Friday, December 22, 2017

2nd Christmas UFO and a Squirrel



I promise I'm not talking about alien rodents, though that would be pretty cool too.  I'm actually talking about two quilty finishes I pulled off this week, just in time for Christmas.  The first is a UFO from 2015.  December two years ago, I wrote a tutorial for Americana Flags.  A perfect quick gift for your patriotic loved ones.

I ended up piecing a total of six different flags.  Three were finished and gifted that year, the other three managed to hide in my backroom, until two weekends ago.  All of them had been basted and stitched in the ditch.  How had I completely forgot about them??  I decided to pull one out and quilt it up.  It will be a perfect gift for my neighbor and I'm super excited to deliver it to her tomorrow.

I chose simple straight lines in the cream/white stripes of the flag, but had a bit of fun stitching some slightly wonky/whimsical stars in the red stripes.  These stars are super simple to stitch and would look great in sashing or borders.


My second finish, even surprised me.  I had purchased a pretty set of casserole dishes for a family member and was scratching my head what I could add to it.  The answer didn't come as quickly as you would think it should have...


hot pads!  As soon as the idea hit, I had to drop what I was doing and stitch them up.  I ended up using a tutorial for large hot pats at Auntie Em's Crafts. (Beth at Cooking Up Quilts also has a great tutorial too) I went with fun bright colors that could go with these Pioneer Woman dishes.  Hopefully, the recipient will love them as much as I do.  Don't you hate when you put something together and you really want to keep it?


Now back to the flag.


As my Christmas gift to you, let's talk about stitching those stars and how simple it is.  This motif could be stitched with a walking foot, free motion with rulers or free motion without rulers.  You start off by stitching little mountains or V's across the space (for me left to right) then finish making your star points on your return back to where you started.  You can follow in the diagram below.

Here's a quick video from Instagram of me stitching them out.


I hope you will give them a try.  I promise they are much easier than they look.


I guess this is me signing off till after the Christmas holiday.  I still have a few presents to wrap, food to cook and a quilt to baste.  I plan to be one buys elf.  I wish all of you and your families a Merry Christmas and hope your days are filled with laughter and family.


Caroline hopes you will come back next week, ready to talk about a UFO you want to bust, so that we can start the New Year off right!


Today I'm linking up with TGIFF, Finished or Not Friday, Can I Get a Whoop! Whoop!

15 comments:

Jayne said...

Your neighbor will love the flag and I bet you feel pretty good about getting another UFO off the shelf!! Pot holders are never a bad thing to give as a gift, especially when they accompany beautiful cookware! Happy Holidays to you and your family Tish! See you after the holidays with many more creations I'm sure!

Lynette said...

Love the stars in the flag - and thanks so much for taking the time to provide a diagram and video for making them! Merry Christmas to Caroline and you!!

Nancy J said...

The flag is a beauty, the stars, thanks for the tutorial, a much easier way than I had imagines, hot pads, beauties to go with the dishes, and one feline person waiting for Santa. A very Happy Christmas to you both, have some restful days, peace and happiness always.

dq said...

I just love your flag and the quilting design was a perfect choice!

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

What a great idea to add hot pads to your dishes, it makes a lovely gift, I'll have to remember that one. Thank you for the quilting tutorial, great for a Christmas quilt too. Happy Christmas.

piecefulwendy said...

Yay for getting another UFO done! Anytime I can see why you want to keep those fun dishes and hot pads. What a great idea to add to the gift! Happy holidays!

Stitchin At Home said...

A great finish, and one I'm sure your neighbor will love. Wishing you and David a very Merry Christmas!

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

Brilliant traveling method for the stars. Thanks for sharing it and the video. Congratulations on the 2 finishes, too. :) A very, very Merry Christmas to you!

Sandra Walker said...

You know I have at least one UFO (you NAMED and shamed me...lol kidding--you've been so patiently waiting for me to get going on that with you)...did you remember our Zentangle pibbles idea too? What would those who have yet to have fabric even purchased, be called? Glad you keep finding squirrels to chase; my linky is next weekend! Love those hotpads too, and well that quilt--it's a tutorial I've planned to follow to make a certain daughter and her fiancé for a couple of years now.

Louise said...

I love the star quilting motif you've shared! It's so simple and obvious how to do it, once you shared the diagram. Thank you for this little Christmas gift to us, your readers. Merry Christmas, Tish :)

Vicki in MN said...

Yeah for you making an empty space on the shelf! It will make a great gift. I have a couple UFO's I am indeed going to finish up in January-They have been bugging me way too long.
Thanks for the star tute-I will pin for future use:)

Jen Shaffer said...

Love the flag quilt! I appreciate that you show the quilting how to. Not that I'm there yet, or have the time, but I like to think I will take the tips/how tos/hints and remember them later. ;)

Love your "squirrel" project. I think we all have those!

Cheryl said...

Your flag quilt is beautiful, I love the quilting you added to it. Merry Christmas!

QuiltGranma said...

just found you. love the kitty helper you have. I have now sewn in a couple months, have cleaned off the sewing table/ dining table in our rV, and maybe I can get back to it? Have a Double Irish Chain to finish for mom in love, and get it quilted before we head south to see her this next spring. that is top priority!

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

I love how you quilted the flags. I like how you quilted the stars -- I do mine differently.

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