Quilting for Christmas

My goodness, but it's been a long time since I've written anything here! With Christmas rapidly approaching, and a huge list of items I want to make as gifts, I better get busy. This year I thought it would be fun to make a few quilted items as gifts, and I'm concentrating on some lap quilts to cuddle under on cold evenings while watching television or reading... as well as some table runners which will go with some homemade cookies and a few other goodies.

Since I've really been putting this off, I decided yesterday was the day to finally gather the things together and at least plan the gifts. So, many, many, many yards of fabric went into the washer and dryer, and I spent a few hours last night ironing while watching a basketball and a football game :) My arms were so tired by the time I was done, but everything looks so pretty and wrinkle-free and is ready to go.

Here's some fabric that will be cut into squares and made into a few table runners. I just love the colors and it reminds me of Williamsburg.


I bought this as a set from a favorite quilt shop. I just love the main panel and the assorted fabrics that go with it. The pattern repeats a few times so I'm not sure if this will be a throw, or possibly cut into smaller pieces and used to make a few table runners.


Finally, I have a question on this fabric below and need some help. I LOVE the design, but I'm not sure what to do with it. I have this piece and a much larger one, too (a few yards). I couldn't resist it when I saw it, even though I had no plans for it. At one point I thought of cutting out the designs individually and using them to make some fabric post cards. As I opened this piece up to take a picture, I thought it was a perfect size for a small throw, and decided that I could add a few borders in more solid fabrics. Other ideas might be place mats, a table runner, small table cloth, etc. So, if you have any ideas, please add a comment and give me your suggestions! :)


Now, I'm off to get a bit of quilting done... well, at least cutting out some squares.

History In A Box

"The heart is like a treasure chest that's filled with souvenirs.
It's there we keep the memories we gather through the years."
~ Author Unknown

Hello Friends ~

Here is a wonderful passage I'd like to share with you. It's from the book, "Heirlooms from Loving Hands" by Sandy Lynam Clough.

HISTORY IN A BOX

As I unpack the Christmas boxes every year, I find not only those first ornaments but also the dough-art ornaments I made with a friend. And every year I hang the lovely bejeweled balls sent to us one year by a neighbor I hardly knew. We had befriended her teenage son, and I knew this expression of thanks had cost her not only many hours of pushing pins into Styrofoam balls to secure the pearls, sequins, and bits of jewelry and ribbon but also some sore fingers. Every year when I unpack those sparkling ornaments, I enjoy her thoughtfulness all over again.

As our children moved through elementary school and Sunday school, they brought home special ornaments for our tree. There is a Nativity scene made from a cardboard box, a candy cane made of red and white beads threaded on wire, and a snowman made out of cotton balls. Along with these, I find other ornaments made by special people. There are cross-stitched designs in little frames and a white crocheted dove sent to us from Africa. Every handmade ornament or decoration is a keepsake because it was made just for our family. Whoever made it joyfully created it to show their love, and their effort delights us.

When I unpack these treasures, our family history unfolds before me, and I know that when I pack it up after the first of the New Year we will have added to that history and our collection of memories.

Approaching Christmas

I was so shocked when I visited a friend's blog the other day and saw that there were less than 150 days until Christmas. What happened to all my plans of getting things made in advance? Of course, there are still a few more months to go, but I planned to already have several gifts made, and only one is finished. I really need to go over my original list of gifts to make, and see what I still want to do ~ I might even omit a few from the list, but add some others. I think that will be my main task this weekend. I'll stop back and let you all know what I've decided, and then I think I'll start a countdown here as we approach the holiday season!

Christmas hugs,
Joanne

My First Finished Gift

I finally managed to finish my first Christmas gift for the year. I had thought I'd have several gifts completed by now, but things haven't worked out quite the way I wanted. However, I do have this crocheted table runner that I recently finished, so I thought I'd share some pictures with you.








The runner still needs to be blocked and ironed, but I won't do that until it's time to pull it out and wrap it. For now, it's a little ruffly looking, but that's fine as it will just be sitting in the dresser of the guest room for several more months :)







It's hard to see the design against the floral tablecloth, so here's a picture I took while this was still a work-in-progress last month.

