Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2025

Not a lot of quilting getting done these days though I've enjoyed getting all the red and white or red/white and green quilts out. We're getting ready to have Christmas with all of our kids and grandkids at home this year. Very exciting! Wishing you all the very best Christmas and Happy New Year!
 

Very Belated Look at Finished Quilts From 2022

It's way late to do a end of the year wrap up post so if this isn't your thing, please feel free to move along. It's mostly for my own records anyway, since quilts tend to get lost in the shuffle if I don't keep track. Last year ended with a respectable 15 quilts totally finished up. Not my best number, but definitely nothing to sneeze at. If I wouldn't have gotten so sick, there would possibly have been another to add to the list. Apparently it wasn't meant to be!

2022 Finishes (1)

As per usual, I find myself reaching for a mix of applique quilts to put in the hoop and then, maybe a totally machine pieced quilt just to change things up. As the years go by, there seems to be less and less quilts without some form of applique involved in the making. Hmm... I wonder what that says about me?

2022 Finishes (2)

I always keep a master list of completed quilt tops which is supposed to have the projects listed in order of completion. This helps ensure that I don't end up neglecting a quilt top well beyond the point of being impossible to drum up interest in quilting on it. This list is, of course, cheerfully ignored at whim. Mostly tops are pulled out of the drawers depending on whatever color and mood {or vibe} that I'm currently searching for. Or if a quilt is destined to be gifted. Sometimes that moves a quilt top up to the top of the list in a hurry!

2022 Finishes (3)

Quite to my surprise, the quilt top list shrunk last year--down to 20 unfinished quilt tops! And two of those tops were given to me by my sister a couple years ago, so really. They don't even hardly count.

So..., the 2022 Finished Quilt details:

• 7 Lap Quilts
• 7 Bed Quilts
• 1 Comfort Quilt
• 9 Quilts completely hand quilted
• 5 Quilts mixed hand quilting and machine quilting
• 1 Quilt completely machine quilted
• 8 Quilts gifted, gently used or newly finished

Towards the end of the year I had quite a few ideas and goals for the winter quilting efforts and going into this year. All of that has been turned upside down and now I really don't know if I'm coming or going. I had to cancel the winter quilting meetings at our church after losing the entire month of January. Thankfully, everyone seemed very understanding. Am finally starting to feel somewhat normal again, but am still not at 100%. Have only left the house five times in fact since this all started, but I'm getting there! Which, frankly, is a huge relief. I'm asking everyone to please give comment amnesty for past posts. Have so appreciated the kind comments, but did not have the energy most days to try and 'catch up'. 

Cheddar fabric

I also wanted to give a shout-out to Lizzy at Gone to the Beach blog. She has a very charming blog that I have followed for years and years. At some point this winter, she had offered to send me some pieces of cheddar colored fabric to help out with a specific project where the stash totes were seemingly lacking. By the time we had made proper connection, I tried to tell her that I was actually currently too sick to be working on any quilt project. She insisted, I couldn't resist and these fabrics have been such a joy to me just to look at, even if only wistfully in passing. Really, really sweet of her to share fabric so generously! 

Still haven't done anything meaningful with that project yet, but you know me. It's only a matter of proper time and focus. If I have any big plans for 2023, it's to take time, try and be mindful and not be in a big rush to check things off a list. Thanks to all who keep checking in with the blog. I'm not ditching it, I promise! {Though the posting might be slow for a bit.} I am reading and trying to catch up on quilting blogs now and finding myself missing some older blogs that have totally drifted away. There are a lot of things still needing my attention before I can dive into quilting at full throttle and well, guilt free? At least I am slowly starting to get in a bit of hand work most evenings. Have missed it so very much.... 

It's That Time of Year! Quilty Folk Applique Template Giveaway!

