Sew & Tell ~ December 18, 2023

There is one week until Christmas! and only two weeks left until the New Year. I'm certain that there are a few quilters out there that are frantically trying to complete their projects to gift on Christmas. I thought I would share, once again, this poem that I shared in 2020...

May you have a circle of quilting friends that will help you survive. :)

A Quilter's Night Before Christmas

(author unknown)

'Twas the night before Christmas,

And the quilts were not made.

The threads were all tangled, the cookies delayed.

The stockings weren't hung, the pantry was bare.

The poor weary Quilter was tearing her hair.

Stacks of fat quarters, tipped over in streams.

Visions of Log Cabins had turned into dreams.

When what to her wondering eyes should appear,

But a bus full of quilters with all of their gear.

They went straight to work with just a few mutters,

Sorting and stitching and brandishing cutters.

The patterns emerged from all of the clutter,

Like magic the fabrics arranged in a flutter.

Log Cabins, Lone Stars, Flying Geese & Bear Tracks

Each quilt was a beauty-even the backs.

Her house how it twinkled, her quilts how they glowed.

The cookies were baking, the stockings were sewed.

Their work was all done, so they folded their frames,

And packed up their needles, without giving their names.

They boarded the bus and checked the next address.

More quilts to be made, another quilter in distress.

She heard one voice echo, as they drove out of sight,

Happy quilting to all and to all a good night!

It was a busy week for me... I did successfully finish my customer's quilt.  Since it has been soooooooo long since doing free-motion stippling, I decided to used my template.  Everything was going smoothly. Before beginning, I recalled some of the problems I'd had with skipped stitches on recent quilts and realized that I had fewer problems when I used the Aurifil thread than when I used the Coats&Clark from wally... DUH.

I checked with the customer about changing the thread colors and, with her approval, moved forward.  Between doctor appointments with my Mom, getting our Christmas letter picked up and, in the mail, and the need for snow removal at Mom's house, I managed to get 1/2 done and was very pleased with how it was going.  

I was in a bit of a rush as I was making an adjustment in the placement of the template when I heard a small crack and realized that I had snapped off a center portion of the template. *ugh* 

After taking a few minutes to settle down, I realized that I could still use it and returned to quilting. I could have carried on without it but was concerned that my FMQ would not match closely enough to what I had done with the template.  I simply had to make certain that the quilting foot followed the outer lines of the template.  In reality, it became easier to move and adjust the template to where I needed it. 

Once the binding was complete and the thread tails buried, we headed outside for a photo shoot. Ta-dah!  My customer provided the batting, which was a high-loft poly.  I had to spray baste it, which is just so messy.  I personally don't like the puffiness that the poly batting offers, but... hey, it isn't for me, right?

While trying to settle myself down after the template break, I pulled out another scrap Dresden piece that was a green sister to the brown that became a turkey in November.  This one became a small forest of trees... #50/52 in my 2023 mini-quilt series.

A smattering of dimple quilting enhances the sky, helping to give the impression of snowflakes floating from the sky. 

Our Christmas tree is now up and nearly decorated.  Shopping has been done and gifts will be wrapped this week.  I'll be doing a little baking and candy making as well as catching up on the Star Toss Mystery Quilt.

I'm looking forward to a relaxing week of creativity and play!  

Kathleen McMusing has been making Christmas stockings in two sizes and shared details on how she made them in the party last week.  

I love the little ones.  Perfect for a few dollar bills or gift card to be tucked into.

As the days continue to countdown to Christmas, may your heart be filled with peace and joy.

Keep piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

To Do Tuesday at Quilt Schmilt

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

m