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More holiday sewing with my new Splendid Christmas line for Moda Fabrics. This time its "Cardinal's Christmas Wreath" which is made from a Layer Cake of fabric and background cream fabric. This is a fun one to make with scraps too- just look for the right mix of reds and greens. This quilt pattern is written for two sizes: the larger one is 54 1/2" x 60" (that's the one in the photos and makes a nice lap quilt or larger wall quilt) and the smaller is 45" x 47 3/4".   This Cardinal reminds me of the dog we had growing up. He would stand, posing for us, in a grand position of attention, looking official and like he was surveying the world. I picture this bird in the same mindset, perched atop this wreath, watching that the Christmas skies are safe for Santa!  If you want to leave the side border panels off and have a more vertical wall quilt, the large would be 36" wide by 54 1/2" long. The small would be 27" inches wide by 47. I think I'll be making the small one up in the more vertical size because I have some smaller wall areas I'd like to put some decoration on when the holidays are here. The pattern uses simple patchwork piecing and some half square triangles. The main thing to pay attention to is cutting the variety of sizes for the cardinal piecing. I like to label my pieces sometime with a little note I tape or pin on with sizes if I cut them at the same time. I hope you have as much fun seeing the wreath and bird come together as I did! Check this out along with my other new Christmas patterns at your local quilt shop or my online shops! Happy sewing! 
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Time for COLOR PLAY with the Showering Stars table runner! I was touched to hear that some people were using the Showering Stars twin quilt pattern for making Quilts of Valor. What a beautiful way to give thanks to our Vets! Since I've just recently released the table runner and pillow cover version of the Showering Stars theme, I thought I'd use those files to mock up some color explorations that might help envision the patriotic or other holiday themes.   The first explorations were these two runners and looking at the pillows in red, white and blue (or perhaps a bluish silver added). Of course the next day I woke up early with more thoughts in my head...  I think the second one down in the group above is my favorite from this group because it mimics the blue of the stars area and red of the stripes in the American flag the closest. I intended these to be color studies for the table runners. But I realized that the table runner is 71" across which is also enough to make a twin quilt for width. If you were to stack about 6 of these you would have a 71" x 96" -ish quilt top. Add a little more borders if desired for a nice sized twin bed quilt!  Or for a nicely sized lap quilt, leave off the very end trails and stack three to make a 57" x 51"-ish quilt. This would also be nice with just the center section (take off the far right and left stars) as a 36" wide wall quilt for the 4th of July. The runner pattern is constructed as the center section first with the right and left star ends added so it would be easy to crop it this way. But how about some other seasons and holidays??  New Years Eve and the table is set with festive candles...imagine some metallic fabrics in gold and silver sparkling against a deep gray, black or midnight blue. Or springtime greens popping up fresh from the ground. Halloween black, orange and purple stripes for trick or treat fun. And warm and cozy fall colors for a Thanksgiving feast. The stars keep twinkling throughout the year! The original table runner and pillow covers are made up in Splendid for Christmas and you can see them here. Check your local quilt shop for patterns and the Splendid line from Moda Fabrics. I hope this color play was helpful for some showering stars inspiration!  I wanted to create a smaller version of Showering Stars that could be used in home decor for pillows and table decoration. Scaling the stars and trails down to half size made it possible to design with these elements for my Splendid collection in Christmas pillow covers and a table runner.  I find I do most of my holiday decorating with red and the red textured background in Splendid is rich and vibrant. I love it! The whites are the cream texture which has a subtle sheen when you see the white on cream background. Simple patchwork blocks and a few longer strips make the trails and patchwork and flying geese make the stars.  I like playing with the mix of scale by having the double stars pillow and the giant star pillow with a much bigger star. The pattern includes directions for making a simple envelope back for covers and its sized for a nice substantial 26" square Eurosham size.  The table runner is sized 16 1/4" x 71". If you wanted a shorter runner you could crop off the trails on the ends or even just use the center stars with trails (making it 32-36 inches long, depending on if you include the last white blocks on the trails).  One thing that was really touching to find out about my original Showering Stars pattern was that numerous people have made it up in patriotic colors for Quilts of Valor. I love this idea! I've also mocked up these pillow covers and runner into red, white and blues to give some additonal inspiration for those that want to explore a more patriotic theme! I'll share those on the next post!  Check out my three other new patterns that use Splendid on my etsy shop and lets get sewing for Christmas!
