Countdown to Christmas

My Christmas gift to myself (okay, one of my Christmas gifts to myself) was the Midwinter Reds fabric that I bought so that I could participate in the Temecula Quilt Co.'s Countdown to Christmas sew along.  It was a mystery quilt but it gave me a reason for buying this lovely fabric.  I had forgotten that Temecula Quilt Co. likes to work small.

Each of those tiny star blocks measure at 2 inches finished!  So do the four patches.

I think this little quilt goes so well with my Provo family room red sofa and the lovely red work pillows that my sister Lynette made for me years ago.  This year she gifted me with the darling Santa made from a red and white antique quilt.  So cute!  I also have a teddy bear made from an old red and white quilt. 

 Lynette always does such nice work.

If she had made this quilt, the stars on the edges of the quilt would still have their points!

And why is the quilt called Countdown to Christmas?  There are 24 of those 2 inch stars.

I completed sewing my last Christmas gift this morning.  Isn't she cute?  I found an old Riley Blake fabric panel on clearance while shopping with Lynette.  She is just waiting for be wrapped along with those boxes.  I think Glen must help for those boxes represent his Amazon shopping spree.

Little sewing projects

I have been working on several little projects.  I'm not sure why I'm suddenly in the midst of more than one sew along, but I am, most likely because they appealed to me.  I've finished the first two weeks of Lori Holt's Sampler Quilt sew along using her new book Quilty Fun.  I pre-ordered the book because I liked her Row Along sew along earlier this year but had too much going on to follow.  Quilty Fun includes all the directions for the Row Along as well as other projects inspired by the Row Along.

When they announced the Sampler Quilt sew along, I decided to play.  Perhaps I will still do the Row Along, but for now this is doable and fun and I already had fabric pieces and a bunch of white for the background.

These are my apples from week one.  The sparkly stars were the project for this week.  Fun!

I am rethinking the Temecula Quilt sew along.  I think she had me at "Midwinter Reds."  I love that fabric line and now I could use it so I went and bought a layer cake and here we are.  I forgot that Temecula likes to do things small, really small.

And it calls for 24 star blocks which finish at 2 inches!  This is hard for me, really.  I'm two thirds done and there are the rest of the pieces for the final 8.  Wish me luck.  I am also making 140 four patches.  They have been my leaders and enders and the muffin tin is helping me to kept them truly scrappy.

 This photo is proof that this will be a finished 2 inch star.

I also couldn't resist making this autumn table runner.  It was kitted at American Quilting and I loved all the deep fall colors.  My fabric leftovers would not support a runner this fallish.

The goal of course is to have it quilted and bound in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

Last, but not least is November's Saturday Sampler sponsored by American Quilting.

 Those square in a square blocks that were made in September now have a frame.  I now have fifteen 5 1/2 inch square in a square blocks.  Can't wait to see how it all turns out.

So, sewing little projects has kept me sane the last couple of weeks while I have been dealing with facial nerve pain.  I'm off to a dentist who specializes in this kind of pain.  It feels like 8 tooth aches with some jaw pain and sensitive lips thrown in for good measure and occasionally my right eye twitches as well.  Hopefully he has some answers.