Hello quilting friends! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! I know the holiday season can bring mixed emotions for many of us. Joy is sometimes twinged with sadness. Expectations and hopes often give way to less than shiny realities. Carefully planned events can become diverted due to weather, illness or other circumstances. For some reason, I felt compelled to give you a virtual hug if that’s what you are experiencing.
This year I found a new advent devotional, Prepare Him Room by Susie Larson, that really helped me step slowly toward Christmas. The book guides and teaches its readers through the 24 chapters of the book of Luke. The readings grounded me and helped me focus on the wonder of God’s love for us, rather than all of the hustle and bustle of the season. (I need all the help I can get!) Susie Larson is a new author to me, but I felt blessed by her advent study and will look into more of her books. Just another thing I felt compelled to share with you . . . one quilting friend to another.
I do have something to share that is quilting related. I finished another Banded Stars quilt top – my Christmas version! I shared a couple of blocks with you in September, and I’ve been diligently working on it a little bit each month. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.
In my original banded stars, you will recall that I used two values of blue (a navy and a chambray), and I considered using two values of red in my Christmas version. But I decided it would be more festive to include both red and green in the stars. All of the prints in this quilt top are by fabric designer Lella Boutique (for Moda).
Red: Holly Berries (Christmas Eve collection)
Green: Large Floral (Christmas Morning collection)
White/Snow: Merry Dot (Christmas Eve collection)
Silver: Merry Dot (Christmas Eve collection)
I am so pleased to have finished this quilt top during the holidays, so I could admire it amid my Christmas decorations. In the coming weeks I will send this off to be quilted, along with two other Christmas quilt tops I recently finished. I don’t think I’ve EVER been this far ahead of schedule! If you are interested in Banded Stars, it’s available as a PDF pattern on my Etsy Shop. Banded Stars finishes at 74” square.
From my family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Wishing you peace, joy and quilting happiness!
~Taunja
The new quilt is beautiful. I’ve enjoyed making your patterns this year. Thank you for your creative and sharing it with others. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Thanks so much Christie! Merry Christmas to you as well!
I’ve read something by Susie before…thanks for sharing about the advent devotional…I’ll have to pick one up for next year. Your quilt top is beautiful! I love it in the Christmas colors.
Thank you Ruth! Yes, I really enjoyed it. I’ve had other advent devotionals in past years that were good also, but a little shorter reads. Prepare Him Room definitely got me to sink in, read and ponder each day. I just had to share! 🙂
Thanks for sharing your quilting with us! ! And the devotional. I’m excited to look this author up. Merry Christmas!
Thank you Patti! Merry Christmas to you as well! 🙂
Love your color choices and beautiful family. Thank you for sharing as you do.
Thank you Cherie! I appreciate your kind words!
Hi Taunja,
Thank you for sending the beautiful picture of you & your family. It gives such a personal touch to the blog. I’ve always liked your taste in color and design. In fact, I was doing a search for Fig Tree quilt patterns when I stumbled upon your blog, (probably 6 years ago) and now I own several of your patterns who are waiting to become quilts and table runners in my home. To be honest, I’m quick to buy and slow to create, but have made it my new year’s resolution (like most quilters) to stop procrastinating and get things done! 2024 will be the year! Yeah! One thing I’ll tell you that I thought was very
coinsidental, was that I saw the pattern you did with the 9-patch Christmas with denim sashing, and I had began working on a similiar idea in November with Sweetwater panel leftovers and Blizzard (Sweetwater) mixed in. My nine patches are large and fill up the 8 1/2 inch block, and I wish I’d seen yours before I started with mine, because I really love the negative space yours brings. Anyway, I loved it so much I hated to use the panels and fabric, but I trust they’ll come out with something just as cute again, and mine had been in the box for a couple of years, so it was time to use it.
Happy New year to You and Yours,
Susan
Hi Susan! I loved your comment so much . . . I felt like I was chatting with an old quilting friend, even though we don’t know each other! 🙂 The same thing happens to me . . . quick to buy and then often slow to make. I’m trying to get better, just like everyone else! And I’m trying not to think I have to buy something because surely nothing as cute will ever be available again. LOL You are so right, all of our favorite fabric designers keep supplying us with pretty fabric time and again, so we should use it up! Thank you so much for supporting my pattern business. My best to you!