Christmas Once A Month - January

Here we are in the MIDDLE of January already.

Christmas will be here again before I know it!

{My little snow friend here...created by my sweet friend Janet...

reminds me there is plenty of wintertime left.}

But THIS time, I'm going to be ready.

I'm joining Julie at The Crafty Quilter,

 who is celebrating Christmas Once A Month!

Internally I had already made the decision to try

to sew something Christmas-y

each month this year.

My plan is to keep Christmas fun

and not overwhelming, yet to make lots of handmade

projects for myself and for others.

Last year, I felt a smidge too much pressure to finish

my Winter Dresden quilt in time for Christmas.

{Truthfully December is the hardest month for me to keep 

my dining room studio available for sewing.}

The Crafty Quilter is making it easy...

and Julie is starting off the year 

with a super-fantabulous Poinsettia Pillow!

{Is this not the most incredibly pretty flower there is?}

Photo from The Crafty Quilter

I definitely love that I have almost a whole year

to get one or two of these finished!

As I read the tutorial,

I was flabbergasted and flattered to learn

that Julie had used my free tutorial

for making Pillow Backs with a Covered Zipper!

Photo from The Crafty Quilter

This isn't the first time Julie has made my heart palpitate

with her interpretation of one of my tutorials.

Have you seen her Paper Snowflake Pillow?

{Sigh...notice that beautiful quilting, the charming button detail and the soft colors.}

Photo from The Crafty Quilter

Coincidentally, another snowflake pillow has just entered my life!

A friend of mine from work approached me about

making something special from a quilt that had seen better days.

Since there were areas with bleach stains,

we decided some pillows would be a great idea.

The quilt was made by her husband's grandmother,

but that's all the detail I have.

I would have loved to have known this woman...

her quilt would qualify as Modern by today's standards.

The colors, now faded, are very "in" for today's decor...

the blue has become almost a steel gray.

The blanket stitches are made by hand, 

and it looks like she used a raw edge technique that is popular now.

The wavy quilting lines must have been so unusual

for its time.

To make this quilt into a pillow, I simply cut two large squares,

centering a snowflake in each.

I stitched the blocks together,

right sides facing, and left an opening for turning.

After inserting a pillow form, I handstitched the opening shut.

OK...is it cheating to say that this is a Christmas project,

even if it could be used all winter?

{That's one great thing about using snow as a Christmas theme.}

I still have time to make some more quick items for next Christmas,

so hopefully I'll be sharing more later on this month.

I think we're off to  a great start!

I hope you'll join us!