Off Season Project Quilting, Happy Holidays Entries

1. 3 Trees, 2. snowflake detail, 3. Advent Calendar: Ornaments on Tree, 4. 2012-12-08 17.00.45, 5. Lapacek Family Christmas Tree Skirt Created with fd’s Flickr Toys

 

Five beautiful quilts were created for the Off Season Project QUILTING, Happy Holidays Challenge.  I’m happy to share with you these gorgeous creations!   Let’s read about the stories behind these five quilts (in no particular order)!

 

Quilter:  Diane Lapacek

The Story:

3 Trees

Created for Project Quilting Happy Holidays Challenge December 2012.

I used a free form curved piecing technique and several of my hand dyed fabrics to create snowy slopes and an evening sky for the background of 3 Trees. I layered and quilted it before adding the trees.

Then I gathered up lots of shreds (those really skinny little strips left over after squaring up a block or piece of fabric) in shades of green. I cut them into lengths, laid them on a foundation and sewed them down in rows to make the trees. For sparkle I added in some tinsel that’s been hanging in my studio waiting for the perfect project. The trees trunks were also made with shreds, machine stitching each to a foundation piece.

Trunks and trees were raw edge appliquéd to the quilted background with a simple straight stitch. The stars were made by layering the silver packaging from a caramel delights box with batting and backing, then stitching the star shape and trimming close to the stitching. They were hand stitched to the treetops.

I finished the edge using a collection of different fibers, twisting them together and machine stitching in place.

Created by Diane Lapacek in Poynette, Wisconsin.

 

Quilter:  Solar Threads

The Story:

My holiday season Project Quilting project… a hexagon patchwork and applique tree ornament with rhinestones. It’s roughly 3 inches square. By Becky in Pendleton Oregon.

 

Quilter: For Quilts Sake

The Story:

“Advent Calendar”

Made by Pam Geisel of For Quilts Sake in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Dec. 2012 for Project Quilting Off Season Challenge, Happy Holidays

17″ x 35”

My creative process and how I made it:

When I was a child we had an Advent Calendar. When I was first married, and before I learned to sew or quilt, my husband and I made an Advent Calendar for ourselves based on the one I had as a child. I still love the felt ornaments that we made but I thought the burlap background was a little saggy and I really wanted to make it into a quilted piece.

First I removed the felt tree from burlap background because I didn’t want to hand sew the snaps on again.

Next I pinned the tree to the new background then couched some funky thread on the tree. I picked the thread because I liked the variegated colors and I thought the loops resembled Christmas lights. I couched the thread before appliquéing the tree to the background so I could tuck the loose ends of the thread under the tree. Because the tree was made of felt and it won’t fray, I didn’t have to turn the edges under.

For the pockets I cut 4 strips 12.5” x 3”. I folded the strips lengthwise so they were 12.5” x 1.5”. I sewed them to a piece of 10.5” x 12.5” plain backing fabric then flipped them up so the folded line was the top of the pocket and the seam allowance was now inside the pocket. I folded the edges under and appliquéd the plain background to the new background.

Because this challenge had to two methods of quilting, I pieced some green fabric with small black stars to the top and bottom of the background.

I basted the quilt top to the backing fabric and the batting. I echo quilted around the tree and quilted vertically on the calendar part to create the individual pockets. While quilting I also couched a funky green thread around the calendar part.

I finished with the same green fabric for the binding then moved the felt ornaments into their new pockets.

 

Quilter: Pastor Katie Bishop

The Story:

Quilted using paper piecing and appliqué. Also did some free hand quilting on the white. I saw some similar ones on the pinterest, but wanted a combo of the ones I saw for my living room.

 

Quilter: PersimonDreams

The Story:

Lapacek Family Christmas Tree Skirt

We didn’t have a tree skirt for our Christmas Tree. I’ve been meaning to make one but I just haven’t taken anytime to make one for us. I knew right away for the Off Season Project QUILTING Challenge, Happy Holidays.   First I strip pieced a bunch of Christmas Fabric together. Using a 9-degree ruler I cut out as many wedges as I could from my stripped together fabric. I needed 40 to make the full circle, which I didn’t have so I cut more wedges out of fabric to complete the circle.

Then I made five paper pieced hexagons – 2 larger ones representing Jared and I, the 3 smaller ones representing Cedi, Capri, and Pip. Using a blanket stitch on my machine I quilted them onto the tree skirt. Straight line quilting shadows the seams of the wedges.

My girls love the tree skirt! I’m happy with it too – it’s Christmas but modern and me all at the same time.

Methods of quilting used: piecing, templates and English paper piecing

created by Kim Lapacek, Poynette, WI

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As promised, all of the lovely Project QUILTING participants received a discount code for 15% off whatever they want in my jewelry shop, The Apple.

It’s less than a month until the first challenge is posted for Project QUILTING, Season 4!  I’m so excited!  Anyone else?

I would love to hear what you think of these challenge quilts!  Are you making any quilted holiday items this year?