Snowed under again

I suppose that could imply snowstorms, but it’s still a little early for those.  It could mean that my list of things that need doing is looking a bit overwhelming.  That’s a bit closer to the truth.  OK, that’s pretty accurate right now!  However, what I meant is that snowflakes are back in my sewing room.  They arrived a bit earlier than last year.

You already had a peek at Snowflake Tree Skirt #1.  I decided to add borders after all. People can just add fewer borders if they need it smaller.

The metallic gold fabric looks prettier in person.  I’m not usually a huge fan of sparkly stuff and metallic fabric, but I make an exception for Christmas!

Now I have this little stack of fabric waiting by the sewing machine.  I have to see this in Christmassy red too!  In addition to that motivation I want to see how the measuring works out using smaller snowflake blocks.  If the measurements for the setting pieces are not too fiddly (like sixteenths of an inch, for example)  I could include a smaller size option in the pattern, for a tiny tree or as a table topper.  However, I need to test it before I commit to it in a pattern.  Oh darn, more sewing!

That’s not enough.  Before I settled on this layout I was playing around with the snowflake blocks, and dismissed this idea because it would be too small for a tree skirt.  Now that I am thinking smaller tree or table topper, I think I might revisit it…

And how would it look with some of my other snowflake designs? 

And I still plan to do something with Winter Moons.

And I really want to work on a project that doesn’t involve paper piecing!  This one is patiently waiting…

And I really really need to make progress finish hand quilting my son’s kaleidoscope quilt.  It’s cooling off in the evenings again so that is sounding more appealing.

How do I order extra hours for each day?  In there an online shop for those?

Autumn Moons pattern!

At last, Autumn Moons has a pattern! 



This quilt grew out of my first experience sewing curves in September 2012.  Those practice units turned into a quilt, which was finally quilted and bound in October 2013.  Now it finally has a pattern.  Maybe good things take time to develop?

Thank you to my fabulous pattern testers:  Ann, Jennifer, Carol and Fraley.  They answered a call for testers that I posted on a Facebook quilting page, worked fast, and gave me valuable feedback so that the drunkard’s path templates are now properly sized, the diagrams are colored correctly, and I know the fabric amounts I quote will work.

Aren’t these quilt tops gorgeous? 



First on the left is Ann’s.  She hand-pieced this lovely top in less than 2 weeks!  She used the piec-lique technique for the drunkard’s path and asked me to add seam lines to my templates to make it easier for people to use alternate curved piecing methods.  Done!  Ann has also hand-quilted this, and has promised me photos.  I’ll be sure to share those! 

In the middle is Fraley’s quilt top. I love the rich deep colors she chose. Fraley is a quilter and soapmaker.  Visit her blog to see her pretty soaps.  She plans to start sharing her quilting there as well, so please welcome her to Quilting Blogland!  I’m hoping she will share pictures of her long arm quilting, and of the blue and white and larger Autumn Moons she is planning.

On the right you see Jennifer’s quilt.  Doesn’t she have a way with color? I love her fabric choices!  I definitely thought of this designs as a fall design, but in Jennifer’s I see spring too.  Possibilities, possibilities….

I don’t have photos of Carol’s work to share but she encouraged me to share her experience with curves.  Carol was my “never sewed curves tester”.  I needed to know how daunting this would be for someone new to curves.  There was bump at the beginning, getting her mind around how the templates should fit together, but in her words she “would have never thought it was this easy. The very first one came out perfect.   She is now “sewing curves like crazy”.  If you are on the fence about trying curves, be inspired by Carol and give them a shot.  I recommend this site for video tutorials to get you started.

The pattern is now available in my shop

Pondering size

For the first time in what seems like forever I was able to indulge in a full day of uninterrupted sewing!  I feel energized!

I worked on the snowflake Christmas tree skirt I mentioned a few weeks ago.

The photo doesn’t do the fabrics justice.  The green isn’t a plain little dot on green background.  There are swirls and gold stars in there!  The light fabric has faint holly and gold speckles.

How big should a Christmas tree skirt be?  This measures 42.5” side to side, or 49” point to point.  I had planned to add a border in a different green, but the skirt already seems so big on the wall that I hesitate.  I really don’t want to dig out my Christmas tree to test it, but that might be what I need to do!  I plan to write a pattern for this one and I want it to be a size that people can use.  I suppose it all depends on the tree, and I could make the borders optional.  Skinny trees could skip the border, and fuller trees could keep it.

Then there’s the question of a hole in the center.  How big should that be?  I suppose I could offer options there too.  Decisions, decisions!

While I decide, I’ll back up to fall from Christmas.  I have finished writing the pattern for Autumn Moons and 4 lovely quilters have tested the pattern for me.  I have pictures to share next time!  I’m always surprised at how fabric choice changes the feel of a quilt, and I love every variation!

Happy fall!