IT'S CHRISTMAS.........

and my stop on the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop hosted by the lovely and very generous Sarah @Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  There are the most wonderful giveaways on this hop (and I'm not talking charm packs), and Sarah is giving instructions for a new quilt, you'll find all the details at the end of the post.

So now, without any further ado (unusual I admit) is my contribution to the hop...........

It's Christmas

and it's partner, the second of the matching pair............

I Believe

We all love cushions (pillows) and they are great for decorating your home at Christmas,  who can have too many cushions?   So I started  doodling and I came up with, 

this design.    I wanted to keep it simple as I'm a simple kind of girl (no, I didn't mean in the head, who said that?), I'm not a designer and I don't have any fancy equipment, just a pad of graph paper and a pencil.

Next I found some large sheets of graph paper so I could draw it out actual size, I bought it years ago for some abandoned project.   Yes it is rather faint, but this paper is expensive and I thought if I did it faintly I could rub it out and reuse it, waste not want not and no I am not mean!   It was a case of making it bigger and working out the template sizes. Only thing was it took a while to get the  snowman right.

So I measured it for length and width,  halved a sheet of A4 sheet of paper down the centre, and drew the shape to the measurements, and it worked.  Then it was just a matter of cutting it out, opening it up and checking it was what I wanted.  It did take a couple of goes to get it right though.  Once I had sorted my snowman all the other elements were much easier.

This is what I did to make my 18 inch cushion.  If you have done this kind of appliqué  you may find some of this a bit basic but I'm going through it all for the benefit of new quilters who may not have done it before.

First I cut my background fabric, I used Galaxy Stars from Makower, I love this fabric, I cut a 19 inch square.  Appliqué can distort the background so I cut it bigger by just half an inch, it doesn't distort it much though so if you are worried about trimming it later just cut it to size.

Next I traced the templates on to the paper side of Heat'n'Bond Lite, I use this one but any other make will do.  Cut the shapes out roughly, don't cut on the line at this point.  Now iron them onto the back of the fabric you are using, paper side up.  I used just whatever fabric I had, I didn't buy any specially because you need such small pieces and you don't need Christmas fabrics, just a fabric that represents a wrapping paper you would use for wrapping your prezzies.  When the fabric has cooled cut the shapes out on the line, peel off the paper backing and it's ready to be ironed onto the background.  It will still need to be machined or hand stitched though or it will come off again.

First I added the snowman, I centred it about 2 inches or so from the bottom and ironed it on.  I didn't  add all the pieces of the snowman at this point because the nose and arms don't adhere as well and I didn't want them to start lifting while I was stitching the body and scarf in place. 

I used a buttonhole stitch about length 2 and width 2.4 to attach the pieces, although I reduced it for the stick arms and carrot nose as they were so much smaller, down to about 1.5 stitch length and 1.6 width, I just did a few stitches and adjusted it accordingly.  The good thing about using buttonhole stitch is I don't need to use a stabiliser, if you prefer a zigzag make sure you use a tear away stabiliser the back.

It doesn't matter which side you put the scarf on, I just made it the opposite side to the hat to balance it more, but I ended up with the long side different on one of them, it really doesn't matter, does it look wrong to you?

I cut different size pieces of paper for the parcels and snowballs trying for size and ended up using 11/2 inch squares and 11/2 inch circles using seven snowballs in I Believe, and seven parcels in It's Christmas, but you can use however many you want.   I just drew around the top of a reel of thread for the circles, the size isn't vital, for the parcels I just cut a larger piece of Heat'n'Bond, ironed it to the back of the fabric, and when it cooled cut it down to size using my rotary cutter.

Then it was just a matter of arranging the parcels or snowballs how I wanted leaving a space of a couple of inches or so at the top and sides and angling the parcels so they looked like they were being juggled.

At this point I decided to add two larger parcels at the bottom for balance which are a bit bigger at 1 3/4 x 2 1/4 and 1 3/4 x 3 1/4  but I know they are a bit different on one as I cut it slightly small, there again I could just say it's a design thing..........   I was going to add snowballs but when I tried them it just looked like it needed a bit more colour.   I used my ruler to line them up at the bottom.

I added the hat so it looked like it had fallen off.  The hat caused me problems, my original one was far too small so I made it bigger, I made it black and it disappeared.  After I tried another couple using different fabrics and I eventually realised it wasn't going to stand out unless I made it bright to show up on the dark background so I matched it to the scarf, duh!

The arms ere trickier, I just ironed them on and hoped for the best, you could place yours a little higher if you want, you may want to cut them a little shorter though so they don't get too near the edge.  I just took my time stitching in and out of the sharp points.

After all the pieces were stitched on it was the fun time, decorating it.

I made the smile with french knots using two strands of stranded cotton, but if you are not happy with that you could just use a black Pigma pen.  Same with the letters on the snowballs, I lightly marked them using a fabric pencil and backstitched them with two strands of black, but you can use the Pigma pen here too.

The letters may be a little wonky and the smile may be crooked, but add it all together and it says 'Handmade with Love' (hysterical giggles).

After I finished Believe, I had a thought that if I had added the snowballs using needle turn and stitched the letters first I could have stuffed the snowballs with toy filling to give a 3D effect, just saying........

For the parcels I used two strands of cotton and stem stitch for the ribbons, I didn't mark them, I just tried to keep them small enough and figured that being thrown in the air the ribbons would be all over the place anyway.

There again, if I had thought to use a narrow ribbon like this at 1/8 th of an inch wide,

it would work just as well, just remember to stitch through the knot so it doesn't come undone.

Three tiny black buttons added the finishing touch.  I didn't measure it just did it by eye.

