Tree Skirts a Plenty

There is nothing that can put me more into the holiday quilting spirit than quilting multiple Christmas tree skirts... which is exactly what I did. Back in early October, I joined a quilting class being held after work on Thursday evenings. The task at hand, Forever Green Christmas Tree Skirts! I will start by saying that almost everyone in the class, excluding myself and the "teacher", was a beginner quilter. Some had never touched a sewing machine, thread a bobbin, ironed a seam or heard of a scant quarter inch... that didn't stop the fun!

This was quite an advanced project for such quilting newbies, but aside from the under-the-breath muttering, deep sighs, seam ripping, redoing, and numerous expletives, they really did tackle it like champs! I will start by noting that this is the most difficult thing I've ever made by a long shot, which may lead you to two conclusions: A. this was difficult and B. I'm apparently not one to step out of my comfort zone!

This tree skirt had multiple triangles (not my strength), A LOT of tedious paper-piecing (a first for me), some complex assembly (lots of little corners to match up), prairie points (quite difficult on the inside corners) and some pretty intense hand stitching along the back in order to bind the quilt. Despite the many hurdles and late nights, most of the skirts are mostly complete with the exception of a few (but honestly, as time-consuming as this project was, who could blame them?)

After the majority of the quilt was completed I began to help everyone with the second half of quilting, the most laborious part. I assisted in the assembly, cut, ironed and sewed on many a prairie point, basted to my back's discontent, and quilted every last one of them! There were 9 ladies participating in this quilting event and in the last week or two I have quilted 7 tree skirts, talk about an all time high for my poor Kenmore (also note the lack of finished projects in the last two weeks, this would be the culprit!)

So although I do not have pictures of all of them, and of the pictures I do have most of them are in a slightly uncompleted stage, I still wanted to share these beauties with you! At the end of the day, I am very proud of every single one of these ladies and their momentous accomplishment. They each deserve a pat on the back; this was not an easy task.

Simone's:

Laura's:

Sherry's:

Nancy's:

Sara's (note this quilt was quilted with a red, green and gold variegated thread):

Joan's (my mother):

and Mine:

Each Tree Skirt turned out very unique and diverse despite the uniform pattern that was used. Fabric selection gave each quilt a slightly different edge and a beautiful, distinctive finished creation!

Note to Readers: None of these tree skirts are being used as tree skirts! At the end of the day, no one could face cutting through them and creating a slice down the center and a large hole in the middle of their magnificent work of art! But don't worry, I think they make perfectly lovely Table Toppers!

Thursday = Quilting Day

This morning, Liam woke me up bright and early, we played for an hour and I thought about my day. Today is a Quilting Day! Every Thursday I attend a "Quilting Class" or "Quilting Get-Together" with a few of the women from work. At 4:00pm, we set up our machines on large tables downstairs, spread out, someone makes a meal, sometimes we drink some wine, we laugh (sometimes silently curse) and quilt. I run home and bring Liam back with me (my mother and I trade off quilting with playing) and we have a great time. We rarely filter out of there before 7:30.

We are all currently working on Tree Skirts for Christmas! Tonight I am demoing how to baste and machine quilt since I finally added my prairie points. I brought as many quilts as I could find, plenty of spare batting and old fabric for practice. Many of the women are first time quilters so this should be a lot of fun and quite a bit frustrating at times. I have offered to quilt anyones' tree skirt who doesn't feel up to the task, it is a daunting one! I will check back sometime soon to give you the full run down!

In the interim... Please go check out my long-time friend Lauren's blog Craft My Life Away! Tuesday was her 1 year Blogiversary and she is offering a fabulous giveaway in commemoration! Lauren and I met in college and both studied accounting, you could say great minds think alike. She has always been an avid crafter and amazing knitter. I did however introduce her into the world of quilting, and she has been an unstoppable force ever since!

One Puppy, Two Puppies, Three Puppies, Four!

My Little Liam and his Puppy inspired by this quilt at Red Pepper Quilts! I am submitting this quilt in the Fall 2011 Bloggers Quilt Festival, check it out!

When I was a little girl my fabulous mother made me a blankie, as she did with my younger brothers William and Christopher. Since I was the first child, mine was obviously the best and most unique and intricate as compared with my brothers' later models. This is/was my Puppy!

For obvious reasons Puppy was the "pet" name (no punn intended) that I gave my childhood quilt. It is the perfect size, made of cool feeling fabric and missing a lot of the original pieces (he is well loved). I say this "is" my Puppy because he still serves a very active role in my life (i.e. I still let him keep residence in my bed)!

