The last of the Christmas Quilts...

This poor little old blog's best days are over. I have ignored it completely these last few months and not even thought twice about it. All good things must end... or die a slooooow somewhat painful death, as is the case of this blog. {No tears necessary!} Anyway, my efforts are elsewhere these days, but I do love to chronicle things on my blog, so here's a post about the last few Christmas quilts I've finished.

This first one is a non-traditional color for Christmas, and I couldn't love the fabric more. Who doesn't love a little pink at Christmastime and get a load of those cute Santas in his village...

I'm so glad I put that red frame around the border of the quilt to break up the pink. It really adds a lot to the quilt and every now and then I hit the jackpot when I make a quilt. This one is unconventional and so cute.

This one is for my son and his partner. They decorated their home in silvery metallics last Christmas and it was stunning. I thought these metallic fabrics would be beautiful for their Christmas quilt...

This nutcracker fabric is so beautiful. We've collected a number of nutcrackers in our family over the years, so this fabric means more to us than merely a beautiful pattern. 

The last quilt is another playful one for a family with younger children. I think they will enjoy the colors and theme of this cute quilt...

I made 10 Christmas quilts this year. It was really fun having a theme for quilts and I'm amazed at how different they all are. That's one of the fun things about quilting -- no two quilts are the same!

Navy Nutcracker Quilt...

I'm trying to finish binding all the quilts that I have almost completed before the big move in a couple of weeks. I'm fairly certain that there won't be a lot of sewing for a month or two after we move as I arrange/rearrange things in the new house to our liking. Last night I finished this Navy Nutcracker quilt. Originally, the inspiration behind this quilt was this Michael Miller Nutcracker Metallic Ornaments fabric...

But, then I decided to use this fabric from the same line -- Nutcracker Metallic Navy Overture -- in an equal amount on the quilt, so they both became equally important! I adore this fabric with all the cute nutcracker characters and scenes...

Together these fabrics make a beautiful, almost monochromatic-ish quilt...

The fabric for the boarder and binding are also from the same line... Michael Miller Nutcracker Metallic Toy Soldier. These are all on sale at fabric.com right now for an incredible price. It pays to shop for Christmas fabric off season!

Recently, someone asked who I use to do all the longarm quilting on my quilts, so I'll give a little shout out to my amazing quilter. First of all, my quilts are very simply made. I don't really consider myself a "quilter." I'm more a sewer that likes to put fabrics together to make blankets. I love making simple quilts because I love choosing and putting fabrics together. It's the fabrics that draw me to quilting. Making intricate quilts with tiny squares and complicated patterns is not my idea of fun. Obviously. But, I love to have them professionally quilted because that makes ALL the difference in making the quilts look professional, so early on I asked a quilter friend of mine who she would recommend and Donna's name came up. Donna Smith owns the company "Quilted For You" in Mead, Colorado. She quilted 45 quilts for me in one year a couple of years ago when I got the bright idea to make a quilt for all our children and grandchildren for Christmas. This she did in between all her other much more complicated quilting projects. I really appreciated the fact that she did my quilts in a timely manner because time was of the essence that year! When I moved to MA I was hoping to find a local quilter, but I found that the prices for longarm quilting were much higher in MA than in Colorado, so I decided just to ship all my finished quilt tops and bottoms to Donna, and she quilts them and sends them back. It doesn't cost much more than having them quilted here, and it doesn't take much longer than it did when I lived in Colorado. That way I still get her expert touch on my quilts. She's fabulous and she can make a so-so quilt top look like a piece of art. She's done that a bunch of times for me!

Donna suggested a holly pattern for the quilting on this Nutcracker quilt. That pattern mimics the holly on the "ornaments" fabric.

I love the gold metallic threads in these fabrics. Christmas isn't Christmas without shiny metallic touches!

Santa's Village Quilt...

Oh, I love this quilt. I think this Santa's village fabric is one of my favorite Christmas fabrics that I've found -- so playful and festive!

I chose a raspberry red and lime green blend for the complimentary colors for this sweet village scene, and I love how it turned out...

For the quilting I chose a pattern with trees that mimic the ones in the village and stars and moons...

The inspiration fabric is a Riley Blake fabric. The collection is called, "Way Up North" by Jill Howarth. So cute...

These Christmas quilts have been so fun to put together! I can't wait to divide them up and send them off the end of November!

Snow Globe Quilt...

Another Christmas quilt has been completed and three more are waiting to be bound. I've got to shift things into first gear if I want to get these done in the next few months! To be honest summer will be busy for us as we move into our new home that we've had built this last year. Finally we are able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we'll be moving in within a month. Yay!

Here's a look at the newest finished project...

This quilt has more traditional Christmas colors than a few of the others I've made. I love the snow globe fabric from Stof Fabrics Denmark.

I thought a snow flake pattern for the quilting might be especially cute with this one..

And, I used the same snow globe fabric for the backing as I did on the front...

One more to check off the list!

Christmas Quilt...

There's something appealing about a bunch of pets dressed up in Christmasy frocks, scarves, knitted sweaters, and woolen caps. It seems to bring out the Christmas spirit in us all. This Ink and Arrow, "Mingle and Jingle Pets" fabric became the inspiration for my latest Christmas quilt.

I paired it with a few other coordinating and playful patterns...

... and brought them all together to make this fun and lively quilt!

I imagine this quilt will be appreciated by some of the little ones (who love puppies and kittens) in our family!

The back of the quilt is an entirely different fabric from those shown on the front, but the colors and theme of animals and Christmas blend nicely.

