You'll notice I said I've been thinking about mixing up Christmas cookie doughs. It hasn't actually happened yet, but with Thanksgiving coming up in less than a week (eeeek!), I am starting to get a titch of a holiday feeling.
In the bits of time stolen here and there when I've been hiding in my quilt room, Christmas themed potholders have been appearing. I tell ya, I get one set done and it gives me an idea for another. I can't seem to stop. No new fabric has been purchased for the potholders. Each one can be made from small pieces of leftover material from my Christmas fabric bin. I still have the bindings to do on all of them so no pictures yet.
A while back I started working on a new quilted piece to hang on the wall for the holidays. The only Christmas-y one I have was made for Papa Pea's classroom when he was teaching.
It's large, I like it and I'm proud of the way it came out . . . it's got a lot of applique work on it (what was I thinking?) . . . but it does look a little more juvenile than I want to hang in the house.
Where was I? Oh, yeah. The new piece I had in mind was going to be a combination of a couple of patterns I saw and liked. I never got very far with it before I decided it wasn't going to turn out as I had imagined (funny how that happens, isn't it?) and I lost interest in it.
So I started going through pattern books again and found a pattern for a four foot square tree skirt that appealed to me. Fortunately (yippee!), the book also included a variation for a smaller 24" x 24" version that could be used as a table topper or wall hanging. (The little book I found the pattern in is Snowshadows by Kathryn Squibb and Deborah Jacobs.)
I've gotten this far on it and am really pleased. It gets another border around the edge and it will be ready to sandwich and quilt using a combination of machine and hand quilting. At least that's what I'm thinking of at this point. With luck I'll have it finished in time to hang after the Thanksgiving decorations come down.
In the meantime, if any of you are of the mind to get out your cattle prod and remind me I don't have time to lollygag around on finishing this one, it might be appreciated!
22 comments:
This kinda stuff is all over my head, but it is all so beautiful!!!!
Oh that is so pretty!!
I think you should hang them all up, I am sure you can find room for more than one.
I love the one you did for Papa Pea and the one you are thinking of doing. I'm not allowed to cattle prod others when I have so many half finished crafts in my own house. (hangs head in shame)
I think the reason I like to work with clay and buttons so much is because I must have seen color matching like you do in the bottom quilt.
I just love how it all goes together, yet is made of component parts. Nice work!
Jane - Very nice of you to say, Jane, but I've seen some of the sewing you've done WITHOUT A PATTERN! You have talent in that area, too!
Thanks, Stephanie! :o)
Tombstone Livestock - You'd be surprised at the lack of wall space we have in our little abode here. The kitchen is full of cabinets or windows on the walls and the small living room has (gasp) 5 doorways and a staircase in it. On the one wall space in there that I could have actually hung a nearly full-sized quilt, I chose to hang a mirror to help give the impression of a more spacious living area. Dumb? Nah. If I did use that wall for a quilt, the couch on that wall would have covered up the bottom third of the quilt. But thank you for your kind words!
Sparkless - Well, join the crowd, m'dear! Maybe that (finishing half-finished projects) should be a challenge we get going for the new year.
LindaCO - I gotta admit that is my weakest point in quilting . . . selecting the right colors to use. This one wasn't so difficult because I used mainly reds and greens. All of them came out of my stash though so you know I'm not lacking in fabric! Yep, putting all the parts together is, in my mind, very creative.
I love the colors of materials blended together. I love to look at and enjoy beautiful quilts, but I just don't have the patience for it....
I love the one you made for PapaPea. It is colorful and I like juvenile. It's right up my alley being a kid and all myself. Your new hanging is neat. I'm a sucker for Christmas anything.
Are you telling me you SEWED all those little tiny itty bitty character pieces on the "school" quilt hanging? Like sewing around all those squiggly and non-90* shapes and all those long, thin strips on that kind'a star one?!
Nuts. Absolutely nuts. Quilting is for crazy people.
Oh. Well then I guess that suits you just fine.
Ruth - My husband gets very frustrated with me because I don't like carpentry work (you know, building things with wood) and yet I can get totally lost in "building" a quilt with intricate design and measurements. He also claims I'm a very impatient person so I don't really know if you do need patience to quilt!
Lisa - I suppose Christmas brings out the kid in all of us. Or at least what it felt like to be a kid at Christmas! When that appliqued wall hanging was in Papa Pea's classroom, I liked to think it gave the kids lots to look at.
CR - Yep, I did. Yes, I did it. And loved it. If quilting is for crazy people, you can lock me up. (In my quilt room, pretty please!) And if you could arrange to have a fresh salad (made out of the fresh greens you're going to grow all winter) delivered to me now and then, I sure would be grateful! Good food and quilting . . . I'd be a happy (albeit crazy) gal!
I love them both and don't think the larger wall hanging is too juvenile at all!
I was going to leave my comment space blank knowing that as soon as you saw my name, you would be able to "see" that cattle prod in my hand. But then I would feel bad since I need prodding also. And I wanted to tell you how wonderful your quilts look! Can't do that without words. So much for leaving this space blank!!!!!
Jen - Not too juvenile? Maybe I'm biased because I made it for a third grade classroom, eh? Glad you like both of them though!
Karen L. - I knew I could count on you!! (Hee-hee.) Thanks for the nice words!
I really like that tree skirt/wall hanging one! What a great idea to make the cookie doughs in advance, I can't stand rolling and cutting out so that would at least give me more time to do that part!
Erin - I've read that you can freeze most cookie doughs for up to three months so I figure, what the heck. Make things easier when it gets closer to Christmas!
I have the final border on the wall hanging, but I can't seem to get in there to sandwich it so I can start the quilting.
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