I attribute a lot of my personality and individuality to my Puppy. He has been there in good times and in bad, through sleepless nights and home sick days, a tissue when I cried at 4 and when I cried at 24, in every place I sleep including cars, hotels, planes and even on vacation to Mexico and Hawaii (you should see the stumped look on TSAs' faces as they notice Puppy hanging out in my carry-on luggage).

Puppy has taught me that...

Some things never change, they just get older.
Home is where the heart is.
A mother's love is unconditional.
It's ok to cry or fall apart sometimes.
Everyone has something or someone they can't live without.

I always joked (although I was quite serious) that if there was a fire; Puppy was the first thing going out that window!

Since I'm quite positive my brothers always envied my Puppy and his steadfast love, they also chose to call their blankies "Puppy" as well; despite their total lack of any dog-like qualities what-so-ever!

This is William's (it went nicely with his boy doll, Dapper Dan; he loved that doll! My mother has since tried to find one for Liam to no avail):

And this one belongs to Christopher:

Liam has been very blessed to recieve a variety of blankets from all our family and friends. This one is from Jill; the mother of one of my very close friends.

Jill is also an amazing quilter and a fabulous person to be around (Liam just loved her)!

This quilt was fabric my grandmother picked up and I chose to bind in different orange fabric, I think it is very adorable!

This afghan was made by a family friend and wonderful person, Mary.

And lastly, this afghan was made by Liam's Great Grandmother, she makes truly beautiful blankets!

Although all of these blankets are more than adorable, none of them contained those, oh so necessary "Puppy" qualities... so I set to work!

My mother enjoys pointing out that ALL of the blankies she made were completed BEFORE the child was born. Now, as I enter this exciting and beautiful chapter of my life I have decided to follow in her footsteps. (Although I will tell you that Liam's blanket was not finished before he was born. I blame it mostly on him being born four weeks early, but let's be honest; I could barely put on shoes at 7 and 8 months pregnant let alone attempt to baste a quilt!)

This is what Liam's crib looks like so I tried to make his blankie along the same theme. I love the fishies and whales, blue and green go with everything baby!

The back and center pieces of the blocks are fabric from an old Pottery Barn sheet that was given to me by Liam's Aunt Kristine.

The rest of this quilt was made using mostly scrap peices and some stash.

I love using recycled fabric and scrap pieces, it makes me feel so thrify and resourceful! I feel it also helps to tell a story and stitches meaning into the seams.

I did an overall stipple pattern on the quilt and only deviated for one brief moment in this square.

Here, I put a heart to serve as a constant reminder to both Liam and myself of my love for him. He is incredibly special to me and I hope he loves his Puppy (or Fishie?) as much as I have loved and continue to love mine! Sometimes, he and I cuddle up with Puppy and I'm reminded of just how special he is and how lucky I am to be so blessed.

Even as I write this post, a tear sneaks out the corner of my eye, not unnoticed. I have learned that despite the heartache we sometimes go through in life, the love of family and friends will always surpass any obstacle, overpower all negative thoughts, break down those confining walls, and serve as a reminder that we are never truly alone and we are always loved.

Christmas Quilt

Is everyone ready for Christmas? Although I've barely started my fall quilt, I am already done with my Christmas quilt.
It makes me want to watch Christmas movies and light up the fireplace. Did you notice that ALL of the stores have Christmas decorations up already? Can you believe that? We haven't even had thanksgiving yet, what about the cornucopias, the turkeys, the pumpkin pie? Are we really ready to give up the oranges, yellows and browns for red and green. Although I'm very happy with this quilt, it's going in the closet until December (where I think it belongs).
This quilt measures 62 x 72 and will serve as a lap quilt during the Christmas season, or whenever I'm feeling particularly blue.
Christmas always seems to make me smile and feel warm and comforted. I used three different types of quilting on this quilt.
The center was stippled using the traditional stipple.
The colored sashing was stippled using a loop technique and around the outside I tried something new.
I think it looks like Christmas lights all around the outside of the quilt.
I once had curtains that I had made out of the binding fabric. When we moved last year I decided to cut up my curtains and recycle the fabric.
Needless to say I have a lot more where this came from!
I just love the way quilts look all rolled up, it's so fun and warm looking.
I can't wait to use this quilt next to my Christmas tree!