I cannot believe we are this close to Christmas again! Where did the year go? Fed-Ex finally delivered our tree today, so maybe we can get into the proper holiday spirits after the tree lights start twinkling. Last year I gifted an applique template during this time of year and it seemed to be well received. Well over a hundred 'Yes, please! I want that!' comments plus emails, which really, is the best sort of compliment. Cozy quilts seem to be the thing we most want to work on during the holidays.

The older {Happy Flowers} Love Apple blocks

So this year, much in the same vein, I am doing another Very Merry Christmas giveaway to all my loyal readers! *This offer is good through December 25th!* Most everyone who responded the other day wanted the older Happy Flowers template, but I just couldn't resist offering the newer, funkier looking flower too. They are just so sweet! Everyone should have at at least one Love Apple quilt hanging around, right?

The newer 2021 Love Apple Blocks

If you are interested in obtaining the gift of these simple, folksy applique templates, all you have to do is leave a request in the comments or drop me an email. It's that easy! Both templates will be included in the PDF that will be attached in the return email. Depending on how many requests that I receive, it may take me until January 1st to get completely caught up. Please be patient! If you haven't received anything by that date, it will be because I can't find your return email. Then you can get grumpy {hopefully reach out again}, we can talk more, and then, probably, the PDF will finally be zinging your way.

A few things to consider:

• Please leave your email address in the comment or you might very well get lost in the Blogger quagmire of privacy issues. Can leave it in this form: 'audkateaster at gmail dot com'  if you are nervous about throwing it out into the universe {use your email address not mine of course} . Or you can just email me directly if that works better. 
• If you don't request the template, I won't be sending it to you. I'll just assume you stopped by to say 'Hi'!
• This is a limited time offer, good only through Christmas Day, 2021. Last year I randomly got requests throughout the entire year! Which occasionally kind of drives me nuts, just saying. After December 25th, 2021 you will only get this giveaway PDF if you physically mail me a fat quarter or two through the postal service: Audrey Easter, PO Box 2251, Pateros, WA 98846. That tells me you're seriously in the mood to make this and not just trying to scoop up a freebie. It doesn't even have to be brand new fabric, just make sure it's suitable for quilting! And I'm dead serious about this unless maybe you live overseas and the shipping would be astronomical. Then we'll talk. Call me a meanie, but a giveaway needs to have an end date! Be sure your email is included with the fabric so I can get the PDF sent to the right person. 
• Just to be clear, this giveaway is for applique templates ONLY, not quilt patterns. You'll probably want to trace the designs onto template plastic or freezer paper before you get started. 
• When cutting the background fabric, 9" x 9" squares of fabric work fine for both motifs, even though one is on point and the other straight up and down. Feel free to make your background whatever size looks best to you though!
• Both templates include a skinny rectangle shape that can be traced and used for the flower stem. I prefer to make long {bias or not} vines and cut into proper lengths. In the case of the Happy Flower block, you'll want to start with 2" strips and sew the really scant seam and then iron the seam to the back. For the newer Love Apple block, start with 1 1/2" strips and proceed like the previous block. So much easier hand stitching straight edges when all the raw edge is clear out of the way!
• For all you stressy peoples out there, I need to tell you that it's highly unlikely these motifs will line up exactly even steven. Ha! Remember that the preferred look around here at Quilty Folk is cozy and hand touched, not precise and rigidly straight!
• Please do not copy, redistribute or try to sell these templates. It might make me shut down my blog and go cry in a corner.

Okay, that's it. Any questions? Shoot me an email! Happy Holidays to all!

Tis The Season!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! We have the sugar cookies and caramel corn taken care of and now, it's time to start baking the pies. Don't you just love tradition?

Making sugar cookies

All my packages have arrived except one and thankfully it was just a few stocking stuffers. Out here in rural America, the package arrival dates can be less than as promised. In whatever spare time that I could find, I've been working on the Christmas Stars quilt.

Christmas Stars

All that's left to do is a pieced border of flying geese, which is already cut out. Loving the look of this simple quilt so much. Very 'country living' and cozy looking which is really all that I'm wanting it to be right now.

