Merry Christmas!

Christmas snuck up on me like it does every year. I still managed to make a few quilted things in addition to the usual Christmas baking extravaganza!

I quilted a sweet modern vintage Chevy table runner designed by Cynthia Frenette. It looked super cute hanging from my mantel and is all wrapped up now waiting for its special delivery.

I free-motion quilted a loopy line between wavy double lines. I wanted it to look like cool winter wind. It was a lovely unexpected surprise that it looks like tire tracks in the snow! There are two designs in "Merry and Bright". I choose the table runner. If you would like to make your own, you can find the pattern here.

I've wanted to make a mini muffin tin advent calendar for a few years and finally did it! No more expensive store-bought calendars filled with cheap chocolates for my daughter!

She has really enjoyed it so far and is sad that there are only two days left to open. I had lots of fun scrapbooking the magnetic sheets. I even made a pipe cleaner wreath and a sled out of mini popsicle sticks!

I also made four Log Cabin Kitty potholders. I will share more photos of them in the next post. My Kitty Potholders have received a lot of comments on my facebook page so there will probably be a pattern to come!

A huge thank you to all my fans and followers. Your comments are truly appreciated. They keep me motivated and even give me great new ideas.

It snowed a couple weeks ago and another big dump this week added to it. There was three times as much snow as in the photo! A warm snap and lots of rain in the last two days has melted quite a bit of it but we are expecting more next week. I enjoy snow. It is magical and quiet. That is until it's a slushy muddy slippery mess...

I have been struggling with the squirrels eating all the birds' food. The little rascals chewed through my clothesline to get to the suet cage, and even managed to pry off the binder clips holding it shut before dragging the entire suet away. In honour of these cute rats with fluffy tails I baked gingerbread squirrels so I can bite their heads off!

Wishing you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS & a happy NEW YEAR!

Enjoy your Christmas cookies & quilted crafts :o)

Pattern Shop News!

(Please note: If you are subscribed to my blog via email and received this in your inbox today, I apologize... my blog has a mind of its own and is playing tricks!)
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It's Christmas in August! Well, I wish it was.

I would give anything for snow or at least a drop of rain as we are in the midst of a level 4 drought here in the Vancouver area where it usually rains all year long!

The Partridge in a Pear Tree and Winter Wonderland patterns are now available in my SHOP!

Count down the days until Christmas with this cozy Partridge in a Pear Tree wall-hanging. Starting December 14th, take a pear from one of the side border pockets and hang it on the tree each day. On Christmas Day, it’s time to hang up the partridge!

And finally the long-awaited and highly requested Winter Wonderland pattern! Thank you all so much for your patience!

Light a candle in a lovely jar, place it in the centre of your Winter Wonderland candle mat, and enjoy the warmth it brings to your home all winter long. Use your mat as a centrepiece. Two layers of heat repellant batting also makes it perfect spot to rest a hot pot or kettle.

All PatchworkPottery digital pattern booklets include metric conversion chart, stitches & terms section, illustrated step-by-step instructions, and full size templates. These patterns are instant downloads so if you do not receive an e-mail with the link to your pattern immediately, please check your junk mail folder. Please subscribe to my blog via e-mail if you would like to receive shop & pattern updates.

Thank you for all your patience to those of you who have put in requests and have been waiting for patterns. Be assured that I am working on them and I haven't forgotten about you.

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Christmas Star Pillow

This was a quick pillow I made at Christmas for my brother's fiancee. A simple wonky star but with holly freemotion-quilted into the white.

I used the same striped back and tie design as in my Crane Star Pillow pattern. I outlined the star and ties with a red embroidered running stitch, and finished it off with scrappy binding.

I loved how it turned out and it was difficult to give it away! She loved it and I think my brother loved it even more :o)

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Pattern Shop News!

'Tis the Season wall-hanging pattern is now in my SHOP. Previously published in Taiwanese craft book Cotton Life no. 4, it is finally available as an individual pattern booklet and even better it is now written in English!

All PatchworkPottery digital pattern booklets include metric conversion chart, stitches & terms section, illustrated step-by-step instructions, and full size templates. 'Tis the Season is a 13 page PDF containing 2 pages that make up the cover, 6 pages of instructions including basic paper-piecing, 4 template pages all reversed for use with fusible web applique and foundation piecing techniques, and 1 page on how to properly print and assemble your very own pattern booklet.

My patterns are instant downloads so if you do not receive an e-mail with the link to your pattern immediately, please check your junk mail folder.

The next patterns I'm working on include Partridge in a Pear Tree, Book Pillow, and Teapot Pillow. I'm also thinking of mixing in some fresh new patterns every now and then so that PatchworkPottery stays interesting.

Which pattern are you waiting for? Would you like to test one of my patterns? Let me know!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Merry Christmas!

Have you ever made something for someone and then decided that you like it too much to give it away? So much for the Christmas spirit! I originally made this potholder for a Christmas swap at the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild Christmas party but liked it too much to give it away!

However, after much thought I will be giving it to my mom for her birthday which is now past but close to Christmas. I made these leaf potholders for my Mom last Mother's Day but they sit on a shelf never to be used. At least this Christmas potholder might come out once a year :o) I had fun making this block... a wonky star with a peppermint twist!

We had lots of fun this year with a Christmas photoshoot. I really need to get one of those camera remotes because I was the one running back & forth! The picture with the entire family including the cats makes us laugh because Percy Persimmon the orange cat was trying to run away and Mr. Scruffy the grumpy old grey cat is perturbed, hissing & baring his claws! It also looks like he should be wearing a tutu and dancing in the Nutcracker! We love it!

We baked gingerbread and many other cookies... and then my handmixer died! I'm hoping that Santa will bring me a new one because I use it almost every week. It's too bad that things these days aren't meant to last. Plastic is good for some things but not gears! Claire did an amazing job decorating the gingerbread with me!

We brought our tree up from the basement at the beginning on December this year which is earlier than usual... thanks to the 7 year old in the house! This year we didn't have a theme and used my appliqued pears & stars tree skirt.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and an amazing New Year full of inspiration from Laurraine, Sota, Claire, Percy & Mr. Scruffy!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)