I think I mentioned that I joined a bowling league. It's been a lot of fun. Once a quarter, we have a little party. On Halloween, they put on quite a Witches' Feast. This week was the Christmas party. When they reminded us last week about the party and gift exchange {translated: I'd completely forgotten we were having a Christmas party, was surprised it was so early and wasn't even aware that there would be a gift exchange}, the wheels in my brain started turning. I always bring a little something to stitch on by hand between my turns at bowling. And the ladies are always curious. I figured that since I already have sixty-eleven other projects that need finishing ASAP, why not start something new to bring for my gift exchange?
Holly is one of my favorite Christmas images. I even have Christmas "china" with holly on it {and I use the word china lightly because I got them in a box set of 8 place settings at KMart}. Last week before bowling I'd been admiring Lane's appliquéd Christmas quilt. I loved the machine appliqué and the scrappy non-Christmas-print-fabrics-but-still-Christmas-y look. I was going for that same sort of feel and came up with a 12" table topper.
It was really fun to put together. There are eighty - 1" squares in the border. I used 34 different fabrics and three different colors of quilting thread. I tried a little McTavishing in the center. Maybe someday I'll get it right. And I'm not completely happy with how the holly puffed up. I think I maybe stitched too close to the edge of the appliqué and if I'd moved out a teeny bit, it would have looked a little nicer.
The gift exchange was really fun. When you got a strike, you got to pick a gift out of the pile. I bowled a strike my first frame {which was a total fluke and the rest of my game was absolutely rubbish} and got the cutest little wooden nativity magnet set on a stable shaped magnet bard. As it turns out, the woman who brought the gift I got ended up getting my gift too. What funny coincidence
.While I was putting the mini together, I kept thinking of her and hoping she'd get it. She is the cutest lady and I just love her to pieces. She is always the first to come over and see what I'm doing that week and to admire my work. I almost put her name on the tag with the plan to hand it to her under the table and tell her to pretend she drew it out of the pile when she got her strike. But I left it up to chance. Mostly. I probably got us both on the naughty list because when I got there, I told her that she might want to pick what I brought. She winked and told me which one was hers. I'm glad it worked out because there were only a handful of gifts left, mine being one of them, when she got her strike. I'm sure that strategically unattractive gift wrapping had something to do with that. And since I had less than a week to put it all together, I just printed my label instead of doing an embroidered label.
Find tutorial and holly design here.
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The holly looks perfect, my dear. Your quilting is beautiful. I can't do McTavishing very well yet....
ReplyDeleteVery, very cute, and thanks for the nod! Did you free hand draw your holly, or did you find a source? I love how the centers are cut out in a curve. Lane
ReplyDeleteIt's very pretty! I'm glad you're still having so much fun with your bowling league. What a fun place to have friends :).
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