Quilts from Christmas Past

This will be my last post before Christmas, and maybe for the year. We will see how next week goes. I thought is might be nice to show some of the quilts I have done for Christmases past. So here goes:
In no particular order, since my computer has way too many issues...

 Cherry Christmas fabric by Aneela Hoey. Made from a charm pack, this is still one of my favorite Christmas collections.

              A tree...Lizzy House meets Sherbet Pips.

 Two charm packs of a Sweetwater Christmas line Countdown to Christmas, and the sashing is yardage from the same line.

             A QAL done with Christa from Christa Quilts a few years back.

                   Fun fabric on the back of a pillow.

                        A Christmas table runner.

               My very first ever quilt. And yes, I still have it.

             Trees from some book I no longer own. This is an older quilt also.

 This was a gift for the boys. It has bean bags so you can toss them and play tic tac toe. Made from Aneela Hoey prints from Little Apples.

              My first Fair Isle quilt made in a QAL with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

                                   Fun reindeer heads.

                      My second Fair Isle made for my daughter.

                             Another from a book I used to have.

Houses in Christmas fabrics. Love this one.

A Christmas Ticker Tape pillow. Not Christmas fabrics, but the colors give the feel of the season so that's how this one came to be.
I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas, or what ever holiday you celebrate. Love your families and enjoy any time you spend together. See you back here soon.

A December Finish

This finish is one I am so excited to share today. I had to wait until I gave it to my daughter before I could share it here. This last year it has been very difficult to sew. I had started several projects back when I had energy and the motivation. But since about May, both were lacking. My creativity is finally back and I am enjoying sewing again. I am slower than before, but the more I sew, the stronger I get.

I made this wonderful quilt for myself last year from a pattern by Lee at Freshly Pieced:

My eldest daughter saw it and wanted me to make her one, so I said sure. She bought all the fabrics in February. She wanted the colors of hers just a bit different. I started cutting all the pieces and keeping them organized in zip bags. But after sewing a few blocks, I couldn't sew for such a long time.

 I slowly began putting in time in the sewing room. Making myself sew something for 20 minutes at a time. It became easier and I started to enjoy it again.

I love the shadow of the leaves here.

 I showed my daughter a picture of a few blocks early on, but then nothing. I made a baby quilt, but never mentioned this one.

 I love the Nordic chickens fabric she picked for the back. She's good at stuff like this.

 I kept plugging away and finished the quilt top. I am still kind of weak in places and crawling around to pin baste was really difficult. It took me probably twice as long to do it for this quilt.

 It took me a week or so to quilt. I used a silvery grey Aurifil thread. It shows up just enough on the top. I quilted it in all over swirls, just like I did mine. It took most of a large spool to quilt.

Before quilting

Before quilting

Before quilting

 I love the way it turned out. The reindeer and the berries being the only color really pop.

So last night I surprised her with it. She wasn't quite as surprised as I thought she would be. She said since I hadn't mentioned it in so long, she thought I might be working on it. But I am glad it is done in time for her to enjoy it for Christmas. That was my goal, and I did it!!

Friday Finish...No, Really, the Last Showing of This

I showed this a couple of weeks ago when I finished quilting it, but now It is bound and washed and dried and all crinkly good.

 This shot is of the back for my sister who wanted to see it close up. Tinseltown by Dear Stella. Love it.

 Look how crinkly it is. I thought all that quilting would make it stiff, but it's not too bad, really. I think it will soften more each time it's washed.

 I did the binding in white, like the background so it wouldn't detract from the top design. I think that was a good call.

 The crispness of the colors is terrific. I love the way they look.

 The weight is pretty heft too. I quilted using Aurifil 40 weight in white. Most of it disappears into the background.

 But where it does show up, it looks nice. I can't wait to make another one of these in greys for my daughter. She is going to pick the fabric and purchase it.

So, now, it's all folded up until next Christmas. Linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts. Also, this is on my original list for the 2015 FAL from Adrienne of On the Windy Side.

Friday Fair Isle Finish

I just this minute finished the quilting on my fair isle quilt so I could snap a few quick picks in the very late afternoon sunshine to share here. It still needs binding, but hey, I have all day tomorrow to do that!

                    I love the swirls...

             I love the brightness of the colors...

          I love the reindeer...

              I love late afternoon shadows...

      I love that the white is so crisp...

        In fact, I love everything about this quilt.

      I even love the back.

Thanks to Lee at Freshly Pieced for such a wonderful pattern.  I will post the final quilt as soon as it is bound and washed and dried. Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it Friday.

WIP Wednesday

A freezing rain fell here overnight. Brrrr..... Here is what is going on here:

 Swirls...lots and lots of swirls. Been quilting on this thing for a week or so now. Not every day, no time for that. Many days though.

 Loving the way it's looking. I may run out of whit thread, though and no where near here sells it, so I will have to order it.

 I am going to see how far I can get. Only a week and a half until my surgery and I would love to get this beauty finished first!

 So hopefully I can grab an hour after work today to make a bit more progress.

Have a great Wednesday. Linking up to Lee at Freshly Pieced.