Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Wrapping up the Giveaway and A Few Christmas-Look Quilts

The Giveaway for free Autumnal Tulip applique templates is now over and I'm totally caught up! Can you believe that I sent out 86 pdf's in all? Crazy. Definitely underestimated the lure of free applique templates! For those of you who requested a pdf and did not receive one, please email me directly. 

Quarter Triangles for the finish!

Quarter Triangles ended up being the very last finish of the year. I started the quilt with the idea of using up old tired green fabrics sometime last winter.
Loving this backing fabric

Then I found the Christmassy floral languishing in the bottom of a tote and decided the entire thing would be a marvelous Christmas-look throw! I'm never in the mood to work on Christmas quilts until the season so I'm always putting ideas off. Maybe later. And then later usually never comes....

Easy peasy throw quilt

It's not super exciting, but this one makes me happy. The hand quilting went very fast and the binding was found in yet more of those tired old green fabrics. Can't argue with that! I had a little bit of fabric bleed with the reds {I thought they had been properly presoaked!}, but they mostly rinsed out.

This one's mostly about the fabric...

Next up in the hoop is this funky looking quilt that I made based on a U & U quilt. I took the simple, utilitarian look quilt and multiplied the base of the quilt times four. Then I inserted my color palette along with the floral vibe and made it mine.

Love the not-so-perfect circles

I'm not exactly thrilled with the overall look of the quilt, but I do so love the soft, floral vibe to the end product. Having it in my lap for hand quilting just makes my heart melt and I'm charmed that these difficult florals finally found a good home. It's a quirky home, but it still looks and feels right.

And the applique ends up being icing on the cake!

And you'll be shocked and appalled, but I just had to add just a teensy bit of applique after all. The quilt was totally sandwiched and pinned {of course!} when I made the decision to go ahead. Why oh why does that happen to me? Such a difficult time to start adding on applique pieces to a quilt, but now I'm even happier with the quilt. Much, much happier. I guess it was meant to be!

Another Christmas quilt in the works

And then there's this quilt that has finally progressed enough to actually mention it here on the blog. It's another one that I cut out last December in the hopes that it would end up being another Christmas-look quilt. I've been piddling around with it off and on all during the month of December, but it's been very slow go. All the fabric is oldy moldy stuff that somehow ends up looking perfectly fine in this holiday themed quilt. Right? This particular quilt block has been on my bucket list for probably well over 15 years and I thought, why not? 

My seams are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination so I will probably end up sewing the blocks together with a very thin sashing. In my mind I'm thinking a plaid would be good, but we'll have to see what's hanging out in the stash totes. Not planning on spending any extra money on this one. Nine blocks are done out of sixteen! Might actually have a another quilt top done before the years end....


15 comments:

  1. The 1/4 triangles piece is so cozy and comfy looking--great finish with the pretty floral backing...
    Your circles piece is so neat with the appliques...
    And the big star-like blocks are really pretty with that "dotty" background...
    just really nice works...
    Hugs julierose

    ReplyDelete
  2. surely those stars will have some kind of applique on them somewhere - right? I love them but then I think I love all star blocks

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh I love that quilt with the circles - quirky or not - it sings to me!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The present quilt in the hoop is amazing and I love, as you say, the quirkiness - nothing wrong with that!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your 'circle' quilt made me smile. Yes, it's got that real traditional vibe, but so good to use those 'difficult' florals up! My stash buying habits have changed just as much as my quilting style over the years, but there are still those tired fabrics lurking in the cupboard, good to see you breathing 'new' life to yours.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love the florals in the circles quilt. And the blocks look good, they'll make a beautiful christmas quilt. It is always a great feeling using some old or not so inspiring fabrics. And I like the simpicity of the hourglas quilt. Warm greetings

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your Christmasy projects are looking great. I am the same, never feel like working on them "off season" but then time is so limited leading up to the holidays. Isn't it fun to use older fabrics in fresh ways.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Audrey, I just love the subtle hint of Christmas with your quarter triangles quilt! It is so lovely and Christmas cozy looking. It’s perfect with the red check border and green binding. Your funky circles quilt is quite a delight to see. The appliqué tulips are a nice touch. I love the mix of colors.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Some added applique is always a bonus!
    I think the design wall fabric looks fabulous... not oldy moldy at all LOL!
    Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the addition of applique. It really completes the quilt. Such a nice design.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you so much for the Autumnal Tulip templates. After I saw your quilt on your blog, I searched on the web for tulip templates. I didn't find anything I liked as much as your pattern. So imagine my delight when I saw the offer of a free! template on your blog. Totally made my day. I had to laugh at the description of your IT skills. Sounds like me.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I recognize many of your moldy oldies. I think we all have those lingering fabrics in the cupboard. You seem to have a talent for making them look good.

    ReplyDelete
  13. All your old fabrics make perfect Christmas quilts. We need cuddly throws right now, too. The tulips are a good addition to your U&U quilt. It makes it even more yours.
    Happy New Year.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Got so sidetracked visiting some of the "related posts" that I almost forgot to get back to commenting. I love the laid-back subtle look of your current Christmas quilts. Your U&U quilt reminds me of the blended quilts from a few years ago with a Victorian vibe interspersed with your circles. It is a restful and soft look that somehow seems very comforting right now. Hoping the new year brings you and your family much love and happiness, and hopefully more visits with those little grandbabies!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I like the U&U quilt - you know you've got it right when "difficult" fabrics don't look difficult at all, just comfortable and cozy.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting! I love getting comments and always try to respond via email. Please leave an email in the comment to ensure a return reply! {Many of you are popping up as Anonymous for some reason, so I have no idea who it is.} Regardless, I appreciate all the comments and read every single one.