Middle-of-the-Road Christmas Stockings

Hello! 'Tis the Season once again and I've just finished making a batch of Christmas stockings for gifting.  I've made fancy, fully lined stockings before, but as I was making quite a few quickly that was off the table. Still, I didn't just want to sew together 2 fabrics pillowcase-style.  So-- I developed a new method for making nice but quick stockings. If your interested I have a tutorial with LOTS of photos here.

(names obscured to protect the surprise)

These stockings have solid backings with holiday fabrics, fronts pieced from scraps, and flannel false-cuffs with embroidered names. 

My sewing inspector had to check everything out...

I embroidered the recipients names on the stocking cuffs.  Prior to nursing I worked several years running an embroidery machine and my old boss let me come back and make these :)  I didn't think I remembered how to use the machine, but once I started I found out my fingers still remembered.

I called this a "false cuff" because it only goes across the front of the stocking and is sewn into the side seams.  It's a lot easier to make than a full cuff, but it makes the stocking look fancier. 

I think the 9 stockings have 4 different holiday fabrics for backs.  Of course these will be stocked with goodies before Christmas :)  I hope your holiday season is off to a good start! Remember, if you're interested in a tutorial for my middle-of-the road stockings it's here.


Linking to Finish if Friday.

Last of the D9s

Happy Thanksgiving to US readers! Today I have two nice, fat, 72" square quilts done to round out August's Disappearing Nines block drive.  Supporters of Covered in Love sent in 130 black, white, and bright blocks to make a total of 6 quilts to be gifted to families who lose someone in the hospital.

It was so humid my lens got foggy and I didn't notice :(

One of these got a nice bright green backing while the other got an aqua blue. Both got a big stipple for quilting.

I bound them with scrap strings, one in black and white and one in blue/yellow/green.

Check out those cute little lanterns and bamboo!

Fun sewing themed text fabric.

The holiday block drive for Covered in Love is going on now if you'd like to help out by making a block or two (or ten)!  Thanks soooo much to all the ladies who contributed blocks to the August drive.  You're the best!!

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts.

Up with the birds... and the cats

Some days I go to bed expecting to go to work, only to wake up to a phone call that there are more nurses on the schedule than we have patients for so I have an unexpected day off. Usually I can go back to sleep, but sometimes once I'm up I'm up and I may as well use my time well.

These photos were taken on one such day, when I was up with the birds bright an early.  I almost never get up in time for the dawn light and usually have to wait until late afternoon to take quilt pictures.

This is the last of the straightforward star quilts from July's Covered in Love block drive.  There were ten or so blocks leftover that will be incorporated into a later quilts.

a fun Christmas surprise block courtesy of Louise

I didn't get any good pictures of the backing of this one, but I used a donated piece of textured flannel that made it thick, warm, and super cuddly.  The cats of course were glad to have someone up with them.  Spot the cat in the picture below...

Rory, taking advantage of an empty trash can.  Crazy cat.

This stars quilt along with its two brothers will go into Covered in Love's stash to gift to patients at the hospital.  Thank you to all the quilters who participated in this block drive, and in all our block drives!

There is a new block drive going on now if you want to sew along, please do!  Details on the block drive page.

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Friday.

Scrappy Log Cabins

Awhile back I made another attempt to get my string box under control. Previously I've gone on string quilt binges, like the one two years ago that resulted in these four quilts: one two three four.  Every time I knock the strings back down so I can close the box they slowly creep back until they're spilling out everywhere again.

This time I cut strings down to 2.5" widths for binding and 1.5" widths for making string blocks.  First up with the narrower strings is this wild, scrappy log cabin with the strings built up around charm square centers.

The quilt got a bright red back, orange (scrap) binding, and a medium sized stipple to hold it all together.

I'm really tickled with how this scrap quilt came together! It will be going toward Covered in Love to provide comfort to a family who has lost a loved one.  CiL has a block drive going from now until the end of the year making Hot and Cold Flip Corner blocks if you want to participate. Check out the drive post for more info.

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Friday.

Red, White, and Stars

Some of July's block drive star quilts are finally ready to make their debut!   You all did a fantastic job of sending in patriotic stars to make comfort quilts for Covered in Love.

Here's the second one, although it looks quite similar to the one above.  Each of these quilts measures a generous 60"x72".

I was fortunate to happen upon some patriotic fabrics on sale at a local shop and scoop them up for backings.

One of the chaplains was just telling me recently about a quilt they gifted to a patient's brother. Knowing he'd been in the military they grabbed a more patriotic one (I think it must have been this one) and the family just couldn't get over it. The chaplain said, "you would have thought we'd given them a full military funeral right there in the hallway!"

