  Today was the first day I remembered to take a picture while it was still light out!

This is aptly named, Santa Face block from quilterscache.com was simple to put together and the directions are clear.  The eyes are navy buttons.  The nose and the mustache, that doesn't show up well in the picture, are fused.  I even dug up a bell to put on the top of Santa's hat. (I hear Mrs. Claus put one there to keep tabs on Santa:)  My biggest beef with this block was my apparent inability to match just one seam!  I guess some day's you got it, and that day I seriously didn't have it.  Not to worry I have a block for January in mind that I can hang in just 25 days!

A very little joke.

What did the Quilter say when her block seams didn't match up?

"AW,  SCRAP!"