Holiday Projects: Let's see yours!

15 years ago

My holiday project this year was to design and make a table runner for my angled kitchen counter. We do the neighborhood Christmas Party every year and this year it's early (12/6) so I wanted to get this done by Thanksgiving. I finished it this morning!

I decided to make the runner in 3 parts because it would be much easier to make, much easier to wash and easier to replace a section if it became too stained or damaged. For parties, we line this counter with food so I know the runner will get a good workout. I will use it other times during the year too so I didn't want to use Christmas fabric. These colors go with my whole kitchen and family room, and the palm frond fabric works great for Orlando.

If you have photos of your Holiday projects, please add them. Let's see what we've created this year!

Kate

(...please excuse the dishes in the sink!)

Reds & Greens but not too Christmassy. I think the beige on beige and the batik give it a very soft look.

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Comments (57)

solstice98
Original Author
15 years ago
Teresa, my Great Aunt did hand embroidery just like yours! She made me the most wonderful set of dish towels when I was very young (50 years ago!) and also gave me my first quilt. Obviously, she was a fabulous woman! (grin) I still have the quilt (and am almost brave enough to start repairing the worn parts!) but I only have one of the towels. I wish I had been smarter as a kid and had known to preserve them better. Thanks for reminding me of those towels!!!

Kate
Kathy_TX
15 years ago
WOW Kate, I love your runner, would've never thought to use a runner along the countertop, what a great idea. The colors are wonderful and so warm looking. I'm not sure I'd be able to set containers of food on that beauty though. LOL

The towels will be a bit hit also Teresa, I just love the look of hand embroidery, wish I had the patience and needle skill to do that.
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Michelle Reynolds
15 years ago
hello
I'm new to the quilting page but I have been on GW for a long time.
here are the wall hangings I just finished last week, please rember I'm a novice and not very good yet.

I printed a black and white pick of the tree off my card maker and super-sized it to 24" tall and used it to cut out the fabric pieces in 3 diffrent greens.

I just love snowmen/woman, I was very happy not to spend a dime on fabric for this one I just used the sometimes very small scraps for diffrent clothing parts(like I said I'm new at this still, and get excited about silly things)

have a great thanksgiving everyone
michelle
toolgranny
15 years ago
those are wonderful, Michelle. You'll do just fine at this.
Linda
mary_c_gw
15 years ago
I am hoping to finish a bow-tie block lap quilt for my DH for Christmas, but it may be a stretch, LOL. I have about half the blocks made.

I have a quilt on the long-arm which is intimidating me for some reason. My neighbor made it for her husband for their 50th wedding anniversary. She took up piecing as occupational therapy after a serious spinal injury a couple of years ago, and she does beautiful piecing now. But she can't hand-quilt, and she can't wrestle a quilt sandwich through the machine. I guess I'm just afraid of screwing this quilt up since I know what a struggle it was for her to get to this point.
User
15 years ago
Kate, what a great idea; the angles are so clever and make for such a custom look. Your choice of fabric is perfect, not too Christmasy that you can't use it (them) year-round.

I've been toying with the idea of a holiday table topper for years. Your picture may be just the push I needed to begin.

Theresa, your towels remind me of my grandmother's kitchen. I wish I was on your gift list.

Micyrey, welcome to the forum. Great holiday wallhangings. Does the little person attached to those adorable hands live with you? As a grandmother, I applaud your fortitude to be able to sew with small children in your house!

Dianne
Michelle Reynolds
15 years ago
hello
yes those belong to Jeremy, he is going to be 3 on sunday, and he has an older brother Timmy (6), I have not been able to do any sewing for well 3 years and 9 mos :) so it is kinda like starting again. I have lots of fabric scraps(I used to work at Joanns Fabrics) but my seweing mach. had been sitting in the basement for so long I almost forgot how to use it.
I look forward to making some sewing friends just like all the great gardeneing friends I have.
I think I can learn a lot here
have a great day
michelle
grammyp
15 years ago
Great projects everyone. LOVE the snowpeople Michelle. I haven't done any Christmas projects this year, not motivated yet. Perhaps a last minute project or two soon.

beverly
lola99
15 years ago
Kate, your counter runners are beautiful. They really are inspiring.

