Category Archives: christmas quilt

Second Blogging Anniversary, 314th Post, Gratitudes

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It is two years today since I started my blog.

This is also my 314th post.

I am grateful for the friends I have made through this blog and look forward to continuing to “talk” to each one of you in the coming year.

I will leave you with a picture of my aunt taken this Christmas with her new quilt (my mother on the left, my aunt on the right). She wrote to thank me for the quilt and she mentioned that it was much too nice to use….but she has heard that if you don’t use them, you don’t get anymore! My mom has heard me say that if you don’t use the quilts you get, you won’t get more in the future. Do you suppose she passed on this bit of advise to her sister? LOL

…..they are learning–quilts are made to be used. After all, how can you feel the warmth and love transmitted from the quilt maker if you never wrap yourself in the quilt?

This quilt is called, Christmas Gratitudes and is from a pattern developed by JudyL who was inspired by Jeanne.

My gratitudes today are:

* Quilters who are willing share their patterns and inspiration with the rest of us.

* Family members who appreciate my work and aren’t afraid to put my creations to use.

Table Runners

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I have been working on Christmas table runners using a quick and easy pattern from Ursula Riegel–a Canadian quilt designer from Victoria, BC. This is the link to her web page: http://www.designstoshare.com/patterns.htm

The first picture with the snowmen in the border and the holly in the center is a picture of the first table runner that I completed. It is now quilted and bound–ready for gift giving.

I have always used Warm and Natural batting in my table runners / toppers and that is what I used in this first table runner. When my mother and I were at the Creative Expo last weekend, we were in a vendor booth where there were some wonderful table runners, but they were quilted much flatter than mine. I inquired what the batting was and discovered that this particular shop uses Hobbs’ Thermore in their table runners. The shop owner told me that Thermore makes a thinner, flatter product more suitable for items that are to be used on the table. This helps ensure that things like wine glasses don’t tip over when set on the table runner. This was a eureka moment for me–I wondered why I didn’t think of something so simple. I will be quilting future table runners with Thermore.

The next two runners are just flimsies at this point. I did not have any Thermore at home until I made a run into the LQS yesterday so these are still unquilted.

Just a note about Thermore. When I was in the LQS yesterday, they told me that Hobbs is having some challenges with the production of Thermore right now. One of the fibres that they use is no longer available. If you purchase the “new” Thermore, you will find that it is flatter and stiffer. I managed to get some of the old formula — prepackaged in a bag which is the soft Thermore we are used to. Apparently the factory is doing some re-formulations and is trying to get a combination of fibres that more closely resembles the old formulation.

Gratitude Quilt – Finished

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I am happy to report that I have met my goal for January – the Christmas Gratitude quilt is finished–I took the last stitches in the binding this morning. This is item #2 on my UFO list. With a goal of finishing one UFO per month, this year is off to a fine start.

This project busted the red and green fabrics in my Christmas fabric stash right down to the backing. I pieced the backing from 10 1/2″ squares of all the Christmas reds and greens in my stash.

Gratitude Quilt – Quilted

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My Gratitude quilt is now quilted. I hope to finish prepping and attaching the binding to the quilt this afternoon so that all that will remain is the hand stitching.

I have two more customer quilts waiting in the wings, so I have told myself I only have this afternoon to work on this quilt–then it gets set aside until after the customer quilts are finished.

Christmas Gratitude Quilt – Completed Flimsy

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This weekend I took down the Christmas decorations and packed them away. This is always a sad time. I love Christmas and enjoy the decorations in the house. It is always a little bit of a downer when those things have to be put away.

This year, I was able to continue the feeling of Christmas beyond packing away the decorations by working on my my Christmas Gratitude quilt. My quilt is now finished to the flimsy stage. My version is different from Judy L.’s version in that I have left off the last two borders. I ran out of the red and green fabric so this quilt is slightly smaller than Judy’s version. At 60″ x 73″ this quilt is plenty big enough for a lap quilt–even without the last two borders.