Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Ultimate Home Decor Blog Hop (plus giveaways!)

I'm so excited that it's finally my day to show you what I made with my surprise Winter collection.  Keep in mind, my ambassador box arrived in December, before Christmas.  And when I realized that the Winter collections were for a home-decor themed hop AND saw what collection I had, I knew pretty much right then what I would make.  A Christmas tree skirt!


My surprise collection was Glacier View, a lovely collection of blues with a winter theme designed by Kathy Engle.  The designs include penguins, moose, snowflakes, trees, and other nature-inspired designs.  I love that it's winter-y without being red and green.  There are so many possibilities of what I could do for winter decor!

Glacier View
Of course since I was thinking about all this at Christmas time, it meant my tree was up, which meant my tree skirt was out.  Except it wasn't a tree skirt, as one of my friends pointed out years ago, it was a tree coaster--no opening.  I've been wanting to make myself a real tree skirt for years, and it was all starting to come together.  On Black Friday I bought the Daily Deal from Missouri Star Quilt Company that was a new template for a quilt-as-you-go hexagon.  They did a You Tube tutorial on this template and one of the samples was a tree skirt.  And then less than a month later, I get the perfect fabric!  Meant to be!

Aren't those penguins the cutest??
My husband gave me EQ8 for my birthday (also last December).  I'm still learning how to use it, but I was able to play around and get a hexagonal top that I could fill in with fabric swatches.  This gave me a basic layout of the hexagons on the front. Glacier View has 21 prints and I used them all.


Since this is quilt-as-you-go, the back also shows on the front as the skinny sashing around each hexagon.  I was careful in my planning as to how the backing fabrics would look on the front, but not on the back.  So imagine my surprise when I finished it and realized that the back looked like a snowflake!  I love this almost as much as the front!  I knew the finished tree skirt would be reversible due to the nature of quilt-as-you-go but this was even better than I expected!


I used scraps of Hobbs batting leftover from other projects.  Don't tell the quilt police, but I used a combination of Heirloom 80/20 and Heirloom 80/20 bleached batting.  This was great for using up leftover batting bits. 

Items used in this project were provided to me by Island Batik, Hobbs, Aurifil, and Schmetz.


Before stitching, I started with a brand new Schmetz Microtex needle, Chrome.  These babies are sharp!  For piecing the hexies, I matched my thread to the backing fabric that folded over and shows on the front.  I used 1128, 2770, and 2785, all in 50 weight.  Then to join them, I needed a thread that worked with ALL the background fabrics, since the stitching would be zigzag and the fabrics touched, so the stitching would both show and be against multiple fabrics at the same time.  I landed on 2735 as the best color compromise.  Both the 2735 and the 2770 came from the Como Color Builder that Aurifil sent.

I'm really quite pleased with the finished tree skirt!  And I love that the quilt-as-you-go nature of this project meant that when I finished the piecing, I had a finished tree skirt!


You'll have to forgive the lack of Christmas tree in the photo shoot!  I had planned to try to find a store that has a tree set up year round but, well, stores are closed, and so is access to the local parks.  I have one evergreen tree in my yard and it's small.  So I switched to the Japanese maple in front of the house for a pop of color.  Even though this is a Christmas decor object, I took these photos on Easter Sunday!  Here's a peek at the bunny on my door :)


Now for a giveaway!  I have a fabulous winter-themed Glacier View set of fabrics: 3 fat quarters and 3 strips about 13" x WOF.  Leave me a comment to enter, and visit me on facebook for another entry.  Contest runs through the blog hop which ends May 26th.  You can comment about anything, but if you need a prompt tell me about a home decor or other non-quilt project you've made.
Prize package!  WOF strips on the left, fat quarters on the right
a Rafflecopter giveaway

And Island Batik is giving away a precut bundle of gorgeous Cascadia fabric designed by Claudia Pfeil this week! That's a pack of 10" squares AND a strip pack of 2 1/2" strips.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please visit my fellow Island Batik Ambassador Megan Best of Best Quilter to see the gorgeous wall hanging and table runner set she made with Glacier View.  And be sure to check out all the Ambassadors this month for some beautiful fabrics and amazing home decor projects!  And Island Batik posts a new precut giveaway every Friday during the hop!