Teresa, I really like your towels. Your stitches are so small and perfect, it looks like you drew the lines on with a pen.

Michelle, your wall hangings are very festive and cheerful. Very nice job.

IÂm trying to finish a 6 year old UFO for my nephew for this Christmas. The piecing is done (finished that last year) and the quilting is almost done, then I just have to bind it. It is my goal to finish this and post a picture before Christmas! Thanks for all of the inspiration everyone.

Lola
budster
15 years ago
Oh what lovely things you have all shown. I have a couple of small projects I want to do but they are quick and easy..sleep pants for DD being at the top of the list. I have just finished a weekend of selling at a local mall for a charity group I sew with. We made over $800.00 which will be used for food hampers for the needy. My selling partner was disappointed but I keep thinking with the economy the way it is and with everyone cutting back, we didn't do badly at all. All the unsold items went back to the charity and will be sold over the next few months in their shop......so that will add to the total overall. I'm just happy we had some money to turn in and the pastor of our local Salvation Army was very pleased. The items cost us nothing as it was all donated fabrics, threads, etc. and we used donated machines.....we gave only our time and talents (whatever talent we may possess that is...I claim none myself). So thanks for listening.
jahalaro
15 years ago
After my last post, I decided to make a simple runner to get myself started for Christmas. Thanks for the incentive to get started Kate. This was just about 30cm of fabric with a matching fat quarter cut to add to the ends. It is about 5ft long and will cover my sideboard. I just have to finish the last side of hand-stitching the binding. Your wall-hangings look very cheerful Michelle. Beth

Hope these pictures work - Photobucket being a pain the last few days.

{{!gwi}}
solstice98
Original Author
15 years ago
I can't see the first two pictures but the 3rd one came through. Very cute and the blanket stitch looks just right. I love the fabric!

Kate
jahalaro
15 years ago
Thanks Kate. It seems that if you click on one of the little squares near the picture, the other one will show up. Not sure what is going on with Photobucket but maybe it will be sorted soon. Beth
patce
15 years ago
All the projects shown are lovely.The runner,towels & wall hangings make me wish I was doing Xmas projects.I'm still in after surgery mode,but maybe next yr I can make something to brighten up our home. Pat
kathi_mdgd
15 years ago
Very nice projects,and Michelle,for a novice,you did very well,and welcome to the board.

The only thing i've done so far is make some pillow cases for my GGS and a drawstring bag for him to carry his matchbox cars in,I forgot to take a picture as i was rushing to get it in the mail yesterday,so he gets it by his b'day on saturday.

Kathi
nanajayne
15 years ago
I will try and post pic of my latest placemats that I finished last nite for another GD. Having trouble with photobucket so who knows. Success at last!!!!Jayne
jahalaro
15 years ago
I think I sorted my problem with Photobucket.This is the other picture I was trying to post which shows a little more of my runner and the green backing. Beth
nanajayne
15 years ago
Here is another finish item. An apron for my GD
Jayne
karpet
15 years ago
Oh Jayne - I'm glad you posted the picture of the apron. I've had a question for years - do you know what the blue fabric is called? That is my mom's favorite fabric, but I have not known what it is called to even look for it. Thanks so much.
Karlene
damascusannie
15 years ago
Karpet--It's "moire".

Annie
nanajayne
15 years ago
Karpet, I have had the moire fabric for about 20 yrs. I bought to make a dress for the GD that I made the apron for and this was left over. She just turned 30 and she was 9 1/2 when I made the dress! Sometimes it is called "water marked" but that is usually taffeta.
Jayne
karpet
15 years ago
Thank you Annie and Jayne so much. My mom had bought some probably 15 yrs ago and told me it was dusty rose or cabbage rose or something like that and I had a booger of a time trying to find it when she wanted it in a handkerchief quilt. Moire! Yea! I know something new!
Karlene
User
15 years ago
I also know this to be called 'watered silk'. The real thing is not easy to work in, when it's actual silk it's very slippery & in my experience, didn't iron well. But it sure can be beautiful!
damascusannie
15 years ago
It's no picnic in the new synthetics either--ravels like crazy and slicker than heck. I had to make four dresses for a 1950s musicals a few years back and it was a total pain in the neck.

Jayne--Love the apron. I'm going to have to make myself a holiday apron.

