Snowman Coasters

Hello, Friends!

Happy New Year!

Today I'm sharing some snowman coasters

that I made for a dear friend.

I bought the pattern here.

It's so cute in grays and whites, with colorful scarves.

As soon as I shared the pattern photo on Facebook,

my friend asked me if I wanted to make some for her.

{It's hard to say which one of us was most excited!} 

Photo from Annie's e-Patterns Central
Snowman Family Mug Rug Set

I chose some of my Cherry Christmas prints,
by Aneela Hoey for Moda...

and I made each one a wee bit different,

but coordinated.

This was such a clever pattern!

True...the little scarves were very tiny

and a bit fiddly to turn right-sides-out.

But they're simply adorable, right?

I found some snowflake buttons at my local Walmart.
They're nice and flat, with just the right amount
of silvery sparkle.

 These little snowmen will warm hearts
all winter long.

Living in Pennsylvania,
we have already seen some snow this winter.
I'll have to make some more snowman
projects to warm my own home!

Have you found a favorite winter pattern?

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Sweetwater Mug Rugs

Hello, Friends!

I'm almost ready for Christmas...how about you?

Earlier this week, the scene was set with some

beautiful snow.

I love to sit near the window with a cup of cocoa

and a little treat.

Hershey's Kisses are my favorite chocolate snack!

Not long ago...

Sweetwater fabrics blogged about a box of fabric

that I couldn't resist.

I ordered one almost before I finished reading the post!

The box of Christmas goodness arrived quickly, 
and I was not disappointed!

I kind of hoard collect Sweetwater fabrics,

and I took great joy in creating a few mug rugs

to give as presents this year.

I mostly used the fabrics that came in my box,

but I had some of this fabulous Feed Company plaid

that was just right for the bindings.

I had purchased this plaid mug from Pottery Barn

and I love the way it looks with each of these

black and red mug rugs.

Other mugs look pretty, too, though...

here's a classic pedestal mug, called Heritage,
 that I've had for many years, made by Pfaltzgraff.

I've got a sweet little Dept. 56 Scotties mug

that looks inviting, too.

This is how it looks with one of my favorite

designs by The Patchsmith!

Pattern: Scotties and Westies, available here.

Here's the same mug,

featured with the Sweetwater snowflake.

The designs by Sweetwater are so cute...

this snowman will bring cheer all winter long.

The snowflake design is so pretty and simple.

It sets off fabrics exquisitely.

I love the black and red theme,

but I also made up a couple of mug rugs

in aqua and red.

I hope this mug rug brings JOY to its recipient.

A little star will shine in the snow

all winter long.

I love the dash of aqua in that plaid binding.

These mug rugs will be given as gifts

to some special folks.

Stop by again soon,
for some more winter mug rugs,
made for more special people!

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Christmas in April

Back in January,

I made a commitment to myself to sew

at least one Christmas-y item each month.

As it turns out, I wasn't the only one 
who had this great idea!

Julie, The Crafty Quilter, really has her act together,

introducing a new Christmas project on the 15th of each month.

And now I'm linking up with Christmas Through The Year
at Lily Patch Quilts, too!
Head on over there for even more ideas and a linky party.

I wondered whether I would have trouble

with motivation when warmer weather arrived

and the trees were budding.

As it turns out,

while I was stitching away on my new

Paper Snowflake Pillow,

I felt...downright festive!

I had made this pillow once before,

as a free project for Pellon,

using my must-have-in-the-house-at-all-times

Pellon 987F Fusible Fleece.

For this new version,

I had a jumpstart, since

I had already cut out my snowflake design...

and chosen my Cherry Christmas fabrics.

I did a bit of stitching here...

and some quilting there...

and pretty soon I was ready to make the back of the pillow.

I used my very own tutorial for a

Covered Zipper Pillow Backing.

I was grateful for the good tips I'd written down,

because it's been a little while since I made a pillow.

My house is going to look so merry this Christmas!

Stay tuned...now that I'm pillow-happy,

I'm going to finish off my Copenhagen Pillow!

{It's about time, right?}

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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!

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