Inspired by Christmas

I received one of the best Christmas gifts ever in 1988 - my youngest son was born December 14th of that year.  I knew I wanted a Christmas-themed baby quilt to welcome my little one home, but I couldn't find a single ready-made baby quilt with a Christmas theme.  I decided I would have to learn to make quilts, so my December baby would have a Christmas quilt.  I signed up for my first quilting class at the local quilt shop and I have been in love with quilts and quilt-making ever since.

This is the Christmas quilt I eventually made for my son.  I began the quilt in 1988, and I sadly confess I did not finish it until December, 1992.  Poor boy was 4 years old by then!

If I remember correctly, I used coloring book drawings to create the teddy bear appliques.  I used a fabric fusible to anchor the fabrics and machine satin-stitched the raw edges.  The facial features were hand-embroidered.  I outline quilted around the bears and stitched in the ditch around the blocks.  The finished quilt measures approximately 40" x 40".  Not sure what possessed me to put a ruffle on a little boy's quilt!

A few years later, I decided my oldest son needed a Christmas quilt, too.  I remember picking out some of the Christmas fabrics for his quilt at Mae's Fabrics, a discount fabric chain where I loved to hunt for bargains.  I've become something of a fabric snob since then, but at that time I had yet to be burned by poorly-made fabric!

This was my first log cabin quilt - log cabins are still one of my favorite patterns.

Do any of these fabrics look familiar to you?  I don't have an exact date for this quilt, but the fabrics are definitely late 1980s to early 1990s.  I wanted the quilt to have an ageless appeal, so I didn't use any novelty fabrics.  The quilt was long-arm quilted and measures 54" x 76".  

This feathered star wall-hanging was a gift for my mom, circa 1997.  The feathered star was inspired by a Radiant Star pattern in Marsha McCloskey's Christmas Quilts (That Patchwork Place 1985 - apparently reprinted by Dover Books).  I remember hand-piecing the star while my kids were at swimming lessons in the summer and hand-quilting the quilt during soccer practice in the fall!

More recently, I gifted my Dear Husband with this old-fashioned Santa wall-hanging.  My DH was also born in December, and his love of Christmas led to an ever-growing collection of Santa Claus figures.  We've run out of display space for more Santas, but we haven't covered all the walls yet!  The pattern was a kit from a local quilt shop:  Bright Hopes Quilting.

Old-world Santa

Snowflake and swirl machine quilting by Annie Kusilek.

  Wishing you joy and that special serenity of spirit that occurs during this most inspiring time of the year!

Deep, Deep Sea is Done, Done, Done!

The Deep, Deep Sea baby quilt is done!  I spent a marathon day watching movies and hand-stitching the binding.  As soon as the binding was stitched, I washed and dried the quilt to get rid of the spray starch and pet hair.  It also helped achieve that well-loved quilt look!  We will probably go by to visit the new bambino and deliver the quilt tomorrow after the Saints game.

Quilt after the binding is stitched; washed & dried.

Back of the quilt featuring the Deep, Deep Sea panel.

Prior to stitching the binding, I snapped a couple of pictures of the quilt and the cradle my DH made for Baby Jourden.

The cradle has already gone to Baby Jourden's house, or I'd have a picture of the cradle AND completed quilt!

I'm thrilled this quilt is finished; this is the second baby quilt I've made in the past 2 months.  I'm ready to devote some time to other quilting projects!

Quilt Details:  Deep, Deep Sea fabric by Studio E

Snuggly Squares Baby Quilt pattern by Melissa Corry

Machine-pieced, machine quilted

Finished size:  42" x 42"

Baby's Due Date Is Near!

I have been distracted by other events lately, and progress on the Deep, Deep Sea baby quilt has been slow.  I did spend some quality time with the quilt last weekend, so there's a good chance the quilt will be finished before the baby arrives (he is due in late December).

