Noelle

Noelle

72” x 72”

I’m either really late finishing a Christmas quilt or really early for next year. Let’s go with the latter, shall we?

This quilt was started in the Quilters’ Playcation Cut Sew Repeat Party in December. It’s such a quick way to make a quilt top that I had it done a few days later. With a long arm appointment already booked I decided to go ahead and finish her quickly.

It was a quick make, a fast quilt, and a quick finish. I still didn’t get it done before Christmas. It’s all good, I’m just ready for next year! I used a light turquoise thread for the quilting in freehand, wavy lines. It’s almost garland like.

The fabric all comes from the Alison Glass Holiday collection. Buying a single collection bundle is not my norm, but I’d picked this up early in the pandemic as an example for a stash class I was teaching. It is an unconventional holiday fabric and I love that. Using a single collection is a fantastic way to explore the Cut Sew Repeat Technique AND show off the fabric at the same time.

When I finished quilting I took a quick look around My Sewing Room, where I was renting the long arm time, and found this coral fabric in the clearance section. What a find! I had been thinking hot pink but there are just enough hints of this coral in the multicolour prints of the collection that it worked perfectly. It was a lovely way to spend a few afternoons of winter finishing up the binding by hand.

The Cut Sew Repeat Party is returning on March 18. I’ll have a different stack of fabric, but the same great fun ready for you. Even if you attended the Party last time, we will have new treats and tips to explore as we play with our fabric. You can register here.

March Morning Make 2022

Isn’t this so freaking’ adorable?

For Morning Make in March I made this little penguin ornament by hand. It is one month of Betz White’s Ornament of the Month Club. Betz was gracious enough to gift me a subscription so I could make ornaments this month.

I’ll be honest, I was unsure about this. I’ve long admire Betz’s felt work and her ornaments but was overwhelmed by the handwork, worried that it would all be too tedious. Participation through her online classes took all the fear away. Betz broke down every single step in a straightforward way, making it easy to understand and handle. One stitch at a time! For a Morning Make process, following along with her videos and tutorials allowed me to work a bit at a time. Again, making it more manageable.

And the end result is so cute!

Unfortunately, Covid hit me hard mid month. I was finished the penguin and had plans to make another ornament or two. With quarantine, however, I had no access to a printer to get the pattern. Bummer. (I chose sleep over Morning Make for the remainder of the month.)

Betz releases a new pattern each month in the club. Yes, they are ornaments, but they are not all winter/Christmas themed. I’m looking forward to getting those patterns printed and trying my hand at making a few more. I can’t resist, they’re just so cute!

Mod Christmas Tree Take 2 - In Modern Patchwork

It's that time of year! Snow and Christmas trees and frenzied making. Cookies and cocoa and stress. It's all there. In the midst of it I hope everyone gets at least one moment to step back and appreciate their favourite parts.

My favourite part, as long time readers know, is the tree. Not so much the tree up and all sparkly and covered in handmade ornaments, but the getting of the tree. Last year I celebrated that with a quilt. A fun, modern quilt honouring the tree and my son's new found obsession with Christmas.  The obsession with Christmas and the quilt hasn't changed.

Modern Patchwork, a lovely magazine, asked me to contribute the quilt to their latest Winter issue. I was happy to oblige. I offered them an alternate colour way, but they chose the original. I still made the other colour way though. In this great line from Dear Stella, Mount Snow. Mittens and trees and bikes. It really is super sweet.



For this version I picked out the low volume, soft prints from the line and paired them with a few random, coordinating prints from my stash. Originally, my plan was to make the whole thing low volume, with soft contrast for the trees. But that felt too soft. So I grabbed the red Net print, also from Dear Stella, for the background. I love, love, love low volume paired with red.

The pattern itself is quite simple. The hardest part being the cutting of the angles for the background pieces around the trees. Last year I went from start to finish on this quilt in a few days. This year I have this top done but it won't get quilted, unfortunately.

Now is the time to slow down and celebrate, to make the cookies and take in special moments with the kids. I hope you have the chance to do the same.

Pick up a copy of Modern Patchwork at your local quilt shop, magazine rack, or online.