A closer look

Why oh why haven't I made more holiday quilts in years past? You're going to laugh, but I've cut out two more. They are very simple and nothing that screams cheesy Christmas. Some year I intend to have enough to put on all the beds during the season. A girl can dream!

The quilters who have posted these sorts of pictures this month have made me sigh with envy. Apparently it's time to join the party! Even if I run out of fun sewing these together this year, I will have them prepped and ready to work on when the holiday cycles around once again. Like I mentioned before, I'm never in the mood to work on Christmas quilts until Christmas! Though I intend to work on them a bit leading up to New Years, I sincerely doubt the momentum will hold for much longer. Again with the best wishes for a wonderful holiday, however it is that you spend your time!

*Update for those who are curious about the pattern. This quilt is based on a picture of an antique quilt I saw in the June 2011 American Patchwork & Quilting magazine. It has been in my inspiration binders for years! Super easy to make up your own version.

Make 20-9" {finished} Sawtooth Square blocks. For each block cut out:

• 1--5 3/4" square of background fabric. Cut on diagonal and then crosscut again making 4 triangles total
• 4--2 3/4" squares of background fabric
• 4--3 1/8" squares of star tip fabric. Cut on diagonal once
• 1--5" squares of star center fabric

Sew together blocks according to normal Sawtooth Star directions. Might have to trim slightly.

Cut red fabric for adjoining red squares and setting triangles:

• Cut 12--9 1/2" squares of red fabric
• Cut 4--14" squares of red fabric. Cut on diagonal and then crosscut again. Will use 14 of these triangles
• Cut 2--7 1/4" squares of red fabric. Cut on diagonal

Cut pieces for flying geese border:

• Cut 27--5 3/4" squares of red fabric for inside flying geese units. Cut on diagonal and then crosscut again.
• Cut 108--3 1/8" squares of green fabric for flying geese points. Cut on diagonal once

Have not tested the flying geese units to see if they actually will fit properly, but according to the math there should be 22 flying geese at the top of the quilt {flying sideways} and 28 along the side {flying in the vertical orientation}, plus two more at each of the corners flying vertically as well.

Good luck! 

The Pineapple Blocks Are on the Wall and the Little Christmas Runner is Finished!

So here we are, just days from Christmas. I am honestly starting to panic as I still need to do that last minute Christmas shopping. Not feeling very organized this year!

Looking at the pineapple blocks!

On the quilting front, things are still plugging along, although very slowly. I finished up all the applique stitching on my pineapple blocks and will hopefully get started on the connecting blocks here soon. It's all been happening in small blocks of time that otherwise would be wasted while cruising on the Internet or whatever. These blocks were something that I seriously wanted done before the beginning of the new year so I could jump into the next part without anything hanging up forward progress. Some of the background fabrics can look a little dingy in the wrong lighting, so will probably have to work a little harder with the remaining colors in the quilt to resolve that.

A new little Christmas runner

And I also finished the little Christmas runner. It's been a fun looking addition to the holiday decor and makes me wonder why I don't make a longer one for the dining room table! Oh well. Maybe next year. This was about the extent of my holiday sewing inspiration for now.

I just haven't had time to take new pictures of the Christmas quilts this year, but Festival of Trees is still my fave of all favorites. I absolutely adore seeing it out this time of year. Other quilts that are starting to show up every December are the Red and Green Applique quilt and also the Log Cabin Runner which makes a great setting for our miniature Christmas tree at the kitchen table.  Hmm... Just these few quilts makes for a very festive quilty feeling. I wonder how this happened? Me. The girl who never, ever intended to make seasonal quilts is slowly starting to have a Christmas quilt repertoire? Will wonders never cease!  Linking up to the Christmas Quilt Show over at Love Laugh Quilt blog!

HST Medallion Progress and a Christmas Table Runner in the Works

I can't seem to get a straight photo of this quilt project, so here goes. This is the current state of my interpretation of an old HST Medallion quilt that caught my fancy. I always dread getting started on the next round of borders, but while working, generally find a renewal of determination to keep going.

