Sister's Choice Quilts

And So It Begins...

Well, this is a first.  We have our Christmas tree up and it isn't even Thanksgiving.  My husband bought a new faux tree this year, and since the boxes were sitting right in front of our front door where the UPS man left them, my husband decided to go ahead and set it up.  And it is beautiful.  I probably would have gone with colored lights, but he wanted white, so there we are.  We won't get the ornaments on until Thanksgiving weekend, so for now I will just enjoy the blazing splendor of all those 1000 lights!

I got these two fun little table toppers off to my quilter in North Carolina on Friday.  I will be so excited to get them into my holiday decor!  I love the fabric collections I used (Sweetwater's Cookie Exchange and Hometown Christmas).  I don't think it is even that obvious that I used the same fabrics in both little quilts.  They are crisp and modern and cheerful, just what I wanted.

Busy week this week.  And that is an understatement.  I somehow thought it would be a good idea to invite a friend and her daughter and twin grand daughters over for a tea party on Tuesday!  And it is a good idea, but I just wasn't thinking about the volume of cooking I'd be doing in this week, with Thanksgiving on Thursday.  Guess no sewing is going to happen, but I will let you know how my tea party fixings go.  I plan to make Madeleines, scones and little tea sandwiches.  Oh, and my famous pound cake.  Sara is coming early from work along with Eva, so there will be seven of us.

I plan to dust off the Royal Albert Old Country Roses and bring out my best lace table cloth.

I am going to try to make a centerpiece that has these reds and golds in it.  And of course use it for Thanksgiving too.  I will let you know how that goes!  I wish I could find a white pumpkin to hollow out and arrange red and gold mums and roses in, but I doubt I will be able to find any such thing at this point.  I'll let you know on Wednesday if I pulled it off!

I know you all must be busy this week too, with cooking and planning and list making.  Make it a good one!

Christmas Pines

This may be my cutest Christmas table runner ever.  I absolutely adore how this turned out.  I used The Pattern Basket pattern "Christmas Pines".  The pattern is for a quilt, with sashings etc.   I just wanted the block pattern and used my imagination to turn it into a table runner.

I made 18 blocks and arranged them so everyone at my table has a right side up Christmas tree facing them. My two Sweetwater jelly rolls (Hometown Christmas and Cookie Exchange) are getting a real work out lately, and I haven't even used half of them.

The block was super easy and very fun to make with my jelly roll strips. The construction methods are very simple.  You sew strips of fabric together, then attach a background piece to each side of your strip set.

The pattern is very specific in its directions on how to position the background fabric.  After stitching, you trim the excess off, press, and add a bottom section with tree trunk.

Very easy, great instructions and I was able to make the 18 blocks for my table runner in a day, easily.

I sewed two rows of 9 blocks and have a terrific table runner that measures approximately 18 x 40.  I think I will have my quilter quilt it with a snowflake design.  It will be lovely on my dining table during the holidays.

I ordered the PDF version of the Christmas Pines pattern from The Pattern Basket. It was under $7.  If you want a fun, fast and easy Christmas project, this could be the one for you.

Another Christmas Table Runner

I have been so determined to crank out some new Christmas table runners this year.  I had an idea that it might be nice to use some French General red fabrics and create something.  I haven't ever done a full sized Drunkard's Path quilt, but love curved piecing.  I made a couple dozen Drunkard's Path blocks that finish at 4" and started laying them out.

Sometimes you just need to experiment. I loved this version, but it was way too long and narrow for the place I wanted to use it.  I liked the fact that I got several peaks and furrows though.  Then I rearranged things and got this effect:

Not as many peaks and furrows, but it was a better shape and size for my table.  I think if I had gone for a smaller sized Drunkard's Path block, maybe 3", I could have gotten the effect of the first layout and added some borders to get the size and shape I wanted.

I have loads of French General red fabric on hand, so I may have to experiment some more. The more I look at the first design, the more I like it.  Maybe I can give the second version to someone whose name starts with W...or M.... 

If you are afraid of curved piecing, don't be.  I have gotten a technique down and can produce these blocks like nobody's business.  I only use three pins.

There is kind of a knack for pulling and stretching the fabric as you sew the curve, but you get it after a couple of times.  Honestly, this runner only took half a day to make.  Good thing, since it looks like I will be making a few more Drunkard's Path blocks.

More Christmas Blocks

This week still finds me playing around with different Christmassy blocks.  I have a notion that I would like some new table toppers/runners this year.  The tree and house blocks in the photo are from an old Nancy Martin book called Make Room for Christmas Quilts.

The book has a lot of really nice patterns in it, that are very well suited for Christmas quilts (or quilts for any season for that matter).  Lots of decorating ideas in the book as well.  I doubt it is still in print, but I've had great luck getting used copies of out of print books on Amazon.

