Sunday, November 30, 2014

Christmas Quilt Top

It's Sunday afternoon, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it is time to think about Christmas.  I am sitting here on the sofa wrapped in my Christmas blanket, Geeps is building me a nice fire, the rain is falling, and so are the temps.  I am watching a recorded Christmas movie while I post.
Our Thanksgiving was small, and relaxing.  We have ordered our Thanksgiving meal from Marie Callender's and Polly's the past couple of  years. This year, we decided to try Stater Brothers, as we heard it was
very good.  We ordered both a turkey meal, and a ham meal.  They were both fabulous!!  We all thought everything was delicious.  I also made a big tray of cornbread dressing.  We had to have that!   My daughter brought appetizers, and my brother and sister in law brought pies, and Drew's girlfriend brought dessert too. We were sure to eat well.  I kept it very simple...and even used paper plates, which I NEVER do!
There were only 13 of us this year.  Some sat at the table in the house, and some sat out on the patio.  It was, after all, nearly 90 degrees!!!
All of the food had to be heated through, which meant my double ovens were on all day.  It felt like summer. I never wound up putting on my cute Thanksgiving apron.
Drew's girlfriend Christine, and her twin brothers joined us.  Their family was out of town.  There was plenty of football to be watched.
My granddaughters even had Dusty playing fetch IN the pool!!  I didn't get any photos of that, I was too busy in the kitchen.  Our meal was delicious.  The company was fantastic, and a good day was had by all.
This morning, I began to gather up all of our Fall decor and prepare to box it up until next year.
And just like that, my much loved Fall is gone.  Ready or not, Santa Claus is coming to town!
I spent all day yesterday putting the borders onto my Christmas quilt.  I am thrilled to my toes with how this turned out.  This morning, before the skies turned to grey, I put it out on the clothes line to photograph it.
What fun this quilt a long was to do!  I eagerly anticipated every block as the instructions were given by Lori via InstaGram.  
I love every block, but I do have a few favorites.  The basket block was fun to do.  The original pattern called for an applique heart in the basket.  But instead, I put two candy canes, a piece of candy and a heart.  I used the blanket stitch on my new machine to stitch them down.
The wreaths, with their pretty red bows....swoon!!!
The string of vintage Christmas lights, so fun!  I stitched a swirly swag from light to light, to suggest that they just came out of the box, after being tangled up all year.
Waiting for the next block to be revealed, and then selecting the fabrics for it, was kind of like receiving a gift, every other day or so!  I couldn't wait to "open" it and see what I would be making!  I enjoyed every moment of making this quilt top.  We are not done yet.  Lori will be posting the label for us to make on Monday.  then of course, it needs to have a back for it, and the quilting.  Finally, after the quilting, I will put a binding on.  And then, we can enjoy it!
I will be getting into my Christmas bins this week, and beginning to decorate for Christmas.  But I am going with a "less is more" theme this year.
I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!  We sure did!
See you soon!
XO  Kris

25 comments:

Linda said...

Hi Kris!
Gosh......you got a lot of Fall stuff to put away!
My son got our lights up today....looks very festive!
Your quilt is awesome....what a great keepsake♥️
Enjoy your week my friend....
Cheers!
Linda :o)

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

Your quilt turned out beautifully, Kris! Thanksgiving sounds so nice there...ours was lovely, but small...one son and family traveled to in-laws and our daughter and family got the stomach flu. So we just had our son, daughter-in-law, and their 2 little ones. But we had a nice day!

Bethany said...

Oh I love your quilt top! I've been seeing you build it block by block on Instagram, but this is delightful!

Betsy said...

Hi Kris, I've missed you! I'm glad you had such a great Thanksgiving with family. It was quiet here with just Hubby and I, but we did talk to all of our kids at some point. Your Christmas quilt is SO CUTE! I have looked and looked at it and can't choose a favorite block. It's gorgeous. I wish I was talented in that way but the best I can do is sew blocks together, not the intricate work that you do. 90 degreees! Oh. My. Goodness. It's 7 degrees outside on our deck right now. Brrrr. That's why we're heading to Maui next week. Unfortunately we'll have to come back to the frigid air. I so want to move someplace warm when Hubby retires. At least someplace with no snow. :-) Have a lovely week my frind.
Blessings,
Betsy

Debbie said...

