Carol from Just Let Me Quilt has been hosting this fun and sew very taste tempting blog hop for several years now and I think it’s my fifth year joining in. It’s one of my favourites and gets me thinking of the holidays, so I’d like to thank her for such a great way to kick off the holiday season.
I’d like to apologize right off the top for not having been able to get around to visit everyone in the last couple of hops. Real life has just been crazy busy and computer time has suffered.
Every year I try to start planning a project for this hop in September or early October. This year was no different. A pattern was chosen, fabrics were pulled and cut:
Then in October I was needed by my Guild to rejoin the Board and become the Program Coordinator again so several hours days were spent trying to get November, December and January events and classes sorted and booked.
At our Board Meeting we were reminded that the organization that does the Christmas Hampers for both families and Seniors needed gifts for adults.
Time was short with a bunch of appointments and tests needing to be attended for both my husband and myself necessitating in my getting creative with what I had on hand. It’s also winter and the snow shovelling has become mostly my chore this year.
I checked my stash of quilt tops to see if my idea would work, and came upon the perfect flimsies that had been donated to me in a treasure box by Denise.
I took two coordinating quilts and unstitched them in to four patch blocks. I then cut some leftover fleece from other sewing projects in to the same size as the four patches. Then I matched a four patch with a fleece backing and sewed them together as I do my raggy quilts. Once I snipped the seam allowances I popped it in to the washer and dryer. The quilt is now a perfect, cuddly throw with some fun Christmas print fabric.
Next on the list was to use a pile of blocks I had made from leftover piece of a panel fabric. I trimmed the leftover fabric in to the little blocks and then I did some wonky log cabin borders on the motif blocks. This was a project from my UFO list that I had been put aside for some reason and I had never managed to get back to finishing. Once the blocks were squared up, they went together quickly.
In keeping with trying to donate as much as possible since the demand for Hampers has almost quadrupled since the start of the Pandemic and the resulting inflation, I checked my bin of backing fabric and found a perfect piece of pre-quilted red, fuzzy backing fabric. I pin basted it and did some straight line quilting with my walking foot, squared it up and it’s ready for binding.
Next on my list was another project with leftover pieces from two different panels which had been tucked away.
Again I added some wonky borders and trimmed up the blocks to size. I sewed the blocks in to strips and then added them to the same cozy, pre-quilted backing using a quilt as you go method. I squared it up and it’s ready for the binding to be hand stitched. Binding is done, too! 😁
I apologize for the photos. It’s been snowing again for several days and I haven’t been able to get outside to do any photography. Both of these lap quilts will be at my Guild before the deadline of Dec.11th. 😁
My final project for the Christmas Hampers was one of my usual gifts; a covered journal. I made this one a bit different than my last few years by adding a ribbon page marker. Last year the organizers told me they were a hit so I was going to make several, but hadn’t been to the shop where I buy my notebooks so I just had one notebook to cover.
In the meantime while I was trying to put together the blocks for my planned project, Samantha, my inner squirrel decided I needed to be distracted by a DrEAMi project. As most of you know Sandra from MMM Quilts is the best at enabling us and encouraging us to let our squirrels run amok. She did it again when she was releasing her fun new pattern, Rainbow Neighborhood. You can read about it here and the pattern is on sale this week in her Etsy Shop.
The pattern includes twin, throw, cushion and bench pillow patterns.
I knew I didn’t have time to finish a quilt and didn’t have any pillow forms, so I decided to make the Bench cushion and do a slight variation to fit my son and DIL’s dining table. It’s a lovely farm table and table runners need to be a specific size. It’s 4:00 on Wednesday as I’m writing this. I just finished the binding and I will be able to get it in the mail tomorrow and it will be on time for a Christmas delivery.