I have to say, that in the past, Nancy Martin's construction techniques and I have not gotten along.  Her method for half square triangles for instance, is just strange and very fussy in my mind.  I won't go into her methods, but those of you who know what I am talking about, feel free to pipe up.  The pattern I chose from this book is no exception to my previous experience, but I persevered because the blocks are so darn cute.  

I even used templates that I made myself, if you can believe it.  Perhaps that had something to do with my accuracy issues.... I had to re-do a number of units and do some clever trimming, but I am quite pleased with what I have accomplished so far.  The house block is adorable.  The tree block is rather different, in an abstract way-not really sure what those red and green half square rectangles at the bottom of the tree block are supposed to represent, but I went with it, as the pattern directed.

The tree block did call for these wretched half square rectangles, which are impossible for me to make with the technique given in the book.  I remembered I had a Peaky and Spike ruler set from ages ago, and it turned out that the Peaky ruler was just right for the half square rectangles at the base of the trees.  The results were so much better with the ruler than with the templates.

My plan is to make three blocks:  two tree blocks and one house block.  I want a narrow runner for my hall table, which is viewed from one side only.  The one way orientation of the blocks will be just fine there.

I loved what you all had to say about the orientation of my trees in yesterday's post.  And the pattern recommendations were awesome!  Thanks so much to all of you who posted links to free patterns for Christmas blocks.  What a great resource.  If you read my blog, I hope you also read the comments.  My readers have a lot to say that is entertaining and often extremely useful.

Let's Make Christmas Tree Blocks

I got an idea that I needed to make another Christmas themed table runner over the weekend and spent some time searching for free patterns on line.  Lucky me, I found a super cute one which originated from the Moda Bake Shop.   Here is a link to download the free pattern.

I had a couple of older Sweetwater Christmas themed jelly rolls that had virtually the same color palette, so I cracked them both open and chose the fabrics I liked for my three blocks.  I think the two collections were Cookie Exchange and Hometown Christmas.  Both so cute.  These tree blocks went together so quickly. I had a runner sized group of blocks in no time.  The only thing is, I think this runner would look better with some narrow cream colored borders at least, but then it will be too big for the place I want to use it.  It will fit my son in law's dining table perfectly, so I think I will quilt it and give it to him.  He always appreciates my little quilts so much, and I love to pass things on to him.

Meanwhile, I need to go back to the drawing board and scale down my trees for a runner that will suit my space.  I can't decide if I should just eliminate the bottom row of each tree, or trim down my strips and make much smaller trees.  Any suggestions?  If any of you know of a book that has a small tree pattern in it, or a pattern for one (free or not), I would love to know about it.

I also dithered for the longest time about making the middle tree upside down so that people viewing the runner from each side would see at least one right side up tree.  Then I decided that was just weird to have people on the other side of the runner have to look at one or two upside down trees.  There is something so wrong about an upside down Christmas tree.  Do you find it disturbing as well?  Feel free to weigh in on the upside down tree dilemma too!

Some Things I've Been Loving

I have really enjoyed some books and tv programs recently and thought I would do a "Things I Have Been Loving" post.

"We Were the Lucky Ones" by Georgia Hunter has to be one of the best books I have read this year.  The story is based on the true experiences of the author's family, and focuses on her relatives who were Polish Jews affected by WW2.  The Kurc family consists of a mother, father, adult children and spouses.  Honestly, this book is such an accomplishment.  It isn't just a story of hardship and atrocities, but of determination, resilience, love, and a lot of luck.  The family is separated and sent in many directions:  a Siberian labor camp, a Jewish ghetto, to a Nazi prison, into hiding, escape to South America---you will be on the edge of your seat waiting to see how these people get out of deadly situations and if their struggle to survive and reunite is successful.  Simply outstanding.  Grab the tissues for this one.  It is even more emotional due to the fact that this story is about a real family.  Five stars for me (and about 1600 reviewers on Amazon).

Another five star read, The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton was positively excellent.  This book came out in 2014 and I do not know why it took me so long to read it.  Set in 1686 Amsterdam, this story gripped me from the first page.  Seventeen year old Nella has been married off to a wealthy Dutch merchant and arrives on his doorstep to a very strange household indeed.  Everyone has secrets, including her much absent husband Johannes.  Her husband gives her a wedding gift that is a large elaborate doll house which is a replica of her new home.  Price is no object, he tells her, and she contacts a miniaturist to furnish the house.  It soon becomes clear that the miniaturist eerily knows a lot more than they should about their household, its people, and the objects within it.  Unsolicited items start arriving and Nella begins to wonder if the miniaturist is more of a prophet than a craftsperson.  Beautifully written.  I learned a lot of interesting tidbits about the sugar trade, the repressive Dutch religious climate of the time, and how being different was considered the biggest threat to their society.