So glad to hear that you had a nice, simple, and wonderful Thanksgiving! And I absolutely LOVE that quilt! Soo cute. I can imagine it was lots of fun to make. Isn't the rain wonderful? Such change in temperatures though. Hope you have a good week!

Debby said...

That quilt is just lovely. It just looks like it was fun to make. Good luck with all the holiday preparations. I am keeping it simple as well.

Teresa Kasner said...

Hello Kris.. Dayle was just saying it had been a while since your posted and POOF.. you did! I just love your quilt and even more how much fun it brought to you. I can't imagine being 90.. we're at 28 deg.! But we got the tree up last night and I've been putting out xmas decor.. I have to pace myself as I have so much.. but I love surrounding myself with the pretties and lights. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Taci simmons said...

Hi there my dear friend, so glad you had a great thanksgiving. Love all of your decoration ...as you said all of fall decor is gone at our house and we have decorated for Christmas now ... This the season ! I loooooove your quilt. An art piece.

Gracie Saylor said...

So glad you had a happy Thanksgiving, Kris. We ended up with 13 folks here too, and most of us had a great time, but my son in law found out the next day that he has double pneumonia, my oldest daughter has asthmatic bronchitis and little Molly has a touch of pneumonia, too :( Yesterday we put away most of our Fall decor and have most of our Christmas things out and about. Your new quilt is so pretty. I admire your artistry! xx

Lux G. said...

I love that apron. Your kitchen looks like a work of art. :)

Lovely works!

Sweet Cottage Dreams said...

What an adorable quilt! So many cute pieces to it and love your choice of fabrics!!!!

Glad to know you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed your special day with your family - and extended family, too.

Enjoy the new week!

Sunny Simple Life said...

Your kitchen is so perfect for fall. Just gorgeous.

Dogwood Lane Rambles said...

That's the cutest Christmas quilt I've seen in quite a while. I've been on a time out imposed by internet provider and not able to view or post for a week and so missed all the happenings of my blog friends. Glad I can finally catch up. Happy Christmas decorating I'm off to do the same.
Patrica

Pammy Sue said...

I adore your Christmas quilt! What a great job you did on it! Glad you enjoyed making it with your quilting buddies. Sounds like fun. Nice that you didn't have to make the entire dinner, but I bet you still spent plenty of time doing things and cleaning up. Nothing going on around here. Same ol' sh*t! :)

mynestofyarnandbuttons said...

Really love your Christmas quilt!!!! Never got around to it , maybe next year! Good job dear Kris! Happy December, xoRobin

Amy at love made my home said...

Glad you had such a good time, your quilt top is fabulous!! xx

Leslie said...

GORGEOUS quilt!!! I am in love!

Did you say 90 degrees.. WHAT!!! We'd be eating turkey sandwiches on the boat! Sounds like it was a great Thanksgiving. Packing up the seasonal stuff is the worst.
Happy Christmas decorating!!

Patty Antle said...

What a nice Thanksgiving you had! 90 degrees - oh wow! Your apron is so cute. Your Christmas quilt is adorable. You really had a ball making it. I'm going for a less is more approach this year too!

Valerie Cottage Making Mommy said...

Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving. I love the Christmas quilt it's beautiful.

Hugs from Oklahoma,

Valerie

podso said...

Looks like you did Thanksgiving the right way. And paper plates--smart! Your finished quilt is gorgeous!

Pam said...

Glad you had a fun and tasty Thanksgiving! The Christmas quilt is adorable... I can't wait to see it when you are finished.

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Kris, your quilt turned out so darling! Love it hanging on the clothesline. I have just sewn my 3" squares together. Hope I get a chance to work on it tomorrow. Glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We went to our sons home and it was super yummy. I just made the stuffing and a couple pies.
hugs,
Jann

Mereknits said...

So glad you had a lovely Thanksgiving with your family Kris. Love, love, love the Christmas quilt.

Hope you have fun decorating, I have everything up but the tree.
Hugs,
Meredith

deb said...

your quilt turned out amazing and I still say your basket block is the best one out there!!!!!!

Tania said...

Wow that is one gorgeous quilt. You have done an awesome job with it Kris.

x