Karlene--It's pronounced "mwah-ray".

Annie
carolek
15 years ago
I made my wedding dress from watered file. I love that the pattern has been used on cottons. I found a bunch of it in a creamy yellow in my stash.

I love your projects--I could make a runner for my island, which is where I put food for buffet style gatherings.

The embroidery brought to mind that I used to do pillow cases as wedding gifts when I was in school and had no money. In those days I could find a set of cases with the printed design and the floss included for $2. Carole
marcia_m
15 years ago
I love those applique projects--something I want to attempt someday! You are all so talented. I'm learning with every project I do.

This is a gift for DS & DIL. As you can see, I'm still working on it but hope to mail it next week. I love attic windows and both kids are something of science/math buffs so I thought they'd appreciate the 3-D effect of the mitered corners. I also love the little charms and buttons you can find in the craft/sewing stores these days. I found something to add to every block. And several of the blocks have a cat/cats on them--they have one that they totally adore.

I'm calling the wall hanging "Believe." :-) I want to make a label for the back with my Janome alphabet stitches before I send it. That should prove interesting!

The next project I want to try is a jeans rag quilt. My younger son "gifted" me with his worn out jeans, so I bought some flannel and want to make it before the holiday and give the finished quilt back to him for a gift. If I don't get it done for Christmas, his BD is in April :-)
toolgranny
15 years ago
That's just lovely, Marcia. You inspire me to get busy on my own.
solstice98
Original Author
15 years ago
Nice! Love the embellishments!
day2day
15 years ago
Some wonderful projects!!!How did I miss this post!!

Kate, love the elegance and softness of your table runners.

Teresa, the towels will make great gifts. My favorite is the little chicks.

Welcome Michelle. The different greens in your trees make it look very realistic and the snowpeople are cute.

Beth, I would like to see a picture of the full runner to get a better idea of how you quilted it.My runners are always bumpy after quilting- probably the batting I use. There's not much choice in battings in my neck of the woods.

Jayne, great job! I especially like the flowers.

Marcia, that's a lovely wall-hanging. I'm working on an attic window quilt for a Christmas present. How wide are your 'sashing' pieces. I think mine are too narrow. My 'windows' don't seem to have 3-D look, although I did miter the corners.

I do love looking at all these pics. TFS.

~Geraldine
marcia_m
15 years ago
Thanks for the compliments! Geraldine, my sashings are supposed to be 3/4 inch finished but vary a bit :-) The blocks are about 5 3/4 inches square. The wall hanging isn't perfect, but neither am I :-) I think attic windows always look more 3-D when viewed from farther away. Some day I'd like to make a 3-D cube quilt. I bought a set of templates for them last year but haven't attempted one yet. I'll put it on my list :-)
Marcia
jahalaro
15 years ago
Hi Geraldine, This one shows the quilting a little better. All I did was follow the contours of the snowbanks on the fabric. Where I joined on the pieces of the fat quarter, I did a row of a machine embroidered stitch and then one or two rows of plain stitching following more lines in the fabric. My quilting skills are minimal at this stage so this was quick and simple for me. I used some cotton batting that I had and it seems to lie flat.
Beth

{{!gwi}}
day2day
15 years ago
Thank you Beth and Marcia.

Yes, Beth, I can see what you did. Good idea to use the 'snowhill' lines of quilting.

Marcia, I wasn't very clear with my wording. I meant to ask about the width of the 'sills'( I think that's what they're called)- the dark blue and 'snowy' fabric.How wide are they?
I think the line of quilting on the sills helps with the 3-D look too.

~Geraldine
marcia_m
15 years ago
Hi, Geraldine. The sill pieces started out as 2 inch strips which should have finished to 1 1/2, but I measured and they are a bit less. I guess I don't do perfect 1/4 inch seams. With this project it wasn't important, but I'll definitely have to learn to be more precise with that! The fussy cut squares started at 5 inches, but I trimmed/squared up the blocks once I had sewn the sills and squares together. What size attic window blocks are you working with?
Marcia
day2day
15 years ago
I did 6" finished blocks with 2"wide finished sills. I have a fabric panel in the center with 2 rows of attic windows on each side and on the top and bottom of the panel. Perhaps that's why the 'windows' don't stand out. I just don't know what it is!

