Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Merry Christmas!


Blessed Christmas Greetings
to one and all,
from Kevin the Quilter!
Keep on Quilting in 2020!


Posted by at 66 comments:

Friday, December 20, 2019

My Stop for the Holiday Favorites Blog Hop....

To all Quilters in all corners of the world!


And, a big ole' Merry Christmas from
East Central Missouri in the Heartland
of the United States of America!
Home of Kevin the Quilter,
and the Quilt Cave.

Welcome one and all
to my blog and 
to the final stop,
 my stop,
during the......

Special thanks specifically to my friend Lori of
Humble Quilts for organizing this event,
and to all of the wonderful bloggers
who have contributed
to this
festive read throughout
the Christmas season.
I know I have enjoyed reading each and every blog
post from the following bloggers:














Truthfully, there is nothing I can share
with you all that my fellow bloggers
haven't already shared
in their own
beautiful way.

However, in retrospect,
I have come up with some of my
own personal Holiday Favorites
that I would like to share with you all.

My family has ALWAYS been
close and celebrated Christmas
together.
This photo is of a 2-3 year old
Kevin the Quilter
along with my sis
and my maternal Grandma.
Notice the tinsel tree?

Music has ALWAYS been a huge part
of the Christmas season 
for me and my family.
Listening to old records,
singing in Church,
performing in Christmas plays
and Handel's Messiah,
music is ALWAYS present
during this time of year.
I know several people who don't
like listening to Christmas music
 for various reasons.
As for me, I think it is some of the
happiest, and most beautiful music
ever made.  I would gladly listen to it
at most any point in the year!  LOL

And, my beautiful mother always
sings a song she made up....
"Christmastime is secret time...."
She has sang this to my
family for years, or
any time she goes shopping
or starts wrapping presents.
It's always fun taking my
parents (on the right)
 Christmas shopping.
This year, we ran into
my aunt and uncle
on the left.
Can you believe my
mom and uncle are twins?


As for decorating here at
the Quilt Cave......

I used to be quite elaborate.....
This was at the old house,
circa 2014.

 I still decorate to an extent.

The nativity is a huge part of my
Christmas Celebration.


As far as decorating with quilts....
well, that has been happening
in my family for quite some time.
As most of you know,
I come from a family of quilters.

Giving and receiving quilts at
Christmastime is a part of my heritage.

I received this beautiful quilt for
Christmas when I was
12 years old in 1986 from my
Aunt Mae.  She had a profound influence
upon me in the quilting and cooking
departments.
I certainly didn't receive my "scrappy"
quilt gene from her though and you
can tell that from this gorgeous quilt
above.

"I came from a time when we had to
make due with EVERYTHING,
and if I don't HAVE to now,
Ima notta gonna!" Aunt Mae
She always told me this when
we talked about her quilt
making adventures.

This is the
 guest room at the Quilt Cave.
I love decorating with this quilt
as it reads more "winter" than
Christmas.

Even if a quilt is not necessarily
classified as a "Christmas quilt,"
simply by adding jolly
pillows, and a
jolly pup.....
et voila.......
instant Christmas cheer!

This quilt hung over
the railing
has special meaning
as it is the very first quilt
I ever made for myself!
I used Bonnie Hunter's
"Talkin' Turkey" pattern, and
Bonnie herself signed the label
for me!


Mr. and Mrs. Chicken
keep watch over the
Christmas trees while
sitting atop a piece of an antique
quilt a friend gave to me.
It is sized perfectly for this table.
The sleigh at the bottom
has been used to keep
Christmas cards as
they are received
for many years now.

Vintage Santa salt and pepper
shakers that were my Aunt Mae's,
adorn the table this time of year.
I also love sending and receiving
vintage Christmas cards.

Baking while decorating
and wrapping gifts occur
 this time of year.
This is fresh Apple Danish
made the easy way with
refrigerator crescent rolls
and fresh, homemade
apple butter.

Cooking hearty, savory meals
with rosemary fills the house
with the aroma of hearth
and home.

A quilted tree skirt courtesy
of a good quilting friend
is the perfect finishing touch
for this Christmas tree.

Over sized ornaments
hung on door knobs
dress up even the most
over looked yet regularly
used objects.

Thanks to Cousin Phyllis,
my grandma's treadle sewing
machine is decorated this
Christmas.
(The treadle belonged to my
maternal grandmother who is
pictured with me and my sis
when we were small children above.)

A woolen stocking
atop antique quilts
on a quilt rack proclaims
"Christmas is near!"

Old wreaths hung in place
with twine from hay bales
are in various locations
around the outdoors here
at the Quilt Cave.

As for Christmas Eve....
we must hear Dad read the
true Christmas story to us.


As for Christmas Day....
It is NEVER complete
without a slice of
homemade Red Velvet Cake.
Boxed cake mix will NEVER do!
This is genuine homemade
all the way...usually
by my Sis.

And, Christmas Day
is definitely not
complete without
MY FAMILY!


And, nothing.......
NOTHING...
can ever replace my favorite 
holiday memories I have in my
heart this time of year.



In closing, I would like to share with you
one of my more popular tutorials....... 
"Oh, Christmas Tree"
Mini Quilt

I am going to share the pattern I came up with
for these great little holiday presents.
I hope you enjoy it, and make some for your
friends this Christmas season.
They are quick, easy, AND.....
they use up the smallest of bits in your scraps!

You can create a mini quilt like I have or
you could insert some insulbright to make them into potholders.
There are a ton of different ways to embellish
or display them.

I hope you enjoy this mini tutorial
and whip some up for your quilty friends this
Christmas!

You all KNOW I am NOT high tech!
Fortunately, this little project isn't either.
There is no pdf,
so, just jot down the measurements.

For each "Oh, Christmas Tree"
mini quilt
you will need the following.....
working from your smallest bits of scraps......

For the Christmas tree.....
1: 1.5" square of yellow (star)
1:  1.5" square of brown (trunk)
14: 1.5" squares of green (branches)

For the background.....
I used neutrals, but, you can use any color...
(I probably wouldn't use green though! LOL)
2: 1.5" x 8.5" strips
4:  1.5" x 4" strips
2:  1.5" x 3.5" strips
2:  1.5" x 3" strips
2:  1.5" x 2.5" strips
2:  1.5" x 2" strips

Each tree block will be roughly 
8.5" wide x 8.25" height
before quilting.
Lay out block before assembling. 

Assembly:

These are your top and bottom rows.

2nd row from top.....the star

3rd row

4th row......isn't this fun?

5th row

6th row using up all those bits of green

7th row.....the trunk

You can strip piece 1.5" strips if you would like.
I just enjoyed working from the very
bottom of the scrap chain using 
little bits.
Do what works best for you, but, 
use variety!

Sew strips together in the proper order.
Here I sewed two strips together at a time.....

And before long.......

TAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!
A cute litte Christmas tree block you can have fun with.

To finish mine, I cut a 10" square of backing fabric,
and a 10" square of batting
then I stitched in the ditch on each of them.

Squared them up, and then
I used 1: 2.25" strip width of fabric to 
bind each little quilt.


ENJOY!!!!!!
Merry Christmas!
Let me know if you make some!
Thanks for visiting me during the
Holiday Favorites
Blog Hop!

Thanks for all of the encouragement!
Keep on Quilting!
Kevin the Quilter

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