Saturday 4 August 2012

Well I wish it could be Christmas everyday


Think Christmas Blog Hop - Day 6 - this means it's my turn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Whoo Hoo

Well I have been a busy little bee recently - hosting my own papercrafting blog hop and then preparing quilts for this one!  Honestly there is a trail of destruction behind me all over the house! Oh well.

Here is my first quilt:


It has honestly taken me ages to master yoyos - so much so I had to buy one of those plastic template things to get me started - when I worked it out (it took a while - getting old now that or the children pestering me ....) I used my sizzix circles to cut various sizes and made this tree.  This isn't an original idea - I think I have seen this done before a few times with yoyos or buttons but loved it so was determined to make my own one day! The clouds are white material stamped with a script stamp and padded to make them stand out.

The second quilt I had to add blue to to make it work:


but I am really pleased with it - I had to use a stamp for the Santa and reindeers as I didn't think I would be able to sew something that small!  Arrow is pointing right to our house in England!

My third:

again I used lots of circles - this time I sewed two circles together then snipped the wrong side and turned them out.  Finished him with buttons, machine sewed arms and a handsewn mouth - isn't he cute!
Then my fourth:

Went to town a bit on this one - nearly did a big faux par as I was about to iron it all on black material when I realised that Santa boots wouldn't show up!  Didn't have enough blue (can you believe?) so I took a piece of calico and dyed it blue using a distress ink pad.  Then I cut out all the pieces and using bonda web (it's the English form of fusible webbing) ironed them all into place and machine stitched round them - is this called free applique?? not sure but I just went round all the pieces with wonky straight stitches (if you know what I mean!).  The snowman is made up with two yoyos sewn right side down, his brown broom is three pieces of plaited wool (yarn).  I hand sewed the letters on the presents (using all our initials - I usually spell out BORN but decided to use ROBN as it's 1 away from Rob1n! (thought that was quite quirky!).  I used seed beeds for the wreath and tree decorations, the star is a button and I did free machine quilting letters for the sign.  The reindeer is hand drawn and has a little bell on his collar too!  The Zzzz's are hand sewn.
I hope you like my designs for this fabulous blog hop which has been hosted by Lesley and also to Mdm Samm for the inspiration.  Have been following the hop all week so to try and cool some of you down (I can't believe the temperatures you are having over the pond there in the States) - here is a picture of the view from my bedroom window in winter:


and here are my two munchkins having a snowball fight:


we can't have had snow this year as these were taken 18 months ago!

The rest of the schedule for today is:

and if you want a schedule for the full blog hop and also to see who came in the top two of the day then go to http://www.sewwequilt.com/.

Thank you so much for looking and please leave me a comment so that I know you have passed by! - Listening for sleigh bells from Solihull

69 comments:

Outback Crafter - Debra said...

Thanks for being in the blog hop. I love your world quilt, that is every child's wish.

Pauline said...

What a super collection of designs you made!

Sheila said...

Very creative designs , especially love the last one , you sure did a lot of work on it. Thanks so much for sharing .

Zuzan said...

What fun, love the house with Santa stuck, reindeer on roof with snow all around.
Thanks for all the blocks.

Cliodana said...

your block are beautiful. thank's for sharing. hope you come by my blog tomorrow,have a giveaway

QuiltSue said...

Great little quilts, but I specially love the "world" one.

Purl Buttons said...

I liked the clouds over the tree. I thought they were letters to Santa until you explained it was a script stamp. Thanks for sharing some creative ideas!

Laura VanVleet said...

Love all of your projects....especially the tree! How cool!

Lesley said...

Oh wow! You were a very creative elf! Love the yo-yo tree...and what a great way to use them! So glad you added the blue to the globe so Santa wouldn't get lost! And your little ROBN quilt is adorable! Thanks so much for participating and enjoy the rest of the hop!

Aurea said...

You have been a busy bee. I thought you might have been making a little quilt for each of the 12 days of chirstmas. Very nice.

PolkaDotClassic said...

Wow! You were busy, my favorite is the yo-yo x-mas tree
Thanks for sharing
Marta

Sparky said...

Good Morning Sunshine...your collection of fun pieces certainly welllll I cannot say..you will have to take a peak..you know.....
And your snow..gosh I miss that kind of snow...even living on the escarpment in Canada we have not had a lot of snow these past 3 winters...this cooled me this morning..lovely contribution..hope to see you again..

Calicojoan said...

What fun little quilts have have done. I love santa going down the chimney! As a big fan of the 7 dwarfs, I got a chuckle out of your photos!

Brenda said...

I was in love with the snowman wall hanging until I saw the little house! That is so cute! So many cute ideas there!

Carol Swift said...

This was such a fun visit to your blog with all the cute blocks and snowy pictures. Loved them! :O)

Vroomans' Quilts said...

WOnderful blocks and I love the dwarf helpers! And snow to cool us off in the heat - thank you.

Quilt Doodle Designs said...

Your blocks are fun! Nicely done! Love the snowy pictures...

Sandra said...

My gosh you have been so busy. So much hard work has gone into your quilts. They are are beautiful. I fell in love with your Blue Santa. He is so cute. Thank you for sharing all of your quilts and your tree outside your window is simply gorgeous.

Sandi T.
sandit1@sbcglobal.net

Mommarock said...

I havn't made yo yos yet.

carla said...

Love your blocks!!!! The snowman is adorable and sweet!!!!

Karen said...

