Saturday, April 22, 2017

Christmas never seems to end. . .

around here.  I am currently working on three projects and they are all Christmas themed.



The first is all but done  It is my Peppermint Quilt from the book  "Quilting the Garden"  by Blackbird Designs.  It is all quilted and bound.  It just needs a label and a sleeve so I can hang it above my couch next Christmas.  I hate to put it away without the sleeve because when I'm ready to decorate it will be frustrating if the quilt needs a sleeve before it can be hung.



I quilted a baptist fan around the border.  It went fast and filled up the space well.  I would do it again.  I wanted a design that didn't call attention to itself since it would almost be lost in the floral fabric.

I quilted stars on the vases and baskets in red thread so it would not detract from the applique flowers.

It is a pretty little quilt, only measuring  61 1/4" square.

It took me 5 months to hand quilt it because of all the distractions.  Christmas itself was the biggest distraction but I spent a lot of my time doing cross stitch for the stockings below.



This is the 2nd project.  The cross stitching is all completed.  Now I need to make them into the stockings which shouldn't take very long except that I'm dragging my feet.  I get that way when a project is taking too long.  I push and push and then have to take a break before I finish it to refind the joy in sewing.




Above are the old stockings made out of red corduroy that I'm going to take apart for the backing.  The musical fabric is the lining already sewn together.  It is a deep cheerful fabric but only the back side is showing.




Here are the Mom and Dad's stockings made in 1990 and 2005 respectively.  My goal is to get them all finished by the end of April.  I'm running out of month - only one more week to go.




The 3rd project is this Christmas Row Quilt.  It is the 12 days of Christmas.  I'm sure this is familiar because they were all the rage around 10 years ago.  Gasp!  Has it really been that long?  It's time to get this quilted and out of the way.  I was able to big stitch two rows today.  It will quilt up quickly and then it will be time to embellish it.  That will be fun.


And now I'm thinking I want to make this little tree skirt quilt out of the plaids I have leftover from this little quilt for my sister-in-law.  NOT ANOTHER CHRISTMAS PROJECT!!!!

 How am I going to get out of this loop?





On another note, it was my DH 66th birthday this week.  I made a 3 layer Applesauce Carrot cake.  It is really yummy.



And, finally, I have six blocks done on my take-along project.  I'm in no hurry on this one.  I'm just enjoying the process.



Merry Christmas~
Robin

4 comments:

Frog Quilter said...

I love everything you have shown. All are very beautiful. Love the cross stitch stockings. Cross stitch was my passion before quilting.

Janet O. said...

What a fun Christmas post--in April! : ) Makes me want to bring out the garlands and lights.
Love the Peppermint quilt! Very festive.
Wonderful cross-stitch stockings. That was a lot of work. Will there be more family members clamoring for their own?
If you have to be caught in a loop, this is a good one.
Your take-along project is looking great!

Nancy said...

Your Peppermint Quilt is beautiful. I love red and green all year long and if I had that quilt I might be tempted to leave it out all the time (except maybe in the fall). I have a quilt with a 5" or so border and have been trying to decide how to quilt it (as I finish the last of the blocks in the center). I'm never quite sure but maybe Baptist Fans would work. I'll have to give it some thought. Thanks for the idea.
The Christmas stockings are just too perfect with those adorable little creatures on them. Better a mouse on a stocking than in the house.
Love those plaids on the tree skirt, and the applique too. Who could resist another Christmas in the spring quilt project?!

Karen said...

Ah, yes. I remember the peppermint design. I have looked at it many times in the book. Yours is well done.

Ongoing progress

I finished the center with the gifts and put on a double star border.  It now measure 48" square. Now I'm at a standstill. . .  I&#...