Christmas stockings

Last year my daughter-in-law asked me about making them some Christmas stockings and I didn't get them made. Calise was only 3 months old for Christmas last year and it really wasn't that important to have them.

I finally got them made last week and took them to Jeff and Dane at our Thanksgiving dinner at Julie's house.

Dan and I had a discussion about who's name should be on which stocking. My thought was that Jeff should be the reindeer because, well, reindeer are most likely male, in my mind anyway. Since there isn't a Baby Jesus on one of the stockings, the next star of the season would be Santa Claus and Calise should have that one, leaving Dané as the snowman. Hmmm, I guess the snowman should have been a snow woman.

Dan's thought was that Jeff should be Santa Claus, Dané should be Santa's helper, the reindeer, and Calise should be the snowman.

As you can see, I went with Dan's suggestion.

These ended up being 20" from top to toe and 6.5" wide. If I make them again, I will probably make them a little wider.

I purchased pre-quilted fabric and machine appliqued the design. I had these cute tiny buttons for the eyes, mouth and snowman's buttons.

The lining fabrics coordinate with the front design.

Carla's Girly Panel Quilts

Last weekend I finished quilting the last 2 girly panel quilts that Carla made.

The first one I quilted with Ribbons and Roses panto. I used Permacore Eggshell thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting on both of them.

A closer look:

The second one I quilted with Waterworld. I love the swirls on this panto!

A closer look:

Carla brought me one more quilt last night when she picked these up. I'm working very hard to get all my customers quilts done before Christmas. My original deadline for getting them finished was December 1st, but I've taken in more since I set that date and now it's looking more like December 10th. I hate to turn down quilts from my customers, but I have to remember that there are only 24 hours in each day.

Jenny's Robots and Gears Quilt

Jenny is a new customer and actually the daughter of one of my high school classmates. We spent some time at the reunion this past summer talking to Dave and Julie. I found out that Julie and their daughter, Jenny are both quilters. How fun is that! Anyway, Jenny made this adorable quilt for a friends little boy.

She chose light custoom quilting, which includes beadboard in the outer border, lots of SID, Terry Twists in the block border and a loopy meander in the rest.

And the back, which is an aqua flannel:

Hope she likes it!

Virginia's Brown and Aqua Quilt

This quilt made by Virginia is a very simple pattern, but looks stunning! It's just a nine-patch and focus fabric square. The fabrics play so nicely together.

I chose Celtic Scroll for the quilting design and Mother Goose PermaCore thread. I used Hobbs 80/20 batting by mistake because she sent a poly batting. I was on the second pass of quilting when I realized my mistake. Hope she doesn't mind!

And the back, showing the quilting better.

Janet's Pineapple

Janet purchased this quilt top on ebay and it's a beauty! You never really know what to expect with these, but his turned out to be a great purchase.

I chose Ribbons and Roses for the quilting and a light tan omni thread. She had a dark blue backing, so I didn't want to use white thread. Hobbs 80/20 batting on this one also.

Design Wall Monday

It's been a while since I posted on Monday.

My design wall looks much like it has since I came back from Shipshewana.

But my sewing table is what has changed. I'm making stocking for my son and his family. I need to have them finished by Thursday, so I will be finishing up the applique tonight and embroidering their names also.

Carla's sunflowers

Carla made this cute quilt spotlighting a gorgeous sunflower fabric.

I chose to do a freehand flower design, which I very seldom do. I find myself getting into corners and ending up on the wrong side of a flower. But this one needed to be stitched from the front so that's what I did.

I know that practice will make this easier on me, so that's what I'm trying to do.

Mother Goose Permacore thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Virginia's Scrappy Bricks

Another beautiful quilt made by Virginia. Not sure of the pattern, but it's a great one.

I quilted it with Spin and used Spearmint Omni thread and a poly batting. I purchased the panto and thought it was too small, so I had it enlarged and I think it's just the right size for this quilt.

I'm always amazed at the number of fabrics in a scrappy quilt like this one. I would love to see Virginia's stash!

Mary's Brown Quilt

Mary made this quilt and it will go perfectly in her country home. I'm not sure if she plans tokeep it, but it sure is a beauty.

I don't very often use brown thread, but I thought it would work well for this quilt and I have some prewound brown bobbins, too. I chose Fay Feathers Panto and Hobbs 80/20 batting.

And the back:

Kathy's Baby Quilt

Kathy is a new customer of mine and her quilt was a joy to quilt. Very precise piecing and such yummy fabrics.

She chose Bountiful Feathers panto and I think it works so well with this very pretty baby quilt. I used Dyed Natural PermaCore thread and Warm & Natural batting that she provided.

Very pretty backing also:

My Short List

Vicky over at LA Quilter and Carolyn over at Lakeside Quilting are holding hands and starting a project they call The Short List. I plan to have most, if not all, of my customer quilts done by December 1st, so I can work on some of my own projects.

1. Brown quilt for Matt - needs quilted and bound
2. Red quilt for Granddaughter Jessica - needs quilted and bound
3. 1600 quilt for Step-granddaughter Sarah - needs borders, quilted and bound
4. Stockings for Jeff, Dane and Calise - these need to be done by Thanksgiving!
5. Quilt for Baby Drew - it's just blocks on the design wall now
6. Quilt for Ashleigh's baby girl - needs quilted and bound

Doesn't seem like a very short list, but I think it's do-able!

Debbie's Signature Quilt

What a great memory quilt this one is. Her boss is a very lucky guy as family, friends and co-workers signed the bloocks in this Shooting Star quilt.

I used the same panto, Bountiful Feathers, for this one, along with Light Tan Omni thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Look at the label on the back! She pieced it right into the backing. What a great idea!

Debbie and Marla enjoyed a weekend retreat at Peggy's house and I can't wait to see what they all got done.

Carla's Panel Quilt #1

Carla made 3 of these quilts, but all of them are a bit different. She took apart a panel and stitched it back together with borders on the blocks and then borders around the whole thing.

A very cute panel and another one that I hadn't seen before. I chose Bountiful Feathers for this one, light tan Omni thread and Hobbs 80/20 bleached batting.

Stay tuned in the next week or so to see the other 2.

Virginia made this beautiful quilt. I think I love pink and black!

I chose a gray Permacore thread and used a poly batting she sent. The quilting designs are continuous curves in the small squares, line dancing in the large squares, and meandering in the black sashing.

Marissa's Modern Quilt

I'm calling this one modern based on the colors used. I really didn't see the graphic pattern of the top until I took this photo.

Excellent piecing on this beauty! I chose Lime Tree panto because it has a modern, eclectic feel to it. You can't really see a tree unless you look real hard.

Carla's Baby Panel

Carla finds the cutest panels for baby quilts. This one is Noah's Ark and just the right size for a baby quilt.

I chose Popcorn panto and used Light Chambray PermaCore thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting. I think the popcorn looks like clouds in the sky.

More Meandering!

Last week I quilted another quilt for Libby and one for Kathy and they were both meandering quilting.

The first one was a Turning Twenty made with homespuns. A very pretty quilt!

This next one was probably made from one line of fabric, very romantic, I think.

They were planning to spend the weekend at Miss Mary's retreat house and put on bindings. I wonder if they got them all finished.

It was very windy here so I didn't get a chance to hang them up outside to take photos.