Peppermints in July

Getting ready for the  Christmas Holidays

I recently tested a pattern for a delightful Christmas / winter holidays quilt.  And I was so happy that I got to quilt and finish it before July. 

Look at what I have all ready for  the Christmas season! 

Peppermints  #106     Pattern by Summercrafter   Susie's Sunroom

 Peppermints Quilt    design by Elaine  Perez   Summercrafter  (pattern here)

 Quilt Details:      
          Size:  60 "  x 76 "
         Block size:  16 " x 16 "

          Fabrics:   Gingerbread men , houses , winter birds, snowflakes,  and presents fabric from my stash

                            Cream tone on tone background fabric 
        Batting:   Warm and Natural
       Quilting:   Aurifil 50 weight thread, cream

Peppermints Quilt   by Susie's Sunroom

 I chose some warm  and rich " Gingerbread " toned  fabrics for my version of the quilt. 

Elaine , and  Debbie S, another pattern tester, used colorways of red and aqua and white for their Peppermint quilts.

Quilt by Debbie S.
Photo courtesy of Summercrafter blog

Elaine's Peppermint Quilt
photo courtesy of Summercrafter blog

Elaine's pattern is easy to follow with her directions and detailed diagrams.  It was fun fun fun to make!   You can get the pattern as a pdf file, or a paper pattern!   I  didn't want to stop making the blocks, once I started! I ended up making  4 extra  blocks, and a label  for the back of the quilt!

The back side    

Elaine's block inspiration:

A wrapped peppermint candy

Can you see the wrappers on each end of a  candy block?
There are 12 different quilt blocks !

I really love the star block!

I quilted "in the ditch"  around  each piece of candy.  And then I got adventurous, and used the Zig- Zag decorative stitch on my Topaz 30 sewing machine, in the largest size.  I outlined each block (on the front side.)    You can see the details on the back of the quilt, below.... it gives the quilt a nice texture!

Zig -Zagging around 

Add caption

And now, some more  eye "candy" .....

Gingerbread fabrics in the blocks

I used Gingerbread houses fabric for the border

The Peppermint candy block

                                

"Yep, this passes the softness test!" 

Be sure to go on over to the Summercrafter pattern store to see her other patterns! They are all  really so cute!!

This has put me in the mood to make more Christmas projects early.  Have you started any holiday projects  yet?

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:   Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts

"This is a good chin rest, Mom ! " 

Happy New Year 2016

Out with the Old and In with the New...

A dear friend of mine shared her newly chosen "personal word" for the year with me this morning.   I decided to go ahead and choose one for myself.

My word for 2016 can be.... CHERISH

To cherish every.... bit of sunshine

                             stitch

                             new thing learned

                             smile and giggle

                             kitty purr

                             hug

And , yes... even to cherish every mistake ( even my seam ripper? !)

I took a few minutes to look back at some of the  things that I made during 2015....

 Quilts:

Water Color Sea Horses     pattern by Elaine at Summercrafter
Farm Girl Vintage Sampler Quilt     (back)  pattern by Lori Holt at Bee in My Bonnet
Irish Chain Twist Quilt Along      pattern by Melissa at Happy Quilting
Spinning In the Rain BoM  pattern by  Sew Lux Fabric Shop
Farm Girl Vintage Sampler Quilt     (front)   pattern by Lori Holt at Bee in My Bonnet
Peppermints  pattern by Elaine at Summercrafter
Duck, Duck, Goose!  pattern by Elaine at Summercrafter
Geometric Gradation   (Penn State Whiteout!) pattern by Geta at Romanian Quilt Studio
Dog Gone Cute Quilt Along ( The Naughty Little Puppy)  pattern by Lorna at  Sew Fresh Quilts


Wallhangings:

Forest of Pieced Trees  (Low Volume Forest)  pattern by Janeen @ Quilt Art Designs
Cardinals  pattern by Janeen @ Quilt Art Designs
fREADom Bookshelf Quilt   pattern by by Soma  @ Whims and  Fancies
Sweet Treats  pattern by Janeen @ Quilt Art Designs
Ladybugs  pattern by Janeen @ Quilt Art Designs
'Lil Catz  pattern by Janeen @ Quilt Art Designs
Valentine Rose  by Janeen @ Quilt Art Designs
Kitty Deerest  by Janeen @ Quilt Art Designs
Red Letter Day mini   by  Thimbleblossoms

Now for 2016:
I  already have found a new favorite  addictive  pincushion pattern for the New Year ...
The Deluxe Pincushion  from the book, " Sew Organized or the Busy Girl" by Heidi Staples !

The top  left view is  a pincushion for.... Me !   (Happy New Year, Susie!!) 
Isn't this Miss Kate fabric luscious!!  I used both  the green fabric and the navy and green print for the back of my pincushion.  (Those are the main fabrics used in each of the bottom pincushions.)