You've made some wonderful blocks! I love your house block with Santa's boots sticking out of the chimney. It really sets the mood for thinking Christmas! :)

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

What wonderful projects and it was fun to see the winter wonderland photos! Don't you just love your Sizzix, I know I do!

pinsandneedles said...

You have been a busy bee! Thanks for sharing all your great ideas!

Nancy Biggs said...

Very creative. Love all your little quilts! Snow, too!

Ariane said...

I love all your little quilts!! They are gorgeous!! Thanks for sharing!!

Needled Mom said...

Okay...I'm cooled down now!!! The snow looks beautiful and your projects are lovely too.

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

I love your work! Yo Yo's are so much fun, what a great idea. and your snowman too cute and Santa, I love them all. It was 95 degress yesterday it looks nice to see snow, but just a little!

Cherry's Prairie Primitives said...

Love your designs!! Sants in the chimney is to cute!!

MoeWest said...

All your minis are lovely! I especially like all the fun details you added to the last one.

tink's mom said...

Such a creative mind you have. Wonderful work. Thanks so much for sharing.

Anonymous said...

HI! THANKS FOR YOUR POST-LOVE THE STUCK SANTA!

msstitcher1948@yahoo.com

Scrapbook-ChickADoodle said...

Very creative blocks! Your stuck Santa made me giggle...so cute! Thanks for sharing.

Daryl @ Patchouli Moon Studio said...

So cute all your quilts. Thanks for sharing.

StitchinByTheLake said...

I especially loved your snow pictures and your yo yo tree. :) blessings, marlene

Ruth Ann said...

Great blocks. I love how you used a variety of techniques. I need to do more of that.

barbara woods said...

great blocks

Carrie P. said...

Great mini quilts you made. Love those snowy pictures. Makes me long for cooler weather for sure.

Sandie @ crazy'boutquilts said...

How fun! Love the snowball fight! :-)

Lori said...

Your blocks are great. I love your snowmen
quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

Gill said...

I love your christmassy quilts - especially the reindeer on the roof!

Farm Quilter said...

Very creative!!! Love your blocks, but I must admit I really love your snow pictures the best :o) darling munchkins!!!

Susan said...

Thanks for sharing, your pillows are inspiring!

Morag Cutts said...

OMG - You've been busy creating lovely stuff! Great quilts :)

krislovesfabric said...

Love that yo-yo tree, nice work :)

sandra said...

Love your work , this blog hop is very helpful in giving me some ideas.

quiltmom anna said...

It is such a fun blog hop. Thanks for participating in it and sharing your yo yo tree. I think it might be fun to create Santa's beard with yo yo's and buttons. May be some day I will try yo yo's -hmmmm
Regards from Western Canada,
Anna

KatieQ said...

I love Santa's feet sticking out of the chimney. You really made great use of the yoyos. Thanks for sharing.

Linda said...

Your little quilts are so cute!
Your snow picture certainly felt good! I can just feel the coolness seeping over me! (102 F. outside right now!)

Jodi - usairdoll said...

Your mini quilts are too cute! You have been busy. I like your house with the reindeer and Santa's boots. What a cute idea. Great job and thanks for sharing all your projects with us.

Lisa said...

You have been busy! Love all your minis! I loved your reindeer. You light post looks like the one in Narnia!

Sharon Dawn said...

What a great collection you have created! Thanks for sharing them! Love your snowy picture!

Lynn M said...

Hello! Followed yesterday

Missus Wookie said...

What a COOL set of quilts - I like the ROBN boxes too.

Didn't you get snow in January/February? I know we did :)

Darla said...

Well, if I was not already in the mood you helped me find it! Thanks, for sharing. What fun!

Daryl @ Patchouli Moon Studio said...

Hey Sunshine Girl. I just wanted to let you know something. I am having a giveaway on my blog and you made a comment to be entered in the giveaway. But did you even realise that you are a NO-REPLY blogger? I do not have an email address for you. If you want to be entered, then please contact me. You might want to fix the no-reply on your blog too....I wrote a posting about this recently too. Since you have commented on other blogs in this blog hop, they won't be able to contact you either.

Lynn M said...

I love the house

Judy1522 said...

Great Blocks! Very fun and creative.

sew.darn.quilt said...

I love your blocks, the Yo-yo Christmas Tree, sew flippin' cute it's made me a follower!! =)

BizyStitches said...

Lovely parade of blocks. My favorite is the snowman. Fun to see your snow pictures with our temperatures ranging in the 100's. Thanks for sharing.

Darlington Delights said...

I love your Christmas house with Santa falling down the chimney! Adorable!

deborah said...

Thanks for sharing...all your blocks were darling!

Thearica said...

Your blocks are sew much fun! Thanks for hopping!

Unknown said...

Great Project, thank you for sharing your work with us.

God Bless!
Donna

Janet said...

Love your blocks! So very creative.

Sara said...

Very creative blocks...

Anonymous said...

Your mini quilts are lovely.
Thanks for hopping along with us.
Oh!!! Love the view from your bedroom window in winter. Just beautiful. Lucky you!

I still need to check on the paper craft hop... time, too little time!

And I know what you mean about the trail of destruction! LOL I need to clean up a bit o' mess around here as my sew group meets here tonight!

Mrs.Pickles said...

lovely work!! thanks for sharing!

Quilt n Queen said...

Your parade of cheery Christmas blocks is sweet 'eye candy'. Thanks for sharing...happy stitching!!

Maria Kievit said...

Love your little blocks! Thanks for all the work you put into it!.