Round #3 finished on the HST Medallion!

There's a lot of work involved as I'm not the most accurate of piecers. There are a couple things that are making things a bit easier for me though. Number one, it helps to cut out the units during the day time as my lighting is horrible in the quilting room at night and even the slightest of not-quite-right cuts snowball on me. Yeah, kind of a no-brainer, but you know me! I just tend to plow ahead and try to make things right after the fact! Also, I've spent a little time playing around with the needle position on my sewing machine. There is no single position that gets all the hsts to end up being perfect {again, I'm not perfectly precise with my sewing}, but there is one position that is definitely better than the others. And the last thing that I find to help is this: After I sew all the hsts into a long chain of 'pairs' of hsts, then the next sewing marathon involves flipping the hsts upside down and sewing from the opposite direction. This helps so that those long row of hsts don't have that funky arch from always sewing a little more narrow at the bottom of each seam--something I am terrible about doing when getting in that sewing zone! I'm sure none of you ever have that problem.

With this picture, you can see that I've just finished the third round of borders. Each round consists of a single black fabric border and then alternately, the blue or pink hst border. The last border was 72 hsts all by itself, something that makes me wonder how crazy one has be in order to continue on? The original quilt has 11 rounds of these hst borders and then two larger pieced borders to finish off the quilt. I already know that 11 rounds will make my quilt way too large, so at the moment, 10 rounds is the goal. We'll see about that! As the quilt grows, there will be more and more mixed fabrics in each round as I don't have a lot of large cuts of fabrics and want to shop straight from the stash. It's been especially fun to try and use these black fabrics that always seemed a bit too contemporary to play nice with so many of my other fabric choices.

Always a mistake or two

This is a project that involves keeping the seam ripper very handy and I've had to use it more times than not, even taking off one whole row of hsts to turn it the proper direction. Eventually I plan to deliberately let a row or two of hsts present in the wrong direction, but not just yet. Out of curiosity, I measured the entire quilt for accuracy and discovered that I'm 1/8th of an inch off on two sides. Waahh. For me, that's like, dead on accuracy! I'm telling you, making this quilt is the funniest mix of frustration and exhilaration that I've felt in quite a while....

Fabric pull for a baby quilt

Isn't it interesting how one project can so directly influence another? I quickly pulled some fabrics the other day for a potential baby quilt and hello? Aren't those the same colors I'm working on with the HST Medallion quilt?

But the little table runner below is totally different from everything I'm working on these days. Very Christmassy in all the fabric choices and hopefully the perfect size for a little end table in the living room.

Christmas table runner

My girls were lamenting the fact that all the little table runners had fall colors and what do you know. The very next day found me pulling old, languishing Christmas fabrics and thinking up a quick and easy design. Hopefully the little improv. strip blocks in the runner will look better with some Perle Cotton stitching. Right now the whole things looks a bit sad!

Linking up with Linda and Julie at Sew, Stich, Snap, SHARE!

Snowmans and Slow Stitching

It's winding down to the last little details before Christmas. Still have four presents to wrap and some baking that will have to wait until tomorrow. Otherwise, we are so.... ready!

Still love the snowman my oldest daughter made in 2nd grade....

Every day I wake up to see that the kids have beat me to the little snowman counter. They do like to keep track, don't they? We had a rousing whole-household debate the other night about the 'correct' way to count how many days left until Christmas. There seems to be two completely different schools of thought when it comes to that particular theory. We are {ahem!} fiercely divided on which way is 'correct' or 'absolutely NOT correct' around here....

No matter how old the kids get, they still want to know!

Not that it matters. Christmas will get here when it does and as this momma likes to remind the children, they better be good no matter what or Maybe? presents will start mysteriously disappearing.... lol

You better be good!