As I was piecing the squares, the thought occurred to me this pattern would make up nicely using some of the coordinated Christmas fabric collections that are now so widely available.  In fact, Kate Spain's "Flurry" came to mind!  (BTW, I have no affiliation with The Fat Quarter Shop, I'm just a happy customer)

I've decided to use the Deep, Deep Sea panel as part of the quilt back;  I'll piece it with some additional fabric as it's not large enough alone.  

I'm auditioning binding fabric:  Caribbean green with a little turquoise here.

Solid blue, more of a royal blue, here.

Decisions, decisions...

Pressing & Slicing: the Relaxation Factor

I spent a happy few hours last night relaxing with my iron and rotary cutter.


Sometimes, after working all day and attending to Household Chores That Must Be Done, I convince myself I'm too tired to fondle fabric.  That road just leads to frustration and stress, so I try very hard to avoid that mindset.  Usually with just a little mental urging, I find myself petting fabric in one way or another.


So it was last night.  I wandered into my sewing room, knowing I really needed to start cutting fabric for the current baby gift quilt.  I realized the quilt fabric needed serious pressing before cutting could commence and that motivated me, because I love ironing!  In fact, I really love ironing fabric now because I recently discovered my new favorite quilting tool:  Faultless Maxx Starch!

Living in South Louisiana, I was always resistant to starching my quilting fabric.  I was afraid if I starched and put the fabric away, it would attract bugs. We have plenty of those - no need to set out a welcome mat for them!  A recent venture into hand applique got me using Mary Ellen's Best Press as a means to prepare applique pieces for stitching.  That foray into starching quilt fabrics was a success, and the fear of starch began to recede.  A blog entry from a few weeks back (forgive me, I don't remember whose blog!) recommended the Maxx starch because it was inexpensive and had a non-aerosol sprayer.  Lo and behold, I spied the very thing on my next trip to the grocery store for the amazing price of $1.99!  Amazingly accessible (no trip to the quilt store required), no aerosol propellant to harm the ozone and cheaper than that other fancy starch!


My current method is to only starch the fabric before cutting - no starching and storing.  I apply a generous spray of starch to the area to be pressed, then use a dry iron to smooth away wrinkles and activate the stiffening properties of the starch.  I find the stiffer the fabric (and Maxx can make the fabric almost board-like), the smoother and more accurate the cutting.  I do not recommend using additional starch once the fabric is cut, as moisture of any kind tends to distort the fabric.


I proceeded to cut the ever-popular 2.5 inch strips from my Deep, Deep Sea fabric.  Of course, it would've been quicker to purchase a package of pre-cut strips for this quilt - but where's the fun in that?  There's just something elementally satisfying about fondling larger pieces of fabric and prepping them for slicing and dicing.  Even the repetitive motions of rotary cutting have a soothing rhythm - unless you're using a dull cutting blade!  


In just a short time, I had an interlude of relaxation therapy AND a stack of 2.5 inch cut strips for the baby quilt.  

Just wondering - how do you feel about using starch on quilting fabrics?  Starch-aholic or starch-aphobic?

Deep, Deep Sea

There are so many UFOs calling my name, but they'll have to wait a bit longer.  It's time to start a baby quilt - and babies don't wait!

Friends of the family are expecting their first child in December.  Both parents love to fish, so a fish-themed quilt seems appropriate.  Since the expected bambino is also a boy (those 3-D ultrasound pictures are amazing!), I chose Deep, Deep Sea by Studio E Fabrics.  Studio E does not seem to be keeping their website up-to-date, but you can view the line at the Fat Quarter Shop.

I purchased a bundle of fat quarters, which also included a Deep, Deep Sea panel.

I don't really have a plan for this - maybe a growth chart or some other type of wall-hanging?  Maybe a lumbar pillow for Mom?  I'll have to think on that for a bit.

I'm planning to use the Snuggly Squares Baby Quilt pattern by Melissa Corry for Moda Bake Shop.

If all goes well, fabric cutting will commence this evening!