Poinsettia Petal Project

 Episode 3 from our Christmas mini-series is live now on the LineDancing site. It finishes with a quirky see-through-stitching project!

See how lots of different threads play out on a free-motion-embroidered embellished wholecloth project.

Festive designs directly from nature.

Photo Finish

cutting gingerbread cookies

Here's a photo finish to 2011. This new version of blogger is giving a good close up view when you click on the images.Celebrating the 12 days of Christmas gives us a chance to spread out the festivities. New Year's Eve falls on the 7th Day and our friends Simon and Angie came to visit with three small children Teresa, Annie and baby Joe.  I managed to get the binding on their table runner just before they arrived!  Since the table runner had a gingerbread theme we got out our favourite cookie cutters and made gingerbread biscuits.

finished products

Christmas table runners

the process start to finish

Pieced on the JUKI Exceed 600, I connected all the runners together with sashing so that I would only need to load the frame once. The sashing came in handy later.

Auditioning various threads
I used the Holly and Ivy thread from the King Tut range on one of the runners.

The Gingerbread runner needed ginger thread! MasterPiece #158 Moccasin

I used this hearts and loops pattern on two of the runners.Here it is in the King Tut 'Holly and Ivy'

All the runners were backed with green fleece.

While the project was on the frame the sashing fabric that joined the runners  was a perfect place to practice stitching and get the tension working right.

Once off the frame, I sliced off the sashing fabric. Now the runners were ready for binding.

Angie loved her present and everybody else enjoyed the ginger biscuits!

Christmas Table Runners

My Mom's blue and green table runner on the 8 foot New English Quilter frame

Over the years I've collected a lovely stash of Christmas fabric. Some years I am just so overwhelmed that I get it out, look at it and put it back in the basket. This year I decided to do some really simple stripy table runners for presents. Keeping it simple made it more likely for me to finish in time for Christmas. The stripes work for me as what I really like is the look of the fabrics next to each other. And now, ever since I've been using a frame, it is the machine quilting that gives the magic touch.

My least favourite thing about machine quilting is loading the quilt on the frame. Don't get me wrong, it's way better than being on my hands and knees with hundreds of safety pins or basting or glueing! Anyway, this time I decided to make several runners and sew them together with some strips of fabric. That way I would only need to load the frame once and I could get right to my favourite part - the machine quilting.

Thread auditioning - going for the gold!

Being 'bleak mid winter' it is hard to get enough natural light for a good photo. But here they are all loaded on the frame.This first runner is for my Mom - she loves blue and green. It's fun deciding which threads to use. They're all gorgeous but I decided on the gold metallic from Superior Threads. These metallic threads are a pleasure to sew with! I'm using a Titanium coated 100/16 Topstitch needle, which is, by the way, exactly the same as a Metallic needle! The larger eye gives the thread plenty of room to move through the eye without shredding or breaking.

Filigree scroll work line design

The quilting pattern is a no-mark-hand-guided-free-motion pattern that I call 'filigree scroll work'. I like it because it is so easy to manoeuvre all around the quilting space. More to come...

Christmas Runner Details

Here's some doodles of the lines designs in the runner. On the paisley part, I used the 'Filigree Scrollwork' design, this is the simpler pattern on the top of the paper roll. It's in your New English Quilter handbook, in the line designs section. I'll be featuring this line design in the new DVD but I'm calling it 'Every Which Wave'. In the little red check part, I've added a holly leaf to the pattern. The doodles are always larger than the actual stitched design.

Here you can see it on the side board.

Oops, looks like I forgot to dust!

The Filigree Scrollwork pattern just disappears

into the paisley print.

It adds some interest but doesn't get in to the way.

The centre poinsettia pattern was fun to stitch around.

I usually like to use lots of different threads in a project. But this light reflecting Rainbows; #809 Kailua, from Superior Threads looked great against all the fabric.

Christmas Table Runner

I love snow! A couple of weeks ago, I was wishing for my life to go on hold just for a few days so I could catch up. Then it snowed. Snow days are such a gift! I'm getting to work on projects that I never would have found the time for...like this table runner which has no wadding and is not technically a quilt. So I'll call this a free motion embroidery project. I pieced this runner a couple of years ago but never had time to machine embroider it together, until yesterday.

You may be thinking, "Why has she pinned the runner that way on the leaders?!!"

Well, I have 3 good reasons:

1. I wanted to execute a certain line design and it was going to be easier to draw it from this direction. This is the main reason.


2. I had my New English Quilter set up at the 6 foot size for a demonstration and a couple of workshops last week. So loading the runner this way was quicker and easier - it used less pins too!


3. Finally, because the runner doesn't have any wadding, the roll of fabric under the arm was not going to get too big. Smaller projects always leave much more room to manoeuvre.
   In the middle section I've just outlined the poinsettia petals. Not slavishly, mind you, but quite freely. I'm pleased with how it turned out.