A Few More Weeks of Christmas

"Gifts of time and love
are surely the basic ingredients
of a truly
Merry Christmas."

~ Peg Bracken

I'm a little behind in posting the weeks of Christmas challenge, so I thought I'd catch up today with the last two weeks, the 50th and 49th, before I post the 48th!

49th Week of Christmas

Your challenge for the week is to spend a wee bit of time (or a longer time, if you prefer) looking at a Christmas crafts book or cookbook, magazine, or website. Look for some new ideas that might be something you'd like to try, or think others might. It can be as simple or as complicated as you like. If you're not in a crafting or cooking mood, maybe you can look for a short story, poem, or Christmas book to read.

50th Week of Christmas

Things to look for this month...

~ White sales... pick up some solid color pillow cases, sheets, place mats and towels that can be embellished with embroidery, fabric paint, lace and ribbons. They'll make great gifts!

51st Week of Christmas

*** ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK ***

If you haven't already done a little planning of projects, use this week to catch up. If you have...

Use some time this week to finish a project that you've already started. If you don't have any "leftovers", use your designated time to begin something new :)

On Keeping Christmas

"If you can keep Christmas for a day, why not always?"

~ Henry Van Dyke

My 2008 Christmas List of Projects

On my Homespun Holidays list we've started "The 52 Weeks of Christmas". This is going to be a weekly reminder and countdown for those of us who love to create gifts. Hopefully, we'll all get a good start on our lists for next Christmas and actually have some gifts made before we run out of time. I thought I'd share my "To Make" list with all of you.

By the way, if any of you would like to join us, just click here on the name of the group to request membership: Homespun Holidays

Now, here's my list of projects:


CROSS STITCH:
~ Finish stitching the last of the ornaments I was making for this year and then make them into little pillow ornaments (Plum Pudding Needleart design)
~ Finish stitching Christmas Tea for us
~ Stitch 2 additional sets of Christmas Tea for gifts (will be a tea cozy and a cookie tin cover)
~ Finish the PS 12 Days of Christmas ornaments (have 2-1/2 made)
~ Finish quilting the cross stitched star table topper I started several years ago



QUILTING:
~ Make a quilt for our daughter (already have the fabric)
~ Make a quilt for my stepdaughter (already have the fabric)
~ Make a few quilted items for friends. I'm thinking table runners, but might add in small wall hangings and/or placemats. I'd like to get 4 made, but I'd be happy with 2.
~ Finish quilting the Christmas tree cloth I started years ago. One section is completely done, and the other section about 3/4s finished. Then they can be sewn together and a binding added to the outside.


WOOLENS:
~ Make some pillows in different sizes using the plaid or checked wools for the pillow with solid colors for the applique. I want to do some with different Christmas designs (snowflakes, mittens, etc.). I also want to make some of these for the fall with autumn designs.
~ Make a penny rug for a table topper using a cute snowman pattern. (I also have two for autumn, which I hope to make, too.)


KNITTING:
~ Finish husband's replacement Christmas stocking (I've overstuffed his throughout the years with jars of various nuts, lol, and now there are lots of holes where I didn't do a very good job of changing colors).


SCRAPBOOKS:
~ 1 for husband
~ 3 for friends


RECIPE/SCRAP BOOKS:
~ 1 for daughter
~ 1 for stepdaughter


SEWING:
~ Some small pine needle sachet pillows
~ Some stuffed Christmas ornaments using homespun fabric (I'll use cookie cutters as the patterns)
~ Make fabric wreaths using the Dresden Plate quilting pattern (these are in Book 2 of the Leisure Arts Spirit of Christmas books and are so pretty)
~ Make a Christmas tree cloth using the same pattern and fabrics
~ Make some yo-yo wreath ornaments (cute, also from the same book... you make 10 yo-yos that are lightly stuffed, and then stitch them together through their middles and tied into a puffy circle)