getting ready for the holidays

This year I have decided to start a little earlier with the holiday preparations. Normally I am way late and stress myself out at the last minute.

I already started to make my mix of Christmas cookies too - ginger snaps, Russian tea cakes (so ähnlich wie Vanillekipferl), and traditional sugar cookies decorated by the kids. I still would like to make coconut macaroons, hazelnut macaroons, Baseler-Leckerli, mini peanut butter cookies and pecan sandies (Heidesand).

The house will get decorated this weekend and the Christmas tree will go up two weeks before the big day - December 25. We celebrate an American Christmas with Santa Claus and X-Mas morning gifts with stockings filled with goodies.

Our kids enjoy the German tradition of Advent Calenders that count down the days in December until the 24th. This is when the Christ Child (Kristkind) comes with presents. I made new calender for each of my children last year, but don't think we put them out.  (They always had one; they just got a new and improved rendition.) My kids have been nagging me for a store-bought calender, but I really like to fill them up with "healthy" goodies and not just a bunch of chocolate. My, what the kids of a patchworker have to endure in life! :-)

Today I am showing off my miniature quilt I made for my doll swap partner for the  month of November. We agreed to make something for Christmas, and Patty wanted a real doll quilt with the dimensions 18 x 24 inches. I didn't get the dimensions exactly right, but got them close enough. I also used a pattern from a doll quilt book, so I could book this one too...

I started with the book Prairie Children and Their Quilts. I wanted the quilt to be uniform (that didn't happen!) and use three colors - white, red, gray. I decided to use up my scraps from the prettiest winter collection in my stash from Jan Shade Beach for Henry Glass called Holiday Frost. This collection is no longer available but a newer version can be bought with the name Holiday Magic. All of the centers are fussy cut and the blocks finish at 4.5 inches. I thought I would make things a little easier and fuse all of the blocks to a thin fleece and then sew all seams at once. To do this, your layout has to be set in stone, because you can't flip the blocks around later. It definitely took longer to set it all up, but I am pleased with the result. I think only two points didn't match up. I don't mind the brightness, but the larger prints distract a bit from the total design. Was it the right choice with the red binding? Is the gray distracting? What about those three red centers I threw in to make it a little scrappier? Personally, for my own taste, I am not sure I like it. But, then again, if I put it away for a while, and took it out later, it might have become one of my favorites.

Enjoy your weekend!
Karen

halloween a'whirl

I am a member of the Doll Quilt Monthly swap where optional monthly themes are supposed to challenge you and your partner to make something creative yet on an achievable small scale. I sat the summer out and had no exchanges but so was anxious to get back in the game and start designing again. I really do love the challenge of designing for someone else; just give me a theme, and I am all over the challenge. It jolts my brains with new ideas and possibilities. The themes for September were Farmer's Market & Back to School, but I thought if we got a jump on Halloween, we both could put something out on the kitchen table for the rest of the next month of October.

I quilted just the outline of the pumpkins and thought about an allover or meander in the purple areas. Since I am so afraid to mess things up, I just left the purple areas open. I quilted the outer border of the whirlwinds and outlined the center two in the middle. I finished it off with a 1/4" binding. The faces were fun to make, but not as easy as you might think. Not all looked good with the "standard" face. It must have been that great fabric I used called Juggling Summer from Brigitte Heitland. It was a great choice for the more sophisticated Halloween quilt.

I love celebrating Halloween and am happy that Trick-or-Treating is seeping its way into German culture. (It was actually there a long time ago with "Zuckerruben" and going door to door!) I went last year with my kids Trick-or-Treating with my dear neighbor, Derya and her two kids. We had a lota of fun! I am not sure we are going to go this year. We are expecting friends for a weekend visit and think it would be nicer to visit Lego Land. I am sure they put on a fantastic show for Halloween.

I just have to put this cute little label on it using my new style and technique of outlining in the binding color/fabric and hand sew it down. It goes into the mail on Monday morning!

I really had a lot of fun creating this table runner. Maybe one of the funnest parts was the fact that I used fabrics from my stash only; I didn't buy and new fabrics! Most of the whirlwinds and pumpkins came straight from my scrap bin. You can learn more my creative process here.

