Quilts

Merry Christmas 2015

December 23, 2015 Elizabeth E.18 Comments

Christmas Treat Wallhanging (from here)

Merry Christmas 2015!

Largely because of traveling and family obligations, this season has felt like a mad dash, reminding me of the runners I met in the Metro in DC one December morning. But here we are and now it’s time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a thought-provoking New Year.

It’s time to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, with the thoughts of Mary gazing at her newborn son in wonder, perhaps hoping she could keep him a wee babe forever and ever, but of course, all children grow up and so did He. I celebrate her and him and the sweet feelings that arise at this time of good cheer.

Please do eat some fudge and toffee and savor some good food, whether or not you made it, or your mother made it, or you picked it up in the freezer section at the grocery store. (Time enough for dieting after the new year.) Please also play some Christmas carols and if you’ve got half a voice, sing along. What happens here after the holidays? I’ve got some posts coming up (after the company all leaves) about some quilt-a-longs for 2016, and I’m developing some new patterns for you to try. And of course, I’ll write about some quilty topics (haven’t blogged about QuiltCon Rejects yet, have I?), and some musings here and there. We’ll just see where the new year takes us.

I hope for you all a season of joy and of remembering the good, letting the rest slide into the background, knowing that all that we go through makes us who we are–perfect and imperfect and very human. . . and very much in need of each other. I wish you all time for reflection on family, friends (both near and wide in our quilty universe) and for all that we are grateful. I’ll see you after we traverse through the darkest and longest days of the year, moving always towards the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ and the light and warmth of Christmas.

Quilts

Nice to See You, Christmas Quilts!

November 28, 2014 Elizabeth E.14 Comments

We have a tradition that nothing Christmas happens until after the Thanksgiving meal. In the Old Days, when I had children at home, we’d sing Christmas carols that afternoon, a cluster of us at the piano. Now, we turn on iTunes and listen to the songs while we do the dishes. This is Christmas Star, #80 on my 100 Quilts List, in case you want to read more about it.

This morning I got out all the Christmas quilts that have been in the cupboard for a year. It’s nice to see them again. This is Star Mother’s Youngest Child, #108.

Christmas Treat, #111.

This was about the first Christmas display quilt I made and I called it Christmas Wall Hanging. It’s label-less, but is #15 on my 100-Quilts List, having been made twenty-two years ago. I have made other Christmas quilts, but they’ve been passed on to others.

I also found time to make a little pouch for a granddaughter, at her mother’s request. It’s Noodle Head’s Wide Mouth Pouch, but I made it a little bit taller.

I also added a tab at the zipper closure end so it’s easy to grab. Her birthday is coming up this week, so I popped it in the mail the day before Thanksgiving.

Hope you enjoy getting reacquainted with your Christmas quilts, too!

Finsh-A-Long–Second Quarter Report

July 2, 2013July 2, 2013 Elizabeth E.5 Comments

First, on July 3rd, I’m guest hosting today over at Leanne’s, of She Can Quilt, where I have written a tutorial for making a faced binding on a quilt (used on Kaleidoscope). This tutorial is in conjunction with the end of the second quarter of the Finish-A-Long, which she is hosting this year.

Now that you’re back, every quarter we monitor our progress and check in with Leanne, who is hosting this year’s Finish-A-Long program. So now it’s time for the second quarterly report of how many of our goals we finished. For a reminder, here’s my original mosaic, showing the quilts I was thinking about finishing:

And now the wrap-up:

Hunter’s Star–still in the closet (not finished)

Four-in-Art: Fire–Doloket, finished

Italy Quilt–Take Me Back to Italy, finished

Lollypop Class Sample I–(top is finished, but the whole project is not finished, because it’s at the shop for a sample)

Lollypop Tree Quilt–(not finished, still hanging in the closet)

Lollypop Class Sample II–Christmas Treat, finished

Friendship Quilt, still in the closet (not finished)

EPP Quilt–Kaleidoscope, finished (amazingly)

So that’s four finishes. Not bad. I also snuck in a few more that weren’t listed:

Spooling Around

A quilt for my sister Christine: Christine’s Philadelphia
(We’re in a pastry shop)

One really nice thing is the way that participating in the Finish-A-Long (FAL) keeps me focused on what to do next. So often I can be swayed by what I see on Instagram, or from blog reading, or the latest internet craze, ignoring my own goals and projects. I still have way more ideas and fabrics and projects that I will ever finish in my lifetime, but I like participating in FAL, where I least have a fighting chance of pointing to something at the end of the quarter that I did, that I finished, and that I’m proud of.

Now I need to think of things I want to try and finish for next quarter’s FAL. Hope you’ll join us.