Haven't had much snow so far this year, but it's been good for everyone in construction. And we do have a lot of that going on around here! I think the first stick built house {since the fire} was finally completed a week or so ago for a local burn-out victim. One of our (retired) town school teachers finally got to move back home! Very exciting news for everyone as our hearts continually go out to those so badly affected by this past, devastating summer. My parents are well on their way to getting their new home ready to move into as well. Because the details and finish work are painstaking slow compared to the rough building, it will still probably be March, but hey, every little bit of progress is precious.

Always enjoy the snowmen....

For an early Christmas, I received a very sweet little gift from my 'secret' pal in our church group. Just look at these little crafty snowmen! Love that there is six of them, the same amount as our little family! And so much personality!

The little family of snowmen...

And then of course, there is a bit of slow stitching going on around here. Isn't there always? Late in the evenings, I pull this beauty out of my quilting bag and get to stitching away. Ahhhhh..... As you can see I am finally working on the borders! I am marking my grid on the last section of the inside of the quilt and then the basic stitch lines for the border with a blue wash-out pen.

Finally to the border on Quarter Circles!

After that, I can stitch and stitch until my eyelids are drooping or my husband prods me to come to bed. I do love my stitching time though when the house settles down and everything gets nice and quiet, especially this time of year when the Christmas lights are twinkling over in the corner!

Loving the texture in this quilt!

I never really expected to get another quilt finished up this year, but I'm starting to see that it may not be out of the question! Anyway, Happy Holidays to each of my wonderful readers! May your Christmas be merry and bright!

Finally Ready For the Holiday!

We've finally got our tree up and decorated for Christmas! Love how festive the house looks after all the bubble wrap and wadded up newspaper is put back in the totes and pushed out of the way.

My kids are already wondering about the presents. Our tradition is for me to wrap a present a day for each one of them the last week or several days before Christmas. So far the only presents under the tree are from Aunts and Uncles so they are getting a bit anxious. Mom? You did buy presents for us right? hehe Even though the youngest is 13 yrs. now, some things never change.

I was so glad to rediscover the holiday runner I made last year. It's not the prettiest one ever, but I love having it on my dinner table to help spread the holiday cheer throughout the house.

I also pulled out my one and only Christmas quilt to drape over a chair. So fun to see it again. I really need to get motivated and start making a few more like Lori. Such an inspiration!

As you can see, we mostly decorate with snowmans. That was my husbands wish/request from when we first got married and I happen to think they're cute. So far we're not totally overrun with them, but my girls are starting to get in the spirit of buying them so it may happen yet!

It's so crazy that we haven't had any snow at all here in our area this year. It's not unusual to have snow by the end of October and we always have several inches of it by Thanksgiving weekend at least.

I bet this guy in the corner doesn't mind at all as he is always the guardian of our front door during the holidays. He actually gets quite a bit of abuse with all the boots/outdoor shoes getting kicked off right in his face during the worst weather. Now I'd better get back back to getting something accomplished besides admiring our decorations. Lots to do between now and December 24th!

Finished in the Nick of Time

I still need to wash and dry the little table runner but the binding is on and we have what I would call a 'Finish'!  This makes me want to make more of an effort towards making some homegrown Christmas decorations next year.  I sorta got out of the habit a few years ago because I always felt so rushed.  lol

 Can't believe I got it done!

Some things never change do they?  I did take an extra few minutes to cut out the binding on the bias, something I rarely do.  I love how it added a little bit of spark and liveliness to the quilt!  I can't wait to see how this little table runner dresses up our table at Christmas Eve when the snacks and goodies overflow. 

So happy with the binding!

In the interest of frugality and paring down on our usual abundance, I had each member of the family list their top 3 snacks/goodies they felt like they couldn't live without on Christmas Eve.  Then I made my list from all of the duplicates.  My youngest son was the only one who had sugar cookies on his list so I thought we would eliminate them for just this year.  I couldn't believe how traumatized he was.  I mean, he was almost in tears and he is NOT a cryer.  Poor guy.

Our crazy busy schedule gets a slow down....
Maybe!!

