Let it Snow!

 This quilt panel is Winterberry Lane by Terri Degenkolb of Whimsical for Red Rooster Fabrics. I fell in love with the art work and loved this panel. I know some call its cheats quilting, but who cares I enjoyed making it. It measures approx 22 by 45"

 I have quilted all the panels to emphasise the main pictures. I have applied hotfix crystals to add sparkle, some glitter paint for the snow as well as lovely threads in the quilting. Simple but effective.

Made in 2012

Cheery Reindeers.

The trouble with using a blog to catalogue all my work is the randomness of the postings. I suppose I should have been more methodical at the planning stage!

Anyway here is another favourite Christmas quilt, my Cheery reindeers!  Its approximately 60' x 60' and all in plaids.  It has a brushed cotton backing and is a wonderful cuddly quilt. The reindeers have been bondawebbed in place and then blanket stitched around the raw edges by machine. The thread used was YLI Soft Touch.

 Had to have a reindeer with a red nose!

 Whilst making it, I lost one of this ones eyes, so I hand embroidered a cheeky wink. Once finished I found the missing eye!

Approximate date of completion 2005

Christmas Place Mats

These were made from small fabric labels and then framed with cotton lame, this gives a luxurious and Christmasy look. The trick was working out the widths of each frame to make sure each place mat was the same size. Quilted very simply in the ditch with a gold metallic thread.  All used and enjoyed every year.

Oh Christmas Tree

This quilt was made approximately six years ago (must get better at labelling my quilts).

I choose to use scraps of red and green, mainly because I could not decide on one green or red fabric. I like the variations in the two as this adds 'texture' to the quilt.

The tree is set against a pale cream on cream fabric which has been tightly vermicelli quilted.

The pattern was easy to follow and can be found here

Christmas Card Holder

Sick of sticking Christmas cards to the glass doors and picking them up each time they fell off I decided it was about time I made a card holder. I wanted something that was simple, easy to use and quick to add cards to. I came up with the idea of a centre panel with the cards hanging around the boarder. This would be achieved by hanging the cards on to small tabs across the boarder with small pegs or paper clips. 

The centre panel is echo quilted around the pattern, and then heavily vermicelli quilted to make the pattern pop. 

With Christmas cards becoming a thing of the past, this looks great with either a few cards or heavily laden.

Welcome to the North Pole

Inspired by the book Welcome to the North Pole by Piece o' Cake Designs  I embarked on this very challenging quilt. I had never done needle turned appliqué but with the very clear instructions written by Linda and Becky I decided to have a go. Fortunately my Mother in Law offered to help. We made the blocks between us and I have to admit that she did the more complex ones! 

Once all the blocks were completed I assembled and  quilted it. I enjoyed quilting the stars in the border and sewing on a few embellishments. 

I entered the quilt in the Village Show in 2011 and it received a First prize and deservedly so!

Each block is so different. 

This was probably the hardest piece to do - the reindeer's antlers and the N were a nightmare!  (apparently!!)

I love unwrapping this every year and hanging it prominantly in our home, and enjoying it over the Christmas festivities