My Christmas Log Cabin Quilt

This is Holly and Ivy, aka the Christmas Log Cabin quilt.

I made this a few years ago, thinking it would deplete my overly extensive stash of Christmas fabric. Ha! Despite being about 80" by 60" it hardly made a dent in the red-and-green stash. I've since learned this is often the case; whenever I make a quilt from stash, it doesn't use nearly as much fabric as I think it will.

I've made several log cabin quilts, using two different construction techniques. For method A, one cuts all the logs before sewing, cutting each the exact length to fit its position in the block. Method B might be called sew-and-whack; you cut strips of fabric the correct width and sew them to the block, trimming each to fit before adding the next log. I think Eleanor Burns Quilt-In-A-Day log cabin uses this latter method. I generally prefer this method but have found you have to measure and trim very accurately after sewing each strip on or your blocks can come out all different sizes. And different sizes makes putting them together in the quilt top very tricky!

Here's a close-up that shows the quilting. This was one of the first quilts I had quilted by a professional long-armer. She used a holly leaves and vine pantograph with red and green varigated thread. I think it is very effective for this quilt.

Holly and Ivy gets out of storage and into our living space for about a month each year. It is currently over the back of a chair in the living room, waiting for me to curl up with a book. Maybe later this afternoon.

More Christmas Decorating

S-l-o-w-l-y, I'm doing some Christmas decorating at home. I got out the holiday table runners so thought I'd show them to you.

I use them on this buffet in our dining room. It holds our good china and crystal and we use the top as a buffet when we have parties. The first runner is a Terry Atkinson design from her book Lessons From Mama. When reading the directions, they seem a little strange but it actually goes together very easily. I made another one for use at other times of the year.

Here's a second runner. I know the directions came out of a book but I can't remember which one. Both of the runners are hand quilted, because that's all I did back when I made them. But now that I think of it, a runner would be good practice for the BSR on my Bernina. Hm, my brain is whirring with new ideas!

We have an island in our kitchen and occasionally, I'll use a runner there on a special occasion but not for every day. I still have a fear of it being ruined by food stains, after all that work! But that would provide a good excuse for making another one.

17 More Shopping Days

A by-product of reading blogs is that I have been introduced to many online retailers I would never have found without the recommendation of bloggers. If you are looking for original, unusual items to give this year, here are a few of my favorites:

CrazyDreamsStudio.com - vintage button jewelry

CupidsCharm.com -jewelry made from broken china, vintage images, lace, silver spoons. I have a necklace made from a tiny piece of vintage lace.

PetitePrints.com - custom silhouettes

PetitDebutant on Etsy - creates a silhouette from a photo and provides a digital file of your custom image for you to use.


TheVintagePearl.com - personalized jewelry


SecretStorageBooks.com - real books converted into boxes


Brookish on Etsy- Jane Austen inspired wares. Do you know anyone who would like to drink her your morning coffee (or tea) from a mug with Mr. Darcy's proposal on it?


BookJournals.com - unique journals made from recycled book covers. I bought teacher gifts from this site - old algebra text book for the math teacher, and so on. Or you could be writing your secrets in a recycled Nancy Drew book.


Pomadour24 sells Japanese craft magazines on eBay. This seller usually stocks the famous "cute pink" quilting book.


Personally, I'm hoping for something from JoMalone (I love the Wild Fig & Cassis and the White Jasmine & Mint) or Brahmin (gorgeous mock-croc leather handbags and accessories).

Indulging The Impulse; Where Will It Lead?

Friday evening, I went to an art exhibit of works by my daughter's art teacher, Catherine Watkins. She exhibited the work she did while on an sabbatical last spring. It was interesting to see her work but what made it particularly enjoyable for me was hearing her speak about how she went about it, and it got me thinking a bit differently about my quilting (not that my quilting is in the same category of art as what Ms. Watkins creates).

You see, I have a tendency to mentally berate myself for flitting from project to project, not always finishing what I start, or having a number of quilts in the works in various stages simultaneously. Sometimes we jokingly refer to this as quilters' ADHD. I have tended to view it as a lack of focus or lack of serious intent when it comes to my quilting.

Catherine Watkins got me thinking about it differently. She described her own efforts to make the most of her sabbatical. She started it with an idea of what art she should be making, but she began to gratitate to something else. She came to realize that she needed to relinquish control and give up her set agenda and instead, indulge the impulse, take the risk of doing something new and see where it could lead her.

I like this idea of "relinquishing my agenda" and instead, allowing myself to indulge an impulse when it comes to quilt-making and seeing where it might lead. I've been inspired by the work of other quilters to try some new things, work with new colors and new shapes. I'm going to follow those impulses and be less concerned about the projects left unfinished in order to indulge my impulse. Those UFOs may call to me again at a future date and when they do, I will indulge the call.

Today, I went back to my scrappy string quilt. I like the way it is coming together.

Friday Find - Candy Cane Joe-Joe's

They're back! Trader Joe's has Candy Cane Joe-Joe's back in stock for Christmas-time. I limited myself to one box on this shopping trip but will be stocking up on my next swing by the store. They have them for just a limited time and when they're gone, they are gone!

Candy Cane Joe-Joe's taste as if you put an Oreo and a piece of peppermint candy cane in your mouth simultaneously. Except better!

Need To Make A Christmas Gift, Part 3 - Embellished Kitchen Towel

You might recall that about six weeks ago I found some towels at HomeGoods that are cute as they are, but would be even better if embellished. I blogged about the towels here.

So, I just finished the first one. Cute, yes?

I used a pale blue with silver metallic Hoffman print for the prairie points while the band is a mottled light blue with opalescent snowflakes. There is some white ric rac at the top of the band but it doesn't show up against the white towel in the photos. The snowmen were already embroidered on the purchased towel. The top photo shows the towel hanging from our stove handle.

Much as I like it, I think it will be going to live at someone else's house. It took me about 45 minutes to whip up but I think I could make several assembly-line fashion in an hour or so. I have more towels so I better get back to work.

It's Beginning To Look A Little Bit Like Christmas

Strippy Trees is up in my kitchen.

I made this quilt using directions from Home for the Holidays, by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith. It was a fun quilt to make and I like the addition of colors not usually associated with Christmas decor. Unfortunately, the book is out-of-print though some of the other projects in the book are available as individual patterns.

I'll do some more decorating this weekend but we like a real tree so that will have to wait for a couple more weeks.