So between my oldest daughter and me, we got it all figured out and decided that we could make sugar cookies as one of our contributions to the extended family gathering on the 'eve' of Christmas Eve.  That way, there would surely be leftovers for the next day.  Still not going over so well with the youngest as he is sure everybody loves sugar cookies as much as he does and there might not be any leftovers!

Hope everyone manages to stay warm, dry and well-fed during these very Happy Holidays!

More on the Little Christmas Table Runner

I can't believe how close it is to Christmas already!  What in the world am I doing working on a little Christmas table runner at this late date?  Me and my big ideas.  The truth is, if it's not snowing outside, I don't want to be working on holiday stuff so here I am.....

Getting ready to pin baste.

I added some quick little applique trees to the quilt.  The colors aren't perfect, but all of this fabric was given to me a couple years ago, so it feels good to finally be using some of it.

In the hoop....

Then a simple 2" border seemed appropriate.  I ironed the backing fabric, sandwiched and basted the entire quilt in less than half an hour.  Now I'm trying to burn through the hand quilting so I can get the binding on well before Christmas Eve.  No problem.  I just have all my major grocery shopping to do, snacks and goodies to bake and fix, plus the girls are starting to whine about where the rest of their presents are.  Umm... in black bags in my closet?

My 1/2 yd. cheddar fabric win!!!

I did get an exciting piece of mail today!  Taryn from Reproduction and Antique Quilt Lover blog had a giveaway a few weeks back and I was one of the lucky people to win a 1/2 yard of cheddar fabric!  Although I have used this particular color before, I have never used it in a solid before.  Just a little bit intimidating for me, but I think I'm up for the challenge!  (Eventually.  lol)

Christmas Table Runner and a Free Log Cabin E-book

Fons and Porter sent me a link for a free log cabin e-book! Well, of course I was interested in checking it out as I especially loved working on my Mellow Log Cabin quilt. However, between that quilt and my scrap attack log cabin (pictured below), I figured it was way past time to find a pattern with some pre-cut length directions.  I think all you have to do is register if you want to check it out for yourself.

I didn't know what to expect, but the e-book is actually very easy to read and navigate.  I really appreciate seeing so many charts and setting possibilities. I do wish there were as many setting possibilities featured for the Courthouse Step blocks and Chevron blocks as for the traditional Log Cabin blocks, but that's probably just me thinking 'what if'?  Fans of the new solid fabrics would probably be very interested in checking out the two beautiful Sara Miller quilts pictured. I know I was amazed and felt very inspired by them.

Courthouse steps cutting chart for 5 block sizes

My cut list

I've been thinking about doing a simple Christmas table runner, so this link seemed like an good omen! I picked out my favorite log cabin block (the Courthouse Step) and randomly decided to make 4-9" blocks--a decent table runner size.  The single page with all the cutting information I needed printed out without any problems at all.  Then I made my own cut-sheet to keep me on track for cutting out 4 blocks.

And this is where I noticed an error.  The cutting charts are great.  They have very clearly defined cuts for light and dark fabrics--very easy to follow and read.  The only problem is, at the bottom of the Courthouse Step chart, they give directions to cut the longest dark lengths the exact same size as the longest light lengths.  So watch out for that.  I caught it pretty quickly and made the corrections on my own cut sheet (thankfully before I started cutting). You'll notice I also circled it on the Log Cabin chart page.

A 9" (finished) courthouse step block

The blocks went together extremely quickly, probably because I had all of the lengths pre-cut for once! I didn't even have to pin, which is always a big plus too. The blocks themselves turned out almost exactly 9 1/2" so I didn't even bother to size them.  LOVE that!  I just simply sewed them together as-is.

Small 4-block table runner.

Sorry for the bad picture, but our dinner table is probably where I will end up using this particular table runner.  It definitely needs a green border and possibly some applique too?  I guess that will depend on whether I want to be using it this year or the next!  Most of the work done here today was while I was waiting on the washer repairman.  What do you do while you wait for service repairmen to do what they come to do? hehe