This is a great pattern that you can customize and really make it your own. I love the various blocks to make the houses from. Wendy from Pieceful Thoughts of my Quilting Life also use Sandra’s pattern to make a cushion and has some intriguing ideas to do this quilt as a BOM or for different seasons. 😉
Here for your enjoyment is a little video of Samantha in her Christmas finery. She takes pride in being the only Christmas decoration in my home since my DH is the world’s biggest Grinch! When she isn’t tempting me to just drop what I’m working on and start something else, she sits by my machine and always makes me smile.
The next thing I have to share is a recipe that came to be created when my brother discovered he has Celiac Disease. My sister in law and I switched making dinners on Saturday evenings and both tried to come up with great menus, making everything gluten free. It was my turn to cook Christmas dinner and my brother has always enjoyed the dressing. He always said it was his favourite part of the meal. Back in those days, gluten free bread wasn’t readily available and any I had baked didn’t taste very good. My solution: mashed potato stuffing! I cooked up 5 lbs of potatoes, mashed them, added almost 1/4 lb of butter, chopped onions, celery and my seasoning (after checking that they were safe for my brother to eat). Since we had 5 children between us, I also made a pan of regular dressing, added some chicken broth and cooked it in the oven beside the turkey. Everyone was happy and the look on my brother’s face when I handed him the serving bowl of dressing was priceless. I have since discovered that mashed potato dressing is common in Prince Edward Island. 🤶🏻
No Cookie Exchange is complete without a cookie recipe. My favourite is a shortbread recipe. It is a traditional favourite that gets made every year. I do change it up a bit. I prefer to make my shortbread lemony or nutty. Just click on the photo for a downloadable copy of my recipe.
I’ve included the full list of participants in case you missed visiting anyone’s blog. 😁
December 5
December 6
Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life
December 7
Pinker n’ Punkin Quilting & Stitching
December 8
Thank you for stopping by to read my contribution to this fun hop. I love reading and responding to any comments and take it as a wonderful compliment! 😉 Carol
Quilt Schmilt 
Love the ideas of the table runner and the covered journal, beautiful designs – perfect for this time of the year. Thanks for the inspiration!
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Thank you for your lovely comment. 😁
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You have been one busy lady lately – I’m amazed at what you get done. Your Rainbow House runner is so cute, and will be perfect on their table! Samantha is adorable – I need to find a Winnie like that! Happy Holidays to you both!
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Thank you Wendy. I’m really happy with the Rainbow House runner and couldn’t resist Samantha when I saw her at Walmart. Thank you and Merry Christmas to you and yours. 🌧️🎄
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Love the table runner! Samantha looks great in her Christmas finery!
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Thank you Cindy. Merry Christmas 🤶🏻
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Your quilts and journals are such a labor of love, that will be loved and appreciated for so many years to come. What a good feeling to break out those UFO’s and give them good homes as well. You sure know how to cook for the holidays. Everything looks delicious. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!
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Thank you so much Joan. It is nice to give back to my community. Cooking used to be a real passion with hours spent reading recipe books. Now Food is basic since my DH has allergies and a picky appetite. Merry Christmas from my home to yours 🎄
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How wonderful of you to “whip up” a few quilts! The one with the motif blocks is my favorite. The journal cover looks pretty, no wonder they were a hit. Sounds like you are one busy lady, but I’m glad you relented and let Samantha rule your sewing room for a bit – that table runner is beautiful. She has a lovely singing voice! 😀 I would love to have seen your brother’s face looking at the mashed potato stuffing – how clever, and it sounds delicious. Thanks for the recipe – yum!
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Thank you Linda. Giving back is always a joy. I do hope my son and DIl enjoy the new runner. They get a new one every few years. The memory of the look on my brother’s face still makes me tear up a bit. Have a wonderful Holiday Season filled with family, laughter and plenty of good food. 🎄
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Samantha’s video is so adorable! I love the runner you created with my pattern Carol! I think it will look fabulous on a farm table, and I’m tickled that it’s on its way to another home. It’s really pretty. Thank you for testing out that part of the pattern. 🙂
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Thank you Sandra for both the comment and the opportunity to test part of your pattern (and for not being upset at my little modifications). Sam is a cutie I think. Merry Christmas to you all. Hope you are going to be with Brady ☃️
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My goodness, Carol, you are flying all over the place with things to do. I’m exhausted just reading this! LOL Your donation quilts turned out so nice and your table runner/bench pillow is a beautiful gift that I’m sure will be appreciated. Thank you for sharing all your sweetness with us!
