goodbye 2009

My creation, originally uploaded by quilt it.

The year is coming to an end. It has been a productive one, quilt wise...

I want to thank all of you for stopping by, sharing in the joy of quilting, and leaving inspiring and kind comments. Wish you all a creative & happy new year, and look forward to seeing you all again for more quilty pleasures next year.

Have a nice celebration and stay warm... (We are having unusual low temperatures here -7C)

when you wish upon a star ...

A big snowfall, 24 hours, have changed the scenery. It looks like winter is here, just in time for the holidays! Wish you all a peaceful and happy holiday season, being busy or having time to rest and make plans for new adventures...

I think it is time for some baking, or hand quilting in front of the fire. Anything but going outside .....

So, I think I'll be hibernating for some time....

3rd sunday in advent

Planning to be making a bit of progress on some spiderweb blocks today... It's been too long!

... and 12

So this is it: the wall quilt with 24 jolly little faces. No more teasing.

I started working on this in september - october, thinking about adding the numbers from 1 to 24 and a little ring to attach little gifties on each block. But there's no children living in this house, and I wanted to keep this for myself ; ) ...

So, now I get to see all the jolly little faces greeting me for breakfast every morning of december - not a bad deal!

This fabric is T'is the season by Debbie Taylor-Kerman (Henry Glass Fabrics). I think it is last years collection. The fabric itself is quite busy, but so fun to fuzzy cut. Not sure its still available, but the idea would work well with other cute prints. From my last posts, it's easy to tell I have been playing a lot with fussy-cutting this print in different ways.

So, last picture, all 24 of them ...

... and that's it. I promise!

11

10 ?

9

8

almost 7...

6th of december

More fussy cutting fun with the jolly snowmen, this time using 2" paper piecing hexagons . This might end up as a pillow or a table topper.

And it is the 2. sunday of Advent:

I love the purple and yellows together. So I made a little table-runner 12" * 24" from an orphan block that was unpicked and turned into maverick liberated stars. The quilting with straight lines is tried and true. This time I was inspired by Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio. She shares how she uses paint tape as guide for quilting. Great tip, no marking, just move the tape as you go. Make sure to stitch a bit to the side from the tape, and have fun!

And last I want to show you the finished girly 30's quilt; all nice and crinkly from being washed and dried. I love the softness from the cotton batting! The backing is probably one of my oldest fabrics from my stash: a wide 30's backing. It's quilted with free-motion meandering. I like how that makes a nice crinkly texture after washing.

Wish you all a nice Sunday!

1 + 1 + 3 = 5

4

a quickie

Did some cutting last night, from my whole 30's stash i made some fat 1/8ths: 9" by 21".

They will be part of a swap. So I was left with the remains of those strips, and they must have been in the back of my mind... Today after dinner I decided to try out a new design.

16 remaining strips in 5 rows

sewing the strips

cutting a few strips in 6.5" + 2.5" and a few in 2* 4.5"

rearranging on the batting

and sewing together all the strips

The top was done in less than two hours. And I like it. A utility quilt top, quite girly...

Very poor light - sorry about that.... But you get the idea. The top is about 40" * 55".

I am sure this will work well in different style fabric and colorscheme. Fun and easy. A quickly made christmas gift? (OK - I know I have to quilt it, too..)

three friends

2

december 1.

a finish

The top in the second layout, ready for basting. First attempt, using safety pins, resulted in too many crinkles on the back. Second attempt, backing taped to the living room floor and then pinned, worked well. I was a bit worried the glue of the tape would leave marks on the floor. It worked well, the pinning didn't take so long ; )

I used some off-white fleece for the back, also replacing the batting. This had been in my stash for a couple of years, after being recommended to me by an experienced quilter.

The quilting is just not-so-straight lines 1" - 1.5" apart:

I used some stripes for the binding, adding a bit of red with white dots when I ran out...

This 48" * 60" quilt is my warmest yet, thanks to the fleece backing. It will be a seasonal lap quilt to warm my body and soul, thinking about the friendly community of bloggers who both are generous enough to host and participate in a swap. So, I guess I have to put this one under the tree for me?