2018 Christmas Quilt Along Coming Soon!

Yay!  It's quilt along time again!  And the theme of this year's quilt along is "Deck the Halls" — I'm thinking garlands and greenery, holly and berries, wreaths and ribbons...  

The quilt along will start on Monday, December 3rd and once again, I'll be posting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from the 3rd through the 21st.  The final project is a mystery that will be constructed and revealed in stages throughout the month.  This year we'll be doing fairly simple machine piecing (with some smaller patch sizes) making this quilt along suitable for most quilters, including confident beginners.

Here's what you'll need for this year's quilt along:

• ⅞ yard background fabric
• ⅞ yard dark red/burgundy print for piecing and binding*
• 2 fat quarters red prints—one should be a medium red print and the other a lighter/brighter red print
• 3 fat quarters green prints—one dark, one medium-dark, and one medium
• 1⅛ yard fabric for backing
• 40" x 40" piece of batting

*If you'd like to use a contrasting fabric for your binding, you'll need only ⅝ yard of the dark red/burgundy print and ⅓ yard binding fabric.

I'm going with a more traditional, warmer color palette this year—forest greens and cranberry reds set against a cozy tan background—but if you prefer brighter, more modern colors and prints please use what you love.

If you can't quilt along with us this year, be sure to follow along here or on Instagram or Facebook @JenDalyQuilts.  Hope to see you back here Monday!

—jen

Back to QAL page.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

6 inches of fresh snow on the ground is putting me in the holiday spirit!  I just checked the calendar and we've got a bit over 5 weeks until Christmas—plenty of time for some holiday sewing!  If you're looking for some ideas, here are a few of my latest Christmas projects:

The first is my "O Christmas Tree" advent calendar.  I originally made the calendar with muted flannels and assorted colors of felted wool to give it the warm, traditional look that I love.

But then I realized that the calendar would be equally cute made with a bright green tree and red, pink, and turquoise felted wool:

I'm not sure which I like better, so I may just have to hang both of them in my house this year—in different rooms, of course!  If you'd like to make your own advent calendar, you can find the pattern on my Etsy shop.

Next up is a sweet stitching project called "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."  I made two versions of this project as well.  One is a little hanging quilt—perfect for a door knob, a cupboard knob, a hook, whatever you like!

The second version is a darling pillow:

Both versions would make great hostess gifts!  You can find the pattern for these little cuties in the November/December 2018 issue of McCall's Quilting.

And last, but definitely not least, are "Jolly Janglers," my felted wool snowman ornaments.  

These ornaments are so simple and easily made with scraps of wool and homespuns from your stash. And you can give each it's own personality by embellishing them with different buttons, tiny jingle bells, or embroidery.  An added benefit:  finding the little branch arms will get you outside enjoying the wintry weather!

You can find the pattern for these irresistible ornaments in the November/December 2018 issue of Quiltmaker.  I challenge you to just make one!

All of three of these projects require a bit of handwork, which in my mind makes them perfect for this time of year.  What could be better than stitching a snowman or embroidering a felted wool penny ornament while enjoying a holiday movie—cocktail optional?!  Bliss!

Happy Stitching

— jen