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Thank you Carol. It is a busy time of year and feels good to share. Happy Holidays to you and yours 🎄
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Congratulations on your finish of so many UFO’s. You are super busy, and I am amazed you got all this done, plus the guild responsibilities. The cookies look delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!
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Thank you Karrin. It’s not hard to get lots done while DH has the remote. My sewing table faces the tv so I sew while the football games are on (or the news). Happy Holidays to you ☃️
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What a simple sounding recipe but the cookies look outstanding – perfect for the holidays. You have been busy; I, too, haven’t gotten to all the participants during the last couple of hops but no way was I THAT busy. You legitimately have been busy. Love all your quilts – UFOs are great to finish. My favorite thing was the notebook cover – wonderful.
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Thank you so very much for your lovely comment. Hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season 🎄
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Carol, your sweet, giving spirit shines through this post like the sun with your guild quilts and the quilted journal. You are so generous! I love the table runner and I’m sure it will be perfect for their table and will enjoy it for Christmas! I think short bread cookies are my favorite besides peanut butter!! It would be hard to choose a favorite from those two!
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Thank you so much Brenda. 🤗. I’m with you; shortbread and peanut butter cookies do tie for first place. Happy Holidays to you and all your family 🎄
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You are so creative!!! I love how you took one quilt and made it into a cozy rag quilt! 🙂
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Thank you Gail. It was a fun way to stretch a quilt. Merry Christmas from snow country. ☃️
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Hi Carol! You have so many things on your plate, girl. Stop apologizing to us! We all get it. It’s the holidays and you are plump full of too many tasks. You make such lovely journal covers – I can see why they sell at the guild sale. I hope you get a bit of relief from snow!! Give yourself a break, please. You’re going to be sick for the holidays at this rate. {{Hugs}} a whole bunch. ~smile~ Roseanne
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Thank you so much Roseanne. Journals are such a fun versatile project to make. It’s snowing again as I’m replying and I’m tucked in with my IPad and a cup of tea, dinner is in the oven and life is good. Hugs and Merry Christmas to you, Sue and the whole clan. 🤶🏻
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You did great, but I could almost hear you running and panting. =) Thanks so much for your great ideas for those quilts. I hope everyone else worked half as hard as you did. Good thing Grinches don’t eat squirrels! LOL Merry Christmas, enjoy the mashed potato stuffing, sounds delicious, as I love mashed potatoes and am not usually a big stuffing eater! Thanks for some great ideas and inspiration.
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Thank you Susan. My Grinch prefers hamburgers, pizza and chocolate instead 😉 Some years (if my brother was there) I didn’t make a side of mashed potatoes since we had the potato stuffing. I hope you have a Merry Christmas Susan and have more good days sewing and visiting 🎄
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Great projects! I enjoyed seeing them all! What a wonderful idea for stuffing! I have never heard of mashed potato stuffing, but why not?! And shortbread cookies sound wonderful–I love them. Thanks for sharing!
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Sorry that I am late to the party, but your projects deserve all the comment love. Very pretty and festive! Fun to see and your cookies look amazing!
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Merry Christmas! Great projects & goodies. Reading your post about all of your flurry of activity makes me feel incredibly lazy; I’ve been away from my studio and working too much lately.
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Thank you so much. It IS the time of year to be busy busy. Merry Christmas to you and yours. ☃️
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Such fun projects and great way to use up those last bits. The cookies look fantastic!
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Thank you Leah. Merry Christmas ☃️
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