Thanks for the info. I'd post a pic of the top but my camera isn't working right now (I dropped it a while back and now the lens opens sometimes and sometimes won't.)

~Geraldine
msmeow
15 years ago
Wow, what great projects everyone!

I've had the materials for these placemats for probably 12 years now and finally got around to actually stitching them:
nanajayne
15 years ago
This has been a fun thread. I like seeing what everyone is doing.
I like your red placemats. Did you use machine embroidery or applique? Very bright and Christmas lik.
The attic windows wall hanging is nice, great use of the fabric. I especially like the blue fabric. TFS Jayne
msmeow
15 years ago
Jayne, they are counted cross stitch. Done by hand!

Donna
nanajayne
15 years ago
Wonderful. I gave up trying to do Counted Cross stitch but my daughters and Granddaughter do beautiful work. I am impressed. Nice job. Jayne
amazingcm
15 years ago
Last year my family started doing the dirty Santa game instead of exchanging so many gifts.. Well I still want to give them a little something so I made a bonus box that I inserted in the game and last year I had gifts for all the niece's in it and the one that opened it got to hand them out and then draw again.. So this year I found these cute little easy cosmetic bags that I made out of scraps from purses and zippers that have been in my drawer for way to long... I made 12 of them.. I did not line them but I think they are fine without. I filled them with Shampoo, Conditioner, lotion and soap from Hotel's I always save them. Why Now I know... The price of the whole thing NOTHING.. I will put a note in it that says who ever picks it gets first choice then they will hand it over to the oldest person and they will go down from there...

Now if I can just come up with something for the 12 boys?? Any ideas?

Here is a link that might be useful: Cosmetic Bag
damascusannie
15 years ago
Nice! I'd make them in "manly" fabrics for the guys, too. My son travels quite a bit and he needs a way to carry his personal stuff: razor, toothbrush, etc...Thanks for posting the link to the instructions!

Annie
gerizone5
15 years ago
Those are great, I bookmarked the tutorial. Thanks for posting.

Geri
day2day
15 years ago
What a great idea! Thanks for the link. I bookmarked it.
~Geraldine
cannahavana
15 years ago
Grace those are great! Just the perfect thing I need for our family Christmas game.

Rebecca
gerizone5
15 years ago
Here is my Yo-yo Tree that I finished about a month ago.

And here is a close up of my very first FM quilting. It's not all that good but it made me very happy.
kathi_mdgd
15 years ago
Very nice projects everyone.Love those cosmetic bags and thanks for the link on how to make them.

Geri love your yo yo tree,what a good idea.i made one years ago and forgot all about it til i saw yours.So thanks for jogging my memory.

Kate,a runner for the counter,who'd a thunk it!!! Very nice and a GR8 idea.

Marcia love the attic windows,one of my favorite blocks.

Michelle,nice snowman wall hanging.

Msmeow,nice to see someone else cross stitches,very nice.

All the projects posted here are lovely,you've all done good!!!!
Kathi
sunnycentralfl
15 years ago
{{!gwi}}

This was a small donation quilt I made for DH's woodworking guild...Gwen
sunnycentralfl
15 years ago
and a few more ... for my quilting Bud! Our fav SW salsa pkg that will just fit inside the fabric envelope!

...and fabric envelopes for the Grands...

Glad to get this finished and posted...Gwen
nana24
15 years ago
Kate, Thanks for starting this. Your table runners are great. So many wonderful projects.
Marcia, I really like your attic windows and they inspire me to do something similar with some panels I didn't know what to do with.
Msmeow, I have those exact place mats I made, according to the date, in 1991. Don't even remember where the pattern came from; probably a magazine. I also did them on red and have used them every christmas since I made them. I have been contemplating how to clean them before I put them away this year. I usually just spot clean them but feel it is time to really clean them. Ha. I love them.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

TFS everyone. Love to see what everyone is doing.

Sally
rosajoe_gw
15 years ago
I love everything!!!!!!!!!! This was a very busy year for me and I plan to start Christmas porjects for ME right after Christmas is over!!!!!!!!!
I made 10 of theses for the princesses.
nanajayne
15 years ago
Rosa the aprons are darling. I love the fabric and I know those "Princesses" will also. Great the way you put the names one the yoke! TFS Jayne