Thanks for dropping by!

Karen

doll quilts throughout the year

Last year I joined up with the Doll Quilt Monthly club where I was allowed to make little quilts for a great group of ladies. Every month we were given a theme. You could roll with it, or not. That all depended on your partner. So far, I have had very easy-going, uncomplicated partners that have made some very stunning quilts.

I wanted to share with you the beauty and warmth I have received. Here are a few of my favorites!

 Lynn - "Diamonds are Forever"

"Citrus" from Julianne

"Pieces of my Heart" from Sher

"Through my Window" 

from Paula from Mud, Pies and Pins

"Stars and Stripes" 

from Vickie at Creative Notions

These ladies really deserve a great round of applause! They made some very fantastic quilts that I will cherish forever! Thank you!

Now, I would like to hear from you. What do you like and dislike about quilt swaps? Please share you thoughts with us!

more mini quilts

I have been working dliligently on my miniature quilt collection for and from my partners over at the Doll Quilt Monthly swap. They are such a great group of ladies. I wanted to share with you a fantastic little quilt that Vickie from Utah made for me. I love the celestial star and is a great little summer quilt.

And of course, I made her a star quilt as well, since our monthly theme was "stars and stripes." I was looking forward to the theme, but wasn't really turned on my the traditional red, white and blue. I love the country and love the rustic feel, but my color palette is not in the muted color area. So, Vickie and I talked about it and agreed to make something bright and cheery including stars and stripes.

Here are two different ways to celebrate the month of July and be patriotic but thinking outside the box using more colorful colors.

 It was a pleasure getting to know Vickie and she remains a good friend and correspondant.

The Internet is a great way to meet other people with the same interests even if they live 5000 miles away.

Oh, wait a minute. I also forgot to upload and share with you this little quilt. I received this little beauty last month from Mary Pat in Wisconsin. She made a very nice use of prairie points to set off the appliquéd flower. I love the offset flower and borders. The colors are great. I love the fact that even the more matured ladies are daring enough to use such bold colors! Bravo ladies!!

 And what is yet to come? Hmm...more mini quilts. I am anxious to show you the next quilts soon. I also have on in the works for Moda Bake Shop which should be posting in November 2013. Until then, use up those scraps and start making minis!!

cutting strips from directional print fabrics

Do you sometimes use directional print fabrics or plaids and need to cut strips? Here is how your should be cutting those strips to ensure your print stays the same or your lines are relatively even on your plaids.

I was reminded of this problem just a couple of days ago when I needed some strips from this gorgeous turquoise and white fabric (with small repeating dots). When the fabric was folded, everything looked okay, at least on one side. When I flipped it over after cutting, I realized it was not very well lined up. I pulled on the fabric trying to get the grain in line again, but it just wasn't lining up right. It is frustrating when you just want things to go smoothly and speedy. Hhhmmpf.

So, here is what I did to correct it. I unfolded the fabric. Yes, I did. It can be liberating when you don't follow rules. I got the fabric as straight as possible on the cutting mat after ironing and stretching to get it lined up better. I evened one side with the  rotary cutter as much as possible. I extended my ruler to the other side of the fabric and evened it up at the same dot lines as the previous cut and continued cutting. It is that simple you say!? Yes it is, but this is one valuable step you shouldn't be skipping. If you want everything straight and perfect, this one step that should not be forgotten. You could get a little fancy and fussy cut your strips, but that seems like an overkill, at least for my project.  {Fussy Cut DEFINITION: Every piece you cut looks exactly the same - the design in the fabric will create a design in the block.}

Okay, now were are rolling on. Once my strips were straight, I cut with my 6" square ruler to the size I needed.  I am working on a nine-patch block (I see it as a five patch) for the Doll Quilt Monthly and wanted all of my dots relatively straight. This is how it ended up. (Foto left)

This method doesn't always work though! Usually when working with plaids, I have to get out the old scissors and cut along the lines, because the fabric will never be straight enough to cut with a rotary cutter. It is a little more time consuming, but well worth the effort.

Enjoy your weekend. The weather is great! Summer has finally arrived. It almost feels like North Carolina weather here in southern Germany!