Christmas Quilting for Family

This was the year for spiral table runners.  I made 3, one for my daughter and 2 for my daughter-in-laws.  I tried to choose fabrics that I thought would suit each of them.  The first is for my daughter-in-law, Jae, who lives in Albuquerque.  I chose warm colors that I thought depicted their environment.

This green and black table runner is for my daughter, Anna.  She once wanted a lime green jacket, and I wouldn't buy it for her.  I hope she enjoys the different greens in this one.

The 3rd is for my daughter-in-law, Susan.  I thought these colors looked like her, and I loved the fabric with all of the words of faith.  I knew she would enjoy them, also.

These were fun to make.  I had made one before, but it was difficult to machine quilt.  This year, I bought a sewing machine for my granddaughters for Christmas, and I wanted to try it out before I gave it to them.  It had a walking foot, which my Janome does not have.  It worked beautifully on these projects.

Whatever you made for gifts for Christmas this year, I hope you had as much fun sewing as I did.  Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Quilting for Friends

This year, I decided to make my gifts for some of my friends and family.  Sue and her husband, Terry, are our best friends and traveling buddies.  This past spring, we went to Alaska--a one-week cruise, then inland for a week, renting a car and traveling where we wanted.

At Seward, we took a day trip on the Kenai Fjord seeing lots of wildlife.  The wall hanging I did for Sue is to remind her of the whales we saw on that trip.  What an exciting day!  We would love to go back.

My secret prayer partner from church this year was one of my oldest--well, not age wise, but length of friendship wise--and dearest friends, Rosie.  We enjoy getting together to work on quilts or cards.  I did not participate in the Holiday Lane blog hop, but after viewing the beautiful pillows and wall hangings that quilters had made, I decided to use this pattern for a Christmas gift for Rosie. Jill of Jillily Studio designed the pattern.  Thanks, Jill, for making it available.  I wanted it to be something she could use year-round, so I left out the snow.  I'm more of a dark or muted fabric lover, while Rosie likes bright, cheery fabrics.  This was definitely made with her in mind, although I have to admit, I like the way it turned out.

                               Rosie loves animals, so I added some buttons for more detail:

A cat, an owl in the tree, and a dog watching the owl.

A cat in the window.

A dog next to the door.

I also added buttons for the doorknobs.

This pattern was lots of fun.  I hope to make it again, maybe for winter, maybe in other colors, but I definitely want to make another one!  Thanks again, Jill, for the pattern.

All I Want For Christmas!

All I want for Christmas is a new sewing machine!  Well, that is not quite true.  I am really looking forward to 2 of my 3 kids and their families (including 2 of my 3 grandchildren) home for Christmas.  But, if I was making out a want list for Christmas, it would be a new sewing machine.  I've been watching e-bay for a used Janome 6600, and I think that is really what I would like.  I have outgrown my Janome 3050.  Oh, it's great for most things, but I really need one with a walking foot for machine quilting.

If you have the Janome 6600, please leave me a comment about how you would rate this machine.  Also, if you are using another machine that also has a walking foot, please leave me recommendations!

Besides dreaming of a new machine, I've been doing lots of sewing/baking/candy-making for Christmas.  My mom always made date-nut bread at Christmas time.  It was the gift we gave our teachers, the mailman, the bus driver, and anyone else who needed a small gift.  So, today I made the traditional date-nut bread.  Yes, it is baked in tin cans.  I miss you, Mom, especially during the holidays.

Christmas Quilting

My machine has been getting quite a workout as I get ready for Christmas this year.  I've been wanting to post some of my projects, but I don't want to ruin the Christmas surprise for some special people in my life.  I'll just have to wait a little longer before I post those pictures!  In the meantime, I do have a couple of projects that I can post.

This is a notebook cover I made for a special little girl, Norah.  She is our best friends' granddaughter, and like lots of little girls, she loves pink.

Norah's Notebook Cover

Also, I had some scraps left from my Christmas tree napkins, and thought I needed to make a table runner to match them.  Our quilt club had a lesson on the exploding pineapple last month.  (Thanks, Carolyn.)  I thought it would be great practice to combine the two:  scraps and a new block pattern.  Here are the results:

Here the the table runner with the napkins:

I think my table will look great this Christmas!