Every Wednesday during the month of July the Fat Quarter Shop has hosted a \”Holiday Wishes\” celebration, with several bloggers sharing their makes from this wonderful new book written by Sherri Falls and published by It\’s Sew Emma. This is the last Wednesday on the tour, but you can check out all of the bloggers\’ wonderful projects by heading over to the Fat Quarter Shop\’s blog, the Jolly Jabber. Maybe this will be just the inspiration you need to get started on your holiday sewing projects!
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| Last year\’s project from the \”Winter Wonderland \”book. |
I was particularly excited to be asked to participate in this \”Holiday Wishes\” celebration. Sherri Falls has been designing beautiful quilt patterns for years under the name of her pattern company, This & That Patterns. In fact, just last year I shared a project I made from Sherri\’s first book with It\’s Sew Emma, titled \”Winter Wonderland.\” That book featured 12 cozy Christmas quilt projects, including a sampler quilt. I used five blocks from Sherri\’s sampler quilt to make a long vertical runner to hang on my quilt ladder during the holiday season. For more pictures from that project, click here.
Sherri\’s new book \”Holiday Wishes\” also has 12 terrific projects, including full sized quilts, wall hangings, table toppers and a tree skirt! When I look at Sherri\’s creations, I see a fun, fresh spin on traditional block design, which is what I love for my own home!
If you\’ve visited my blog before, you know that I like to layer small quilts with other elements, like barn wood, frames and windows. I seem to have a lot of old windows in my house, some with glass, some without. I like moving them around and using them in new ways. So I decided to make two of my favorite blocks from the book\’s sampler quilt (Midnight Clear Block of the Month) and layer them with one of those old windows.
At first I wasn\’t quite sure how to hang my blocks, but then I remembered I had a nice wide band of burlap left over from another project. It was just the right element to wrap around the window, soften it up, and provide a place to attach the blocks. This will definitely be my arrangement for this year\’s holiday decorating.
My fabrics for the blocks included prints in my stash from some of my favorite Moda designers: Fig Tree & Company, Brenda Riddle and Sweetwater. There is a mix of Fig Tree Farmhouse, Honeysweet and Strawberry Fields Revisited, along with a Brenda Riddle green gingham and Sweetwater\’s new Christmas line, Cookie Exchange.
I did simple straight line quilting . . . the only type of quilting I can seem to handle! But I think that style of quilting works well with Sherri\’s striking block patterns. Rather than using my \”go to\” Aurifil 2021 Natural White, I used Aurifil 2000 Light Sand (50 wt) for these projects. I like the warmth that this thread color adds to the design. It also seems to bridge the transition from the white background fabric to the stronger color prints.
And on the back, why not use this delicate print from Strawberry Fields Revisited? It\’s fun using prints that aren\’t typically \”holiday\” prints in a holiday project.
I highly recommend both of Sherri\’s books if you are looking for pretty holiday projects for your home. As a bonus, many of her designs in \”Holiday Wishes\” translate well into quilts for other seasons or color arrangements!
Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my projects! I hope you get carried away holiday quilting . . . well before the holidays!
~Taunja
