Joy to the World

and a Happy New Year! I’m celebrating with song. This quilted throw is primarily a music quilt, but the pattern includes the 3D Jolly Holly I showed in the Christmas blog. It’s a lovely touch, but optional. (Try the 45″x60″ quilt in royal blue, for instance, without the holly!!) While the music in the applique is the actual opening of “Joy to the World,” it wouldn’t be difficult to insert any favorite tune–what a wonderful gift for someone.

Don’t hesitate, though, at the level of difficulty. While there is some work on the appliques, the piano keys are a cinch! Really, the ivory ones are faux-pieced from the back with tiny rows of stitching, not piecing, and the black ones are BIAS TAPE. (My friend, Mr. Bias Tape, comes through again!) Also, the lines of the music are made of tubular bias or narrow braid–very easy. Lots of step-by-step instructions with diagrams show you how. I dare you to try–it’s on sale for just $3.50 until Jan. 15. Click here!

So what is awaiting YOU in the new year? Don’t we always have projects—and more projects? Well, once my new Sewing Studio is somewhat organized, one of my latest plans is to make a Kaffe Fassett quilt. His designs are simple, and his fabric prints are really big, bold and bright. I’m drawn to them, but I confess I waited until a bunch went on sale (hello, Hancock’s of Paducah–thank you!!) I have my own design, but I’m planning to use all Kaffe prints, which’ll be a first for me. This will look very different in big prints:

I usually start my designs on Inkscape, which is a free vectoring program with a grid. That’s what this is. I export it as a .png, then save it as a .jpg. In the program, I can change colors and sizes, using basic square/rectangle forms. It’s NOT a quilt program, but it works for me. Sometimes I start on graph paper, but I quickly move to the computer because it copies and pastes!

I have lots more designs to do and hope to keep with a new pattern every week…or at least make it to 100 before the end of the year. OK, I said it–you’ll have to hold me to it.

I also want to enter the Alabama National Fair again this year in October–I skipped last year because there was just too much turmoil with the Studio. Entering the fair gives me the competitive motivation to really push for excellence and for breadth as you only can enter one item per category. I made 65 ribbons 2 years ago. Can I do more? That means knitting and crocheting and embroidery and more. I can’t pledge to win, but I can pledge to try! (and while doing so, I get my Christmas presents all made early!)

One thing I love to do this time of year is get out old quilting magazines and books and just flip through, seeing what speaks to me. It’s funny how you see something new every time you flip through. Another thing I like to do is sort my scraps. Sometimes, just seeing and touching them give me ideas (or make me feel guilty and want to use them up in a scrappy quilt). Here’s a good scrappy quilt: Click here for more info.

The “Kite Charmer” is a paper-pieced wall hanging that I made of all different fabrics. It’s a little challenging to get all the points right. However, I have a regular pieced scrap quilt started out of this “pocket lozenge” block, an elongated “snowball,” which is easy and very different from the patriotic look. It can be made ANY size. Click here!

What else is coming in 2020…? Well, for me, it means knee replacement surgery, which I’m not looking forward to. It’ll very likely slow me down. However, it won’t stop me. I’m thinking some cross-stitch or maybe even some hand quilting may be looming in my future. My son tells me, “When you can’t quilt, get out your laptop and design...” Good advice.