Best of all, The Miniaturist is a three episode mini series on PBS Masterpiece Theater!  I was enthralled with this series.  The set design and costumes were like watching a Dutch Masterpiece painting come to life.  Excellent in every way.  Highly recommend.

The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook is a book I am currently reading.  So far, I am completely engrossed in the story.  Set in war devastated Hamburg, Germany right after WW2, the plot concerns British Colonel Lewis Morgan who is charged with overseeing the rebuilding of the ravaged city.  He, his wife Rachael and their son Edmund are billeted in the magnificent home of a formerly wealthy German gentleman and his rebellious teenage daughter Freda.  Forced to live together in this grand house, the occupants forge relationships that originate in hate and evolve into something quite different.  The atmosphere is so charged between the characters you can practically cut it with a knife.  Romance, betrayal, self realization, this book has it in spades.

And, woo hoo, guess what?  It is being made into a movie with Keira Knightley and Alexander Skarsgard.  Check out the movie trailer, you won't want to miss this.  I saw the trailer and immediately downloaded the book onto my Kindle.

Another PBS drama that is airing currently is "Jamestown", written by the folks who produced Downton Abbey.  British colony Jamestown has been occupied only by men for 15 years, when the first women start to arrive by ship.  Men could effectively "buy" a bride, by paying for her passage to the New World.  The main characters are Alice, Verity and Jocelyn (each of whom has a good reason to leave England) and the plot concerns the situations that arise between them and their new husbands.  The program is trying to be feminist in tone, as it is often pointed out how few rights women had at the time, and the lengths they had to go to achieve pretty much anything.  I have a feeling it is not 100% historically accurate, but somewhat exaggerated.  One critic observed that the series simply presents more modern day characters in period dress.  That being said, I am enjoying the series.  I am six episodes into the first season.

Be still my heart, here is Aidan Turner in the PBS series Poldark.  (Can you tell what a Masterpiece Theater dork I am?)  A year or so ago I devoured all 12 of Winston Graham's books in his Poldark series, and loved them.  PBS has a four season series based on the novels and the Cornwall adventures of glowering Ross Poldark, his fiery wife Demelza, and their arch enemy George Warleggan.  This series is so well cast, and I have no trouble at all visualizing them as the characters in the books.  This was such a great series of books, and the television dramatization is just excellent.  Just watch the first episode, I promise you will be hooked!

And then there is Outlander, Season 4.  Have there ever been two romantic characters to measure up to Clare and Jamie?  In Season 4, they have moved on to The New World, and find themselves setting up house in the colony of North Carolina.  Their adventures continue, this time with the addition of a dastardly villain named Steven Bonnet.  And for all you Downton Abbey fans, this villain is played by none other than Ed Speleers, the handsome baby faced footman from that series.  You won't even recognize him!  He has adopted a dirty face, greasy hair and a world class sneer.  Turns out, he is an excellent actor.

Check it out!

Hope you enjoyed my recommendations.  Let me know your thoughts on any of these you have experienced.

American Pie: New Quilting Project

This is American Pie, a pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company from 2003.  I made the quilt in the photo about 12 or 13 years ago, and gave it to my daughter Sara.  I used a collection of 1930s lavender prints, which give the quilt such a lovely old fashioned "bleached by the sun on the clothes line" look.

I rarely re-make quilts, but after all this time, the pattern still appeals to me and will have a very different look with the fabrics I am using for the 2018 version.  Jo Morton is one of my all time favorite fabric designers, and I have a very nice collection of her fabrics from over a period of years.  I need a lot of prints for the scrappy look I want, and so far I have gathered 77 fabrics that I think will look wonderful in this quilt.

 After the super intricate piecing my recently finished red and white quilt entailed, I am ready for an easy one block quilt that will pack a punch.  Each block is made with four colored squares and four smaller background squares that are trimmed with a folded corner type ruler.  I will demo the method in an upcoming post.  Unfortunately, I do not think you can purchase the pattern any more, but the instructions can be found in a Miss Rosie quilting book called "Miss Rosie's Quilt Collection", which you can buy from used book sellers on Amazon.

If you are interested in seeing some other amazing versions of American Pie, check out this red and white version  I found on Pinterest, and Thelma's version (cupcakesndaisies.com), called "A La Mode".  She reduced it to a fancy border for her basket quilt, but how gorgeous is that?

Hope you all are having a good week.  I have a couple of book recommendations and some recent tv shows I want to share with you tomorrow.  What are you reading now?  I always love to hear about it.