My Christmas Row Quilt

I offered to design a Christmas Row Quilt block exchange for one of my local quilt groups and they said yes.  So I started looking for Christmas-themed blocks, four of which are shown here.

The row of Christmas trees was supposed to have six trees but somehow I came away with only five and I didn't want to make another one.  So I decided to turn the 12" left into a checkerboard sashing instead.  I think it adds much to the quilt.

There is a row of snowflakes to go at the top.  I somehow don't have the required number of those either so I'm guessing I'll do something on that row to finish out the length of that row, too.

The bottom row is houses.  I've got the number I need there so I just need to sew that row together and add them to the bottom.  I'm thinking I'm going to love it!

Kayleen's Choice

I started this quilt after being inspired by a Tula Pink pattern that was on the cover of a magazine.  I changed the orientation of the blocks and enlarged it.

I was loving it!  I wanted to crochet around the entire quilt so I bought a pretty teal blue aqua cotton crochet thread and a new crochet hook.  I had given all of mine away long ago since all I did anymore was quilt.  But I had been inspired by a quilt I saw at The Christmas Goose quilt shop in Las Vegas in April.  There was gorgeous crocheting around the edge of the entire quilt.  At first I thought it was lace that had been applied but found out it was hand-crocheted.  I loved it so I wanted to do it for myself on a quilt that I would keep.  All that work, ya know?

So my daughter came to visit in August and I was showing her quilts I was working on.  She had told me a few years ago that she had enough quilts.  Really?  Can anyone have ENOUGH quilts?  Well, okay.  But I sent her a new one at Christmas last year anyway because it just reminded me of her "style".

But I really don't think about making quilts for her anymore since she didn't seem interested in owning any more.  But wait...

I made this quilt for myself.  Wait...

She says "I'd take that one".  Huh?  The one I made for myself?  The one I loved?  The one I wanted to spend hours crocheting around?  The one with Freda Khalo all over the back?  The one with the yellow/green fabric that I adore?  reeeaaallly?

What we do for our children...

Guess who's getting the quilt for Christmas this year?

This is a Bonnie Hunter pattern from one of her books.  I made the whole thing in a couple of weeks using the Bloc-Loc ruler by making half-square triangles with the Pat Speth Nickel Quilt method.  It's the only way I make half-square triangles anymore.  

And I use the squares that come from that method in other projects if they don't get used in the project that I'm working on.  I always have a need for scrappy squares.

I plan to post some current pictures now that I've lost 30 pounds but I saw a few older pictures and thought I'd post them.  This was taken in Las Vegas in 2007.  I hadn't yet gained the 30 pounds.

This is me with my Aunt Mary Catherine and my sister Marscha at a family funeral in about 2008 or 2009.

This one was taken sometime around 2010 or so.  I'll post some more current pictures soon.