The other 3  Deluxe Pincushions are gifts!  (Notice the bottom two are  made with that cute Miss Kate fabric again!!)  The top right hand pincushion has cat fabric on the front and back.  My daughter hand picked her little 9 patch square fabrics.

The pincushion is an adorable  little size-  5 1/2 " x 6 1/2 " ... with a little front pocket.  I like to make them plump!  I have made 4 of them already.  ( What day is it ? January 1st.)  And,   I look forward to making more projects from this book!  It is a gem!

I also made a new pillow for 2016:

The Striped Tabby Cat paper pieced design  by  Soma at Whims and Fancies

Soma designed this  14 inch square paper pieced pattern with stripes !! She has captured the perfect cat pose ( "cat"itude  and expression!   (pattern here)

I have named my sweet cat pillow "Tessie," and used  this green leafy fabric  (Michael Miller's  Asian Maple) for the background.  

The back of my Tessie Cat pillow.... with a hidden zipper

Look at the facial details in the pattern....

I added 1 inch sashing  around the block, continuing in the green leafy fabric.  Next, lines were machine quilted in the sashing border , using gold thread, at 1/4 inch apart.  I tried to give a bit of texture to the edges , by  imitating  a picture frame.

Simple quilting like a picture frame, in gold thread

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year, filled with blessings and lots of cherished moments!   
Stop by to see where this year takes me on my sewing journey!

I'm off to my sewing room!

Pattern provided by QAD Publishing

Linking up at:   Fabric Frenzy Friday @ Fort Worth Fabric Studio   and
                        Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!  @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict   and
                       Fabric Tuesday  @ Quilt Story

Duck, Duck, Goose!

My Finished Duck , Duck, Goose! Quilt!

Duck, Duck, Goose! Quilt   by Summercrafter
available { here }

One of my favorite things to do,  in the wonderful world of sewing,  is to test out patterns !  Recently, I had the pleasure of finishing  up a fun and delightful child's quilt, designed by Elaine ,  the Summercrafter.

This quilt is called, " Duck,Duck, Goose!"    

Duck, Duck, Goose!  quilt   design by Summercrafter      Made by Susie's Sunroom

It's a pattern that made me literally smile and giggle as I finished  sewing each block! These little white geese are so " geeky " with their skinny necks and jaunty double feather tails!!

Quilt Details:

Pattern:  Duck, Duck , Goose!        Design by Elaine at Summercrafter  { pattern  here }

Size:   58 "  x 58 "

Front:  various stash fabrics

Backing:   A Riley Blake fabric from my stash  (can't remember the name as it is from an older line)

Batting:   Pellon 970 Thermolam Plus Sew In

Thread:    Aurifil Thread 50 wt. #2024 for piecing  and 
                                                # 4655 for quilting  (Variegated blue from a Color Me Happy Aurifil  Collection )     

Quilting :   My "Random Wavy Lines"-  keeping within a 3 inch width horizontally across the quilt


I love the yellow fabric on the back.

 The white designs reminded me of  feathers !

This little fellow  must have gotten lost !  " Hey, they are all on the other side! "

I ended up making an extra Goose block, and decided to use it on the back side! I needed some added width to the yellow fabric for the backing , and accomplished this by  piecing a long section together , 12 1/2 inches wide by 58 inches.  

For the quilting,  I sewed the  wavy lines, keeping each line  contained within a "lane " of 3 inches wide, horizontally across the quilt.  I tried to achieve the feeling of gentle waves for the duckies to float upon.  The Aurifil #4655  cotton thread is variegated, and gives the quilting some more interest with the  different lights and darks showing through.  (Aurifil is my favorite thread!)

Aurifil Thread:  #2024 white and #4655 variegated blues

The ducks were very cooperative for the photo shoot, so here are some more pictures !

Obviously, a few old pins don't bother this little Quilty Helper, Whiskers!!

Elaine has designed another brilliant baby /child's quilt pattern! 
Be sure to go on over to the Summercrafter blog and pattern store, to see all of Elaine's patterns!  They are available in PDF format, and many have the paper pattern option as well!

  *** You can check out the quilts that I have made using Summercrafter patterns:

High Seas  { here }
Water Color Sea Horses  { here }
Peppermints  { here }

 I am keeping this little Duck, Duck, Goose!  gem for any "future" grandchildren that may come " down the road. "  I love looking at it!
Wouldn't this quilt and  pillows of a duck and a goose be so cute for a baby shower gift?!!

I'm off to my sewing room!

Linking up at:    And Sew We Craft Together @ And Sew We Craft  and 
                         Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story  and
                        Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts  and
                      Fabric  Frenzy Friday  @ Fort Worth Fabrics Studio  and
                             Sew Cute Tuesday @ Blossom Heart Quilts 

Quack!!