Christmas Star

 I finished my little Christmas Star mini quilt.

If you want to read the rest of the story look in the "Once in multiple lifetimes" post at right.

It measures 13 1/4" X 14 3/4" and was really fun to make.

Robin

Moving toward next year

I finished this quilt before Christmas.  I know it doesn't look like a Christmas quilt but I consider it one because my inspiration was this Christmas/Santa puzzle we do every year at Christmas

I set the blocks differently because they are 'Rising Sun' blocks and it seemed like they should be rising from the East.  Also, the quilt was quite dull without the sashing.  But, nevertheless, it is finished.

I call it my "Fear Not Little Flock" quilt because of all the sheep fabric from 2002.

I added the quote at the lower left hand corner of the border.  I've learned something about adding words at the bottom of a quilt.  The words often get tucked under the mattress and isn't even seen.  I'm going to keep that in mind next time.

I brought the border up on top on the bed in the above picture so it could be photographed.

I put the "Block in the Spotlight" quilt on the frames over a week ago but didn't have a chance to start quilting it until this morning.

I started on the spool block and only got three completed with 2 partials in the time I sat at the frames.  It's going to be slow going but I want to finish this quilt before another year passes. 

I want to do a small cable in the borders but I don't have anything that will mark the blue adequately.  So I think I'm going to try a technique I used when I made the Welsh Quilt (on the ironing board below).  I marked and quilted it from the back.  I'm going to quilt all of the quilt but the two borders and then quilt them last.

I'm making progress on the Comfort and Joy quilt.  I want to have this one finished by next Christmas so I can gift it to one of my daughters.

It is so fun to work on.  And I like that I can do a little applique and then do a little piecing depending on my mood.  I made a flying geese strip this morning and sewed it on the left side of the cabin (not in the picture).  A little bit at a time, it's all progress.

I had all kinds of energy last week (something I'm not normally known for) and I gave my sewing room a deep clean.  I found all these spools I've been saving to see how much thread I use in a year.  There are 12 empty spools and I also used at least 16 balls of pearl cotton.  This was my year for big stitch.

Here is my little sewing space with the bolts of yardage for backing under the sewing table.  I have my light box on top because I use it for applique (all the time).  And, I take the light box down when I'm  cutting things out.

This is the space just to the right of my sewing table.  I have to have my iron and ironing board close by.

 And this is the closet behind me as I was standing to take the picture above.  The room is quite small but it's my own space and I don't have to clean things up after every sewing session.  I can just close the door and walk away.  I also don't have the grandkids going through things and changing the settings on the sewing machine.  They see the closed door and don't investigate.  Good kids!

I have fabric etc. in another closet downstairs.  I'm hoping to someday get it so everything will fit in this room.  

My quilting goal this year is to concentrate on one thing at a time till it's finished.  I love to make the tops (that's the most fun) but I'm not as fast with the quilting because of time and sore fingers.  I think that's one reason I quilted 6 quilts with 'Big Stitch' last year.  I can do more in a shorter period of time.

I'm set for the new year.

Robin

Birth of the Christ Child

 

[The] "same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well."                                                                                                                                                                         Neal A. Maxwell

I am grateful to celebrate the birth of my Savior this time of year and I am grateful for those of you who have shared your warmth with me.

Robin

Once in multiple lifetimes

I've been wanting to make this little (and I do mean little) quilt by Cheri Payne.  I keep thinking about it and today when I decided it would be fun to make a little something to commemorate the conjuction of  Saturn and Jupiter tonight, a quilt was born.   They are calling this  'Christmas Star" and it hasn't happened for over 800 years.

 So I went through my fabric stash and collected all the red and neutral fabrics I could find with stars on them.  And then I got busy.

And in no time I had this cute little thing put together.  I think it needs a star appliqued in the middle, some light quilting, binding, and "Voila".

It's a little wonky so I'm going to take out one seam to even up the top border and then let it look homemade like the rest of Cheri Payne's things do.

It was a fun couple of hours.

Hope you look out in the SW sky tonight around 5:30 MST and see something no one on earth has ever seen before.

Robin

To see the finished quilt look at the Christmas Star post right.

Decorating day and fond memories

Temecula Quilt Company has been revisiting their past Christmas SALs.  There are some fun ones in there.  It reminded me that I had never finished the mini Christmas Tree from last year.  I tried to hand quilt it a year ago but I didn't like it and picked it out.  And then it got put away.

I did narrow vertical machine quilting and bound it with a red/gold metallic fabric.  

It measures 11 1/2" X 14".  Just so cute and tiny.

I've been working on the "Fear Not Little Flock" quilt since last month.  I'm getting about a row a week done.  I have almost finished 4 of the 6 rows so I think I can get it done in time for Christmas.

 This shows a close-up of the big stitch quilting.  (Ignore that piece of lint on the gold arc.)

We got our tree up and now I'm making a mess of ornaments and decorations before I can get it all organized.  I'm getting rid of a lot of decorations this year.  I still have the cute Country stuffed stuff from the 80's and 90's.  Some of them need to be retired but most of them still look good. . . it's just time.

These three ladies are just a drop in the bucket.  There are a lot more.  My mother made these and sold them to keep my brother on his mission (Sweden) back when you paid the prices in the country  instead of a each missionary having the same general expenses we have today .  The angel hangs on the wall and the mouse is built on a bowling pin.  Good memories.

Hope things are looking festive at your house.

Robin