New Year, New Quilt. Or Two.

A belated happy New Year everyone. I've been enjoying making a slow stitching entry into 2025.

Binding Holiday Forest (both of them) seemed like a good way to finish off one year and begin the next, and I wasn't wrong. Binding has gone from being the one part in the quilting process that I was always impatient with to something that I look forward to - a chance to relax while enjoying the finishing touches.

With all of those scrappy trees scattered about, this is a really great Christmas quilt and it has already met the 'nap test' (a few times) in it's short life.

I have Roberta to thank for being able to make it using gorgeous Laundry Basket fabrics; she generously shared her stash with me. She's also made one, choosing to add a few borders, and it is a stunner. I will share it with you next time.

There are a select number of pink trees in the quilt and they are my favourites. Many, if not all, of the fabrics are not what I would consider Christmas prints but they still work beautifully; it's the variety of texture that really gives it life. Selecting the perfect coordinating tree trunks was SO much fun!

This paisley backing has been in my stash for longer than I can remember, waiting for just the right project, and this was it. I think that there's still a large enough piece for at least another lap quilt.

And, the cheery red and white plaid binding reminds me of candy canes. 

For the background fabric we both chose a soft winter white with a mottled grey and beige print that looks like delicate mini cattails and it adds a snowy softness and depth. Add in all of those little jingle bells in the panto and voilà - a Christmas quilt!

I have fond memories of the quilts that we made and used when we were growing up. They were all very utilitarian, made to cover a bed and keep us warm. So often they were made from used clothing. Then I never imagined the possibility of making a quilt just for Christmas, but now I have about four in the house and a few more that I have given away. It is a genuine treat....M

 

Doing Santa's Laundry

Merry Christmas! With all of the prep and celebration for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it's been like living in a snow globe these past couple of days, but in a very good way. And now that Santa's rounds are complete, it's time to freshen up his suit.

Time to catch my breath a bit, so I picked up Good Day, Syre Christmas and have been enjoying some very relaxing cross stitch by the light of the tree with my eggnog nearby.

Freshly fallen snow and icicles have been added to his house.

And the laundry is starting to be hung on the line.

May you find time to relax and soak in the joys of the season with some quiet time as well....M

Not Everything Was Christmassy

We aim to have a variety of seasonal items on the Holly Bazaar tables so I made a few additional runners and potholders that didn't say Christmas.

The check of browns and oranges that I used for the border seemed like a suitable fit for a collection of leaf blocks that I had made. The hint of green that runs throughout gives it a nice autumn feel.

It's called Hello Autumn,

and someone had fun designing the selvage for it.

A mottled brown binding finshed things off nicely.

I love the acorn panto that Roberta quilted it with. It's a little tough to see at first, but these gorgeous little acorns are scattered in amongst a frilly leaf pattern.

And then there was this pretty yellow braid all trimmed up with a soft green. This one really felt like spring to me. Unfortunately, the lighting on this photo is not great but you will have to take my word for it, it was very pretty and light.

You can get a better sense of its true colours in this photo. The green and white Spring Chicken check that I used for the backing and binding had a fun selvage, too.

My niece Julia crocheted these beautiful cotton dishcloths that we sold in pairs. The stitch that she used is so interesting - it looks more like knitting than crochet to me. Almost too pretty for washing dishes...

And she also crocheted a bundle of these chunky star tree decos hung from a bit of twine. So, at the end of the day there was a very healthy bag of goodies to drop off for the gals at the craft table....M

A Few Bits from the Holly Bazaar

Though it seems like the Holly Bazaar was ages ago, its just been a few weeks but prep for it kept me even busier this year because I was asked to co-convene it. I was patting myself on the back for having started my sewing early because something would have had to give if I had left it all to the last minute.

This is one of the holiday-themed runners that I made. It's a Kim Deihl pattern called Double Dipped and was lots of fun to make; I particularly like the little red pin dot background with all of those Christmas prints. 

Roberta quilted it with a swoon-worthy holly and berry panto.

It looked great as a runner, but the blocks could have been a little bit smaller if it were for my table. That said, someone bought it so it obviously works for their table. 

It has a lovely argyle feel to it and is scrappy to boot; the pattern would make up into a beautiful throw.

I got all five Christmas stockings finished...

And remember these placemats that I'd found on 'the chair'? (I made a set last year from remnant HSTs.)

With so many prints in the HSTs I opted for a subtle red check for the binding so that it didn't compete for attention.

And they are quilted in the same beautiful holly and berry panto that Roberta used for the runner above. It would be great to use the reverse side of them sometimes so that you could enjoy that quilting to the fullest.

I really debated giving these away but fear not, my partner in crime came to the rescue. When they proved to also be a favourite of The Official Cookie Tester's, he bought them. They never made it to the craft table 😉.

There were still plenty of Christmassy HSTs left to play with so I whipped up a pair of cute potholders  - love that candy cane binding - and managed to give them to the cause. I can't keep everything!....M