Then I made another one, like it?  I stayed with the seven snowballs but as EMILY has only five letters I added snowflakes at the ends in long stitch going down in a centre hole.  But, there is no rule to say you have to use a certain number of snowballs or what size they have to be, the name can be shorter or longer.  My granddaughter is going to love this.

I layered Emily's top with a blended batting and calico, then I quilted it by stitching around all the shapes, I didn't quilt the background as I didn't need to with the batting I used.  Next I cut two pieces of fabric for the back 18 1/2 x 14 inches and made a half inch double hem on one of the long sides of each piece to make an envelope back.  If you haven't done this before put the top face up and the two back pieces face down on top, matching the long raw edges top and bottom.  Pin well, then machine around using a 1/4  inch hem, I do two rounds of stitching to make it secure, especially where the envelope joins are at the sides.  Then I zigzag around to neaten the edges and snip the corners.  Turn it right sides out and carefully poke out the corners, don't use anything sharp though or it could go through the fabric and then you would be sad :-(

Now here is my confession, although I had bought enough fabric I decided I love it far too much to use on the backs, especially as I had already discovered my supplier had ran out.  Fabrics change and I may not be able to get any more, so I had a root around to see if I had anything else I could use.  Oh yes, I found a fabric I bought eleven years ago at Joannes in Florida.  It was when I was a new quilter and didn't know much about fabrics, I knew it washed ok so that's what I used instead.  You see I don't like using favourite fabrics for backs, in fact I would rather use something I got in a sale.  Are you shocked at my meanness?

Back to the cushion, after trimming the corners and turning I stitched all the way around at 1/4 inch to stop the back showing through to the front.

With the two others I didn't even quilt them,  I just lined the back with calico and added the envelope back.

 I think they look just as good unquilted, what do you think?  I may go back and do 1/4 inch stitching around the edge though.  The back doesn't show as it would on the quilted version but it just gives a nice finish, what do you think?

And there you have it, a veritable trio of Christmas cushions, I Believe, It's Christmas, and Emily.

Wouldn't they make lovely Christmas mini quilts too?

It is Christmas (we are pretending anyway, shhhh) and I believe in spreading the love, so, here is the link to MY TEMPLATES in case you would like to make one.  Make sure you print it out at 100%, there are two pages.  I don't have any fancy programmes remember, the templates are hand drawn.   If you make one (or both) of the  cushions I would love it if you sent me a pic  of your finished cushion,  but do you know what would really make me happy?  If you like my design and use it it would be wonderful if you shared the love and peace of Christmas by making a small donation to a children's charity of your choice, just a few pennies, whatever you can afford.

If you are getting a jump on Christmas check out the Origami Christmas Tree I made last year.

IMPORTANT - a number of commenters from the hop are no reply, this means Sarah wont be able to contact you if are drawn for a prize and haven't added your email address.  Please check you are not one of them, especially if you are Google +  Even if you have changed your settings they can revert.

I have had an increase in no reply comments recently including some asking questions, if you have asked me a question and not received a reply or you would like to ask me a question but don't want to leave a comment you can always find my email address on my About Me page, smilesfromkate@gmail.com

As if great holiday ideas and a tutorial weren't enough,  this year Sarah has arranged  something extra special!   The lovely folks over at Free Spirit Fabrics have donated not just one item for a giveaway, but THIRTEEN! And it's pretty drool-worthy stuff, too - it's Tula Pink's new holiday line, Holiday Homies!!!

Sarah has six design rolls, six layer cakes, and one fat quarter bundle to give away - and here's how it works! Visit each stop on the hop, including Sarah's blog, and leave a comment on each post for the day. At the end of the hop, Sarah will do a giveaway for each day by putting everyone's name in the hat who commented that day (from all that day's hop-blogs), and drawing a winner for that day. That will be twelve winners - the design rolls and layer cakes. Then all all the names from all the days go in a hat a name is drawn out  for the fat quarter bundle! Only one prize per person, though - let's spread it around a bit! So carve out a bit of time to visit all the blogs and comment - it makes the time bloggers spend on each post worth it when we see what people think about our work!

Don't forget visit  Sarah @Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Jan @The Colourful Fabriholic today and leave comments on their posts too to increase your chances of winning.  If you haven't seen any of the posts until now you can find Sarah's first post here, you will need to start there if you want to make the Christmas quilt she has designed.  It is not too late to comment on any of the blogs, you get one entry for each and every comment you make.

Here is the full list of all the blogs and schedule in case you missed any, I'm updating the links so they should take you direct to the post:

Friday, July 14th

From My Carolina Home

Vrooman's Quilts

Pampered Pettit

Saturday, July 15th

Citymousequilter

Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Quilting Fun

Sunday, July 16th

Swimming in a Sea of Estrogen

Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting

Monday, July 17th

Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life

Crayon Box Quilt Studio

Tuesday, July 18th

Seams To Be Sew

Stitchin at Home

Domestic Felicity

Wednesday, July 19th

The Colorful Fabriholic

                   Smiles From Kate  This is me!

Thursday, July 20th

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting

The Inquiring Quilter

Selina Quilts

Friday, July 21st

Katie Mae Quilts

Quilted Blooms

QuiltFabrication

Saturday, July 22nd

Devoted Quilter

Kathy's Kwilts and More

All Points of the Compass

Sunday, July 23rd

Mel's Quilting Blog

Resourceful Momma

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting

Monday, July 24th

Anja Quilts

PickingandStitching

A Dream and a Stitch

Tuesday, July 25th

Christina's Handicrafts

Abyquilts

Kathy's Kwilts and More

Wishing you all love and peace.

With smiles from
Kate x

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