The quilting pattern on this one is the snowflake I've used on a couple of the other Christmas quilts I've made. Love this pattern...

Here's to another quilt waiting to be wrapped up and sent to a family I love for Christmas!

Christmas Quilt - "Ornaments"

I just noticed it's been a month since I last posted. Lots going on in our neck of the woods! I don't know if I've mentioned that we're building a home in Massachusetts. Last June we moved from our home of 30 years in Colorado to northern Massachusetts. My husband had been working for a company here for about a year -- flying back and forth from MA to CO every weekend. When they asked if we would be willing to relocated, we thought about it (for about two seconds) and jumped in with both feet. We've love it here! This has been a really fun adventure at this empty-nest-stage of our lives. Our home is a few months away from being finished, so we're excited to move into it and get more permanently settled.

In the meantime I finished another Christmas quilt. If you haven't guessed by now, I'm making these for each one of our kid's families for Christmas next year. A couple of years ago I made a quilt for every member of our family and a couple more to boot. It was exhausting and last year I couldn't look at my sewing machine without feeling queasy. I'm over that now, so I decided to make a Christmas quilt for each family and give them with a few other things I've picked up as a Christmas/Pre-Christmas gift for each family. We have 45 kids and grandkids in our family, so Christmas is beginning to get overwhelming. If anyone has suggestions on what we can do for gifts for Christmas for our kids and grandkids, please advise.

I've used a lot of aqua and red in the quilts I've been making because a number of our kids have those colors in their Christmas decorations. I love those two colors together anyway, so I'm drawn to them by choice also! The fabric for this quilt was built around this ornament fabric, "Vintage Holiday Ornaments Aqua, by Bonnie and Camille for Moda." The other fabrics are from the same line. Love all of the complimentary fabrics -- so crisp and clean!

I chose a poinsettia quilting pattern for this quilt. It mimics the red fabric on the border which is filled with poinsettias. Usually, I like the quilting pattern to fade into the background, but this time we chose a gray/silver thread and I love it! It makes the pattern pop a little more, and for this quilt it's a nice change...

I can't wait to move into the new house for about a million reasons, but one of those reasons is so I can take pictures of my quilts outside again! I always used to take photos of my quilts against my fence in natural light outside. It shows off the colors and patterns better. In the apartment it's easier to take the photos inside, and the pictures are pretty horribaaaalll... ugh.

Anway, Spring has sprung. Days are getting warmer and there are blossoms all over the place, so life is good! Wishing you a great day!

"Deer Me!" Christmas Quilt...

I'm making a number of Christmas quilts this year to give as gifts next Christmas. Here's the second one I've finished so far...

I took these photos yesterday in a bright afternoon sun, so the colors are a little brighter than they should be, but you get the idea. These are such cute fabrics. They are from the "Rustic Winter" line by Emily Herrick Designs for Michael Miller. 

I love the colors in this fabric, the not too over the top Christmas theme, and the majestic deer. Who doesn't love deer?

I used the same deer fabric for the back...

Buying Christmas fabric is a bit of a challenge this time of year, but, at the same time, the fabrics are often marked down a little. I've found some really cute offerings, and I'm excited to make these quilts throughout the year!

Christmas Chickadee Quilt...

At first when I finished the top of this quilt I was a little disappointed. I thought it looked waaaay too busy with all the small prints, but I have to say it is growing on me. I finished it the other night and decided I just might keep this one for myself...

When you look at all the fabrics up close, you notice that there's a lot going on, but when you give it a little distance, the inspiration fabric (gray background with berries) turns into a soft gray and melts into the background...

I used the inspiration fabric for the back of the quilt as well, and put a strip down the back of coordinating fabrics to make it big enough.

A leaf and berry pattern was used for the machine quilting. The pattern is more noticeable on the lighter fabric at the bottom of the picture below. This reflects the leaves and berries on the fabric...

It just goes to show that pretty much anything goes when you're quilting. Some quilts might be a little easier on the eyes than others, but putting colors and patterns together is part of the fun!

Have a wonderful day!

My "Swedish" Quilt...

When my mother would tell us stories about her grandmother, she always called her "my little Swedish grandmother." My mom's grandmother was petite and immigrated from Sweden when she was a young woman.  She passed away before I was born, so I never got to know her. Her given name was Amanda, but I'll always think of her as my mom's "little Swedish grandmother."

According to my genealogy and dna, I have a big chunk of Swedish dna in me, which explains my love for anything Swedish. Beautifully designed Swedish furniture, dala horses, and Swedish meatballs are just a few things from Sweden that I adore. So, when it came to making a quilt for myself, I naturally gravitated to some Swedish folk art fabric by Rebecca Reck...

It checked so many boxes for me as far as color {I adore blue and white} and design, so I knew this would be the inspiration fabric I'd use for the quilt I made myself. {I'd made a quilt for every member of my family in 2017 for Christmas, but I never made one for myself.} I ordered some and yesterday I finally finished it...

I wanted the folk art fabric to shine, so I paired it with two neutral smaller scaled coordinates and a blue and orange border.

I chose a fluffy, swirly cloud-like design for the quilting, and it turned out so pretty...

For the back of the quilt I used fabric that was left over from the front of the quilt. I love to use this pattern because it uses almost every scrap of fabric!

This quilt reminds me of my mom's "little Swedish grandmother," which makes me think of my mom, which makes me love it all the more.

It's turned into a c-c-c-cold snowy day in Massachusetts, so there's definitely going to be some snuggling on the couch in this blanket tonight!