Today, I'm sharing with you a fun holiday pillow that you can use to add that festive feeling to your living room or even to give as a gift over the holidays. This pillow uses four paper pieced units to create a center block as well as colorful strips around the center block, much like a traditional log cabin quilt block. I love making holiday pillows, they're a fun and quick way to decorate! Let's get started, shall we?
Mariner's Star Pillow
Makes one 20" pillownote: center block is 12.5" unfinished, makes a great quilt block, too!
You'll need:
23" square piece of batting for pillow front
2 pillow back pieces, 14" x 21"
various pieces of red and green fabric, see chart below
| color | size | quantity |
red
| 5” x 7” | 8 |
red
| 2 ¾” x 16 ½” | 1 |
red
| 2 ¾” x 18 ¾” | 2 |
red
| 2 ¾” x 21” | 1 |
light green
| 2 ½” x 5” | 8 |
dark green
| 2” x 6 ½” | 8 |
green
| 2 ½” x 12 ½” | 1 |
green
| 2 ½” x 14 ½” | 2 |
green
| 2 ½” x 16 ½” | 1 |
white
| 2” x 6 ½” | 8 |
white
| 1 1/2” x 4” | 8 |
Pillow Assembly:
1. First, print four copies of the template PDF. Double-check to make sure that the 1" line on the template measures 1", and if it does not, make sure that your printer scaling options are set to "Print at actual size." Trim off some of the excess paper, but be sure to leave some white paper around the gray rim of the block template.
2. Start by placing your white center piece in the center of the back, unprinted side of your template paper, with the wrong side of the fabric touching the paper. Align your fabric in the center of the #1 area of the block, making sure your white fabric overlaps over the edges of area #1. Pin in place.
3. Next, line up your first light green piece, for area #2. Align your light green fabric approximately 1/4" beyond the line between areas #1 and #2 on the template, right sides together with your pinned white fabric.
Stitch along the line, and be sure to shorten your machine's stitch length to approxiamtely 1.5 mm. This will perforate the paper, making it easier to remove when we're all done.
Flip your paper piece over, and make sure to open your light green strip to ensure it covers the entire #2 section. Then, you can trim the excess remaining white fabric, trimming down to a 1/4" seam allowance. Finger press the seam, then set the seam with a hot, dry iron.
4. Repeat Step 3 for the adding piece #3, an additional green piece that borders the opposite side of the white fabric you began with.
5. Next, let's add some holiday red. Align a 5" x 6" piece of red fabric along the line between area #3 and #4, right sides together. Pin in place, if needed. Stitch along the line between area #3 and #4, and trim excess seam allowance, as needed. Press seam to set your work.
7. To finish area 6 on the template, align a strip of dark green fabric with the fabrics you've sewn in place so far, rights sides together, with approximately a 