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:

Dec 9- Lori, https://humblequilts.blogspot.com/

Dec 10 Katy, https://katyquilts.net/

Dec 11  Beth, https://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/

Dec 12 Diane, https://www.butterflythreadsquilting.com/ 

Dec 13 - Kyle,  http://kyleredente.blogspot.com/

Dec 14  Kelly,  http://pinkadotquilts.blogspot.com/

Dec 15  Juliann, https://chasingstories.wordpress.com/

Dec 16   Sue, https://suehoover.blogspot.com/

Dec 17  Lizzy,  https://gone2thebeach.blogspot.com/

Dec 18 Barb, https://funwithbarbandmary.blogspot.com/

Dec  19 Judy, https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/

Dec 20-  Kevin, http://kevinthequilter.blogspot.com/

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