A New Product for my Etsy Shop

After finishing my long list of Christmas Quilts, I was in the mood to try something different - and SMALLER - like placemats!  The perfect small quilting project.

I have a HUGE collection of batiks, so I spent a couple of days cutting some of the smaller pieces up into 5" Charm Squares.  Now I have this wonderful palette to pick from when I am designing each set.  Just like getting a jumbo box of new crayons when I was a kid.  Such fun!

I love the crisp "hand" of the batiks, and the "artsy" look they give to projects.

So far, I have completed two sets and have listed them in my Cotton Cellar Etsy Shop.  Etsy now lets me add 10 pictures for each listing, so if you want to see more, including the gorgeous batik fabric I used for the backs, just Click Here.  They are pretty enough to be reversible!

I tried a new batting for this project, Quilters Dream 80/20 Fusion, and I have to say, this stuff is awesome!  I haven't tried it in a quilt yet, but it's perfect for placemats!  The fusible side is very, very subtle - just looks like a few light strands of spider web - but it holds perfectly.  I used 505 basting spray to secure the tops, and the Fusion is fused to the backs.
Love, Love, Love it!

(note - while their website lists 2 Fusion options, Cotton or Poly, they have recently discontinued them and now offer an 80/20 blend of Fusion, which is what I used.)

Now it's time to step away for a bit and get some of my last minute Christmas prep items done.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Quilt Final Reveal

It's done!  The first king-sized quilt I've quilted on my APQS George!  This quilt was so satisfying to work on.  I like to try different techniques on each quilt, and I sure got a lot of practice hours in on this one!

I used a free-hand all-over holly leaf design in the center of this one, but followed a diagonal grid versus the random meandering holly leaf design I used in the previous Christmas quilt (here).  I didn't count them all, but that's a lot of holly leaves.

I used a twisted rope design in the inner border, and straight lines/piano keys in the outer border.

Thanks to the Quilt Suspension System I installed, this 104" square quilt was a joy to work on.

I used a pattern called Wander Through the Woods by Hope Nelson, but I enlarged both the size and number of the trees and added borders to scale it up to a king size.

So that is the last of the quilts I committed to finishing before Christmas.  Now I can enjoy the season and start a new project.

Merry Christmas!

The Last Christmas Quilt

I've been busy quilting the last Christmas Quilt on my list for this year.  I was afraid I wouldn't get them all finished in time, but it looks like I'll have time to spare for a change!

I really don't know why I was so nervous about quilting a king-size quilt on George, because it's going really well.  I still prefer making smaller quilts, but this is very do-able on this monster of a machine.  I'm really enjoying the quilting process and if all goes well, I should finish quilting it this weekend, so check back soon for pictures of the finished quilt.