Stitching for the Seasons: Meet Little House!

Little House—Winter

Little House was born as a Christmas present for my mom.  My mom is also a quilter and the person who taught me to sew, bake, paint, knit and generally be creative.  And because she's a fellow maker, I wanted to give her a small handmade project that evoked the warm, cozy feeling of winter (and Christmas!) in New England.  I'm a sucker for all things miniature, so I decided that a little house, surrounded by little quilt blocks and little embellishments was the perfect idea.  (Hmmm, now that I think about it, maybe I was making the perfect gift for me?!)

I had so much fun making Little House for my mom and was thrilled with how it turned out, so I made a second one for my sister.  And because I was sad to part with the Little Houses at Christmas, of course I made a third one for myself.

And then I got carried away.  I started to wonder what life would be like at Little House during the other seasons—what color palettes, blocks and embellishments would best represent spring, summer and fall?  I sketched out ideas for the different seasons and experimented with color and stitching and over time Little House became a series.

Little House—Spring

I realized that it wasn't just the darling end result that I loved about the Little House series, but also the process of combining of my favorite quilting and handwork techniques in one tidy package.  Paper piecing made easy work of the miniature quilt blocks, and simple wool appliqué and embroidery added warmth and interest and helped to tell a story.  And as I worked away with the four seasons and quilting and wool and stitching circling around in my brain, I began to think that maybe I had an idea for a book.

Little House—Summer

  

I remembered once hearing an author say that she wrote the books that she wanted to see on her bookshelf.  And I definitely wanted to have a book of seasonal quilt projects that combined patchwork, wool appliqué and embroidery!  One that was full of color and charming details—eye candy that would get me busy creating and might even inspire me to try something new.

Little House—Fall

So with an idea in mind and a quartet of Little Houses that would inspire and inform my journey, I set out to write Stitching for the Seasons.

Stay tuned to read more about how four Little Houses turned into a book!

—jen

Deck the Halls QAL - Day 9

❆❆❆Update:  The complete pattern for Deck the Halls is now available for download in my Etsy shop.  The pattern includes material requirements, step-by-step instructions and full color diagrams to help you on your way.  Click here to view the pattern.❆❆❆

Welcome back for Day 9 of the Deck the Halls QAL!

For our final day we're going to be adding a ribbon border to our medallion quilts using the split quarter square triangles blocks that we made on Day 6.  I love how this surprisingly easy border frames and finishes the quilt—definitely worth the trimming we did last week!

...

I've loved making a medallion quilt for the QAL this year!  It was so much fun to see the quilt unfold with the addition of each border.  All that's left now is to decide whether to hang my Deck the Halls quilt on my wall:

or to display it on my kitchen table:

Hmmm....

And that's a wrap for the 2018 Deck the Halls Quilt Along!  It's been an absolute pleasure sharing this project with you and connecting with you via email and social media.  I'd love to see pictures of your quilts when they're finished, so please tag me @jendalyquilts when you post your quilts or even send a photo to me at jendalyquilts@gmail.com.

If you weren't able to quilt along with us this year, but you'd like to make your own Deck the Halls quilt, the QAL posts will be available on my blog through the month of January.  The complete (and compressed) pattern for Deck the Halls will also be available in my Etsy shop in the new year.

Thank you all so much for following and quilting along!  I wish you all Happy Holidays, a Happy New Year, and Happy Quilting!!

Cheers!  jen

Deck the Halls QAL - Day 8

Welcome back for Day 8 of the Deck the Halls QAL!♬♫♪

Today we're adding an Hourglass border to our medallion centers, and the extra time we spent carefully pressing the seam allowances on our Hourglass blocks on Day 3 is going to pay off big time!

Deck the Halls QAL - Day 7

Welcome back for Day 7 of the Deck the Halls QAL!  ♪♫  Today we're moving on to assembly!!!

Here's where we're headed...

This year we're making a medallion quilt!  And what a center medallion it is—wouldn't it be beautiful on its own as a mini quilt or even a pillow?!

Deck the Halls QAL - Day 6

Welcome back to the Deck the Halls QAL! ♫♪  It's Day 6 already and our last day of piecing blocks!

Today we'll be making Half Square Triangles and Split Quarter Square Triangles, which means marking and trimming, BUT because it's Friday we have an extra day to finish the blocks.  Funny how that worked out!  :)

Deck the Halls QAL - Day 5

Welcome back for Day 5 of the Deck the Halls QAL!  ♪♫

Today is the mid-way point in the QAL—I can't believe how quickly time passes in December!  As promised we'll be making Mystery Block B and a familiar friend, a Pinwheel block.

Deck the Halls QAL - Day 4

Welcome back for Day 4 of the Deck the Halls QAL!!  ♫♪

Today's block looks kind of like an aloe plant or a succulent—more abstract greenery— but we're going to call it a "mystery" block.  And because it's the first of two mystery blocks, we'll call this one Mystery Block A.

Coming Soon! Stitching for the Seasons

Coming Soon!

I'm so excited to announce that my first book, Stitching for the Seasons, will be released in January 2019!! Inside you'll find four colorful collections of projects that combine cozy patchwork, warm wool appliqué, and sweet stitching to celebrate the best of each season. Each collection includes a pillow, a mini quilt, a table runner, a lap quilt, and a charming little wall hanging. The projects vary in complexity and incorporate many different techniques including traditional piecing, paper piecing, raw-edge and dimensional appliqué, wool appliqué, and simple embroidery—perfect for building your skills!

Stitching for the Seasons is currently available for pre-order from the following book sellers:

C&T Publishing

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Can't wait!!

—jen

Deck the Halls QAL - Day 3

Happy Friday and welcome back for Day 3 of the Deck the Halls QAL!  ♪♫

Today we'll be making Hourglass blocks!  Easy right?!  But even if you're familiar with how to make Hourglass blocks, be sure to read through the tutorial once because we'll be changing up the seam allowance pressing a bit to suit our purposes.

Deck the Halls QAL - Day 2

Welcome back for Day 2 of the Deck the Halls QAL! ♪♫

After a big day of cutting on Monday, we're going to start with some easy piecing today.  We'll use stitch-and-flip corners to make little holly leaf blocks.  Ok, they may look like diagonal lines right now, but they'll make sense later.   Try to think of them as abstract holly leaves—very artsy!

Deck the Halls QAL - Day 1

❆❆❆Update:  The complete pattern for Deck the Halls is now available for download in my Etsy shop.  The pattern includes material requirements, step-by-step instructions and full color diagrams to help you on your way.  Click here to view the pattern.❆❆❆

𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅮 Deck the halls with boughs of holly! 𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅰 Fa la la la la la la la la 𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥

𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅮 Tis the season... for the the Deck the Halls Quilt Along!

This year's quilt along is inspired by the garlands and greenery, holly and berries, wreaths and ribbons that we use to decorate our homes for the festive season.  And because I'm thinking of hearth and home, this year I'm using rich cranberry reds and forest greens to give my quilt a warm, cozy look.

Once again, here's a list of the materials that 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
• 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'll be posting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between now and Christmas and we'll finish on December 21st.  With each post, I'll reveal a new block or component and we'll assemble the quilt during the last week of the QAL.  Some of the pieces we'll be working with are small, but this project is suitable for most quilters.

Ready?  Set?  Let's get started!