As the Vietnam and Korea vets get older we see more and more of them in the hospital and I'm sure these quilts will be making their way to people who feel a special connection to the USA and what that red, white, and blue flag means to them.

There will be one more quilt to show from the July blocks, and another partial quilt of leftovers.  Plus, Rosemarie from California sent in a complete small top with pretty blue sashing which found its backing in the yardage Kathy from Indiana sent along.  This darling little quilt got a stipple and a label and will no doubt make someone feel very loved.

Remember, Covered in Love gifts quilts to the families of patients who pass away in the hospital. You can find out more here.  Our November block drive just started if you want to sew along! You can find more details on the main post.

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Friday.

Disappearing Nines

More disappearing nine patch quilts from Covered in Love's August block drive are done!  If you missed the post with the first two quilts check them out here.

These two quilts were quilted with a loose stipple and bound with scraps from my string bin. One got blue/yellow/green binding and the other got black and white.

I love all the cute novelty fabrics that pop up in these quilts so many different people contribute! (You know I have a soft spot for cats!)

The quilts came out with a lovely cozy texture.  Thank you to each and every person who gave blocks during August! We wound up with right about 130 blocks!!

There are still 2 more of August's disappearing nines to go so stay tuned for those!  If you want to contribute to Covered in Love be sure to check out this month's block drive here. We're making scrappy string blocks to gift to folks who lose family members in the hospital.

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Friday.

Summer Sunshine in the Fall

Remember waaaay back in June when the block drive made bright blue and yellow "sun and sea" blocks?  At long last I have two finished quilts from that drive to show!

I made 2 layout versions of the diamond weave design, one with the small HSTs toward the center of the block making flying geese and one with the larger HSTs to the center.  One also got a gray sashing while the other did not.  Do you have a favorite?

Both quilts were stippled with a light gray thread and bound with blue scraps from my string box.

Both quilts turned out differently than I expected. It's amazing how many different patterns can come out of the same blocks depending on how you look at it.

Thank you to everyone who donated blocks toward these in June! If you don't see yours here don't worry, the extra blocks that didn't add up to another quilt have gone into the "leftovers" drawer. I think I see a block drive row-by-row style quilt coming out of that drawer soon.

These two quilts will be added to Covered in Love's stash.  CiL gifts quilts to the families of patients who pass away at an East Texas hospital so they can have something to carry home from the hospital and hang on to.  If you would like to contribute to CiL consider participating in October's block drive, going on now!

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts Friday Finishes.

Black and White and Bright

It's still technically September and I have the first of the August block drive quilts for Covered in Love to show!  It's been a while since I made that kind of record time.  If you remember, in August we made disappearing 9 patch blocks from black and white fabrics with a bright accent.  There will eventually be 5 of these quilts!

This first quilt was actually a top made completely by Amanda from Louisiana.  She managed to stay high and dry during their recent flooding AND get this entire top done!

Just look at those cute elephants, and scissors!

I quilted just a quick overall stipple.  I backed this one with some yardage sent in by Nancy K. from Tx (thank you!) and bound it with colorful scraps.  Still need to add a label with Nancy K. and Amanda's names.

Next is the first top I assembled. I am going to be playing with a couple of different layouts for these. One upshot of making so many tops is that I don't have to settle on a layout, I can try them all!  This one has the colors running in diagonal stripes. The sun and wind came out to play when I hung this one up.

Lots of cute novelty fabrics in these.

I decided this time to add everyone's home state (or province) onto the label, kinda fun to see where all he blocks are coming from.  Thanks to everyone who pitched in!  We took September off from the block drives but October is back on and I posted the new drive this week!  I hope you'll sew along with us as we make string blocks this month.

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Friday.

Cozy Flannel Quilts

You may remember a while back I was playing on the design wall with flannel scraps that I cut to standard sizes a long long time ago.  Rather than make one bigger quilt I opted to turn those into one medium and one baby quilt, which are finally done! 

The baby quilt is 32" square. Rather than traditional binding I folded the backing over to the front and sewed it down with a decorative stitch.  Both these quilts are exceptionally cozy due to the flannel.

The larger quilt measures 64" square.  I stippled them both, the larger one with a tighter stipple.  Even though I used a fatter-than-usual seam allowance I still worry about the flannel fraying so the heavier quilting will provide support to the fabrics.

I think my mom has her eye on this bigger quilt for a little girl undergoing treatment for leukemia.  That's going to mean a lot of trips through industrial washer-dryers at high heat so the extra quilting is important for that reason, too.

There are lots of fun kid-friendly print in these quilts, some are ooooold.  The Tasmanian devil flannel dates from when my mom made me some pajama pants when I was about 6 and I got to pick my fabric.

No feeling better than cleaning out a box of scraps and turning them into a quilt or two!  I hope you're all having a productive week and a great weekend.

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Friday.