May 4
Janet Yamamoto ~ Whispers of Yore
Carol Moellers ~ Carol Moellers Designs
May 5
Carolina Asmussen ~ Carolina Asmussen
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt
May 6
Megan Best ~ Best Quilter
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
May 7
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Denise Looney ~ For the Love of Geese
May 11
Pamela Boatright ~ Pamela Quilts
Michelle Roberts ~ Creative Blonde
May 12
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Sandra Walker ~ mmm! quilts
May 13
Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack’s Blog
May 14
Vasudha Govindan ~ Storied Quilts
Carla Henton ~ Create in the Sticks
May 18
Joanne Hart ~ Unicorn Harts
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
May 19
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for Quilts
Sally Manke ~ Sally Manke
May 20
Jennifer Fulton ~ Inquiring Quilter
Jennifer Strauser ~ Dizzy Quilter
May 21
Sharon Riley ~ Sew Riley Designs
Alison Vermilya ~ Little Bunny Quilts
May 25
Gail Renna ~ Quilt Haven Threads



 

33 comments:

  1. I just recently saw the tutorial for this hexagon. Yep it definitely was meant to be that you made this project, very cute. You'll be all ready for Christmas this year;)

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  2. I love the batiks and the dual nature of your tree skirt--with the snowflake on the back side! The bordered hexies are so nifty! Just lovely!

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  3. wow. gorgeous. i just love how it turned out double sided like that. thank you for sharing and inspiring. right now i am on a pillow streak. my husband just looks at me. LOL the two kitties are loving hiding behind them. LOL i am loving the splashes of color they bring to the house.
    quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

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  4. Love your tree skirt. Well, for the last several weeks I have been making masks. I have made pillows, but that was many years ago. Last week I took a break from the mask making, and started a skinny twin for the Youth Detention Center which is this years guild project. We are wanting to introduce color into their sterile surroundings. I will work on it some more today and then will get back to mask making.
    Nancy A: SewingGranda@gmail.com

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  5. I love batiks . I love blues. I love hexies. I make the microwave bowl cozies, and table runners/toppers. I have several toppers in hexagon and octagon shape.

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  6. Oh, that icy blue is just gorgeous. I think it looks grand with your Japanese maple!

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  7. My hexie loving heart is on fire! Gorgeous!!!

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  8. When we moved into the home we're in now, I made matching upholstered cornices for the 3 banks of windows in our living room & dining room. This evened out the different heights of the sliding glass door and the adjacent corner windows that were shorter.

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  9. Love the tree skirt! And the fact that it turned out reversible without you planning is great.

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  10. Wow...this was some post!!! Brilliant work..I love the skirt around the Japanese Maple...
    It is kinda what now-a-days are like....all mixed up. Thank you for sharing.

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  11. Love your beautiful way with the colors in the hexie tree skirt..and love the way you displayed it in your yard!!

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  12. Just this morning, I was watching a live demo from a great shop in Detroit Lakes, MN. The owner was talking about Island Batiks and what a good company they were to do business with. She wanted to show newest items for Christmas and she pulled out bolts of this line of fabrics out of three big boxes that were packed full. So great to see it being used in an interesting way. Love it!

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  13. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!! I LOVE your tree skirt! And it looks lovely under the tree! It'll be SEW pretty to use at Christmas!
    Oh, and did I say that I LOVE it????

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  14. Love the blue and white and batiks yum your tree skirt is awesome. I have been working on a bunch of UFOs hope to finish quite a few

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  15. This is so pretty and
    love the shape of it.
    I've been sewing up
    storage bags for a
    craft show in Nov.
    Carla from Utah

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  16. My non quilting this year , and some a carry over from 2019, has been making lined curtains, and so far have made, finished and hung 10, and another 2 that were not lined. I did tell myself after the last two were done, that I could play with the batiks to my heart's content. I did!!! Beautiful blues for you, they all go so well together, a great start for the Christmas season, and lovely round the tree, is that a Maple? Love the setting.