Joy and Delight is a new pattern I designed with my Splendid Christmas line for Moda Fabrics. I wanted a quilt that showed off the fun mix of fabrics in a layer cake with decorative frameworks for the blocks. But I also quickly decided it was also a good format for alternating blocks of two fabrics- as shown below- my mistletoe greenery and poinsettias which pop nicely against the saturated red texture in the Splendid fabric line.   For an extra pop of wintery fun I decided to have graphic snowflakes surround the outer border. Afterwards I thought this could even be fun for 4th of July in reference to fireworks! The snowflakes are made with subcutting joined strips so they actually go together rather efficiently. There is something really satisfying about making a big pile of snowflake blocks!  I found the Stripology ruler from Creative Grids was a handy tool for making lots of smaller cuts in an efficient way!  And here are blocks with flying geese and framing in progress.  This is a scrappier looking version of the quilt- the original concept using the mix of a layer cake. On this one the framing around the squares is in two colors- red and green for Christmas- and the snowflakes are in a more olivey green. This is next up on my list to make!   Check out Joy and Delight along with the other three new patterns to go with Splendid in my etsy shop. Lets get some Christmas projects going!!  This group of patterns for Splendid needed a quilt with some larger sections to show off the poinsettias and cardinals without cutting them up to much. I liked the idea of vertical columns that showed a few of the prints with the pointsettias as the main center.  To balance out the large panels, I liked adding smaller pieced blocks, arranged into elegant and lacy compositions, to form as a decorative top and bottom to the columns. Thin sashing, like window edges, run the length of the quilt. The result is a group of three columns, reminiscent of church windows, with light flooding through the stained glass images. They seem grand and ceremonial and festive for a celebration.  Many thanks to The Felted Pear (Susan!) for helping me with this and making those flying geese and HST and assembling the ends!  Nature celebrates Christmas with Splendid. I feel like I can hear the jubilant song of either the church choir or the choir of birds out in the trees. This quilt pattern in mocked up into three color versions in the pattern- cream, red, and charcoal. Although this is shown with Christmas fabrics, I think it would be striking with other large scale prints, like the William Morris fabrics that Moda produces with rich jewel tones.  There are four new patterns I'm sewing for Christmas quilts with Splendid. Check out this and the others: Joy and Delight, Cardinal's Christmas Wreath, and Showering Stars Table Runner and Pillows at my etsy shop.   I am so excited to share my new Christmas line with Moda Fabrics - SPLENDID. I know that if I want a project done for Christmas, it has to start early (plus my longarmer will thank me if I'm not giving her quilts at the last minute!). So even if its summer now, I'm getting my winter spirit on!  Nature celebrates Christmas with Splendor! The pops of red signal the season is here. Red berries adorn the greenery. Bright Cardinals dance among snowy branches. Poinsettias bloom with deep and rich color. Intricate snowflakes add lace to the scenery. Everywhere nature is decorating with rich color and design.   That’s why this line is called Splendid. Nature IS splendid. And you don’t have to go far to enjoy it! Just a trip outside will reunite you with the deep dark sky, the crisp pine needles, snowy dusting of the ground and winter birds singing joyful songs. Nature celebrates. And we celebrate with her, bringing in a touch of the grand red and the decorations of winter. We look forward to time with loved ones as we decorate and listen to Christmas music while we trim the tree with tiny lights, red sparkly baubles and glistening ornaments.  Outside its just as magical, just as grand. With Splendid I wanted to capture that feeling of color and richness. There are three holiday colorways- cream, red, green and charcoal. In the new quilts I designed (and I'll go into more detail on each next posts) I wanted designs that would show off the splendor of the deep red poinsettias and the bright lively Cardinals. My quilts include a range of sizes to showcase large prints while bringing in decorative framing that is fitting for the holidays. Whether you are making a bed quilt to slumber away in sweet Christmas Eve dreams or a special lap quilt to decorate the couch or wall, I hope the nature inspired holiday theme brings you joy and feels…splendid!   Splendid started shipping to shops in May 2019 so ask your local quilt shop if they have it!
Happy sewing! |
About ROBINDesigner of colorful florals for Moda fabrics. Modern to transitional quilt designer. Illustrator, sewist, crafter. 
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