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  17. Blue is my favorite quilt color. Home dec project well let's see. I have quilts hanging on walls everywhere. My grandsons went around and put their names on the ones they want when I die. Kind of funny they fought over a couple of them.

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  18. My dil has been wanting a tree skirt that is mostly white. I think adding velvet and satin to white on white prints would look beautiful in this pattern. Thank you for sharing!! (BTW, I love your blue one!)

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    1. Oh, whites would look lovely! And if you wanted a hint of color, you could use a color for the bigger hexies that form the back and border on the front. A light blue even would be pretty. It's a great pattern; I really enjoyed making it.

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  19. Your tree skirt is delightful! And it looks like the tree likes it too! The last non-quilt thing I sewed was a cover for my sewing machine. It's pretty, but more important, it keeps the cat away from the spool pin when I'm not around. She had figured out how the pry the thread spool off and made this part of her daily ente3rtainment. Now she sticks her paws under the cover, but hasn't been able to get it off yet.

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  20. Your hexie tree skirt is so pretty! I love blues. My current non sewing project is making little fabric boxes for gifts for friends. Currently I have six completed. Thank you for your pretty fabric give-away!! warner.dale@gmail.com

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  21. What a great idea for a Christmas tree quilt! My first quilting project was a set of attic window wall hangings - one with a day time sky showing through the windows, and the other with a night time sky showing. I still have them hanging on my walls. Thanks!

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  22. Super cute, Emily!!! I love how the hexies have little frames around them! And love the photo with the Japanese maple! Great job! No more Christmas tree coaster--yay!

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  23. your tree skirt is gorgeous. I love a blue skirt on a Christmas tree. It is a nice change from the more traditional colors. The surprise snowflake is lovely.
    I once made a headboard cover for my Mom's brass headboard. She had complained about hitting her head on it. So I made a simple hanging cover for the rail part that was at the end of the mattress.

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  24. Wow, this is the perfect project for those fabrics. I have the moose and the trees in some of my lines too! This is such a smart project because it is QAYG. I need to do one of theses again....I too love the snowflake you got on the back!

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  25. Your tree skirt is so gorgeous! Those blues really sing together, don't they? They are just so brilliant and rich. Placing the skirt around your tree outside made me laugh! Christmas will be here before we know it! I have made curtains and valances for my home, but I really love to paint and change my wall colors...no white walls here!

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  26. That Christmas tree skirt is beautiful with that fabric. My dad would have loved it. Our Christmas tree every year growing up was always decorated in blue: blue ornaments, blue lights, blue garland. That was how my dad wanted it. He would have been thrilled with a tree skirt like that.

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  27. Love this! I have been meaning to make something with those hexies but haven't. I loved that blue Christmas collection as it really extends nicely into January!

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  28. You made good use of all your Christmas and birthday goodies to make a gorgeous tree skirt. The back is as fun as the front. Congrats on a beautiful finish!

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  29. I love your tree skirt! I am getting ready to finish my own Christmas tree skirt, finally. Every year I think, "I wish I had a nice one", and every year I pull out a blanket, or an old quilt, or sometimes something more embarrassing, like yardage. Finally, I thought, "Why am I doing this? I'm a quilter--I can do something about it without too much trouble, and it's not like I don't know when Christmas is coming around." Well, the tree skirt I thought would be under the tree in 2019 might just make it for 2020, if I can get my act together...

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  30. Love your tree skirt! I have made bedroom curtains!
    nikilsend(at)outlook(dot)com

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  31. I seem to have lost my quilting mojo at the moment so have been knitting baby blankets and cardigans. Thank you for sharing your lovely project

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  32. Last non quilt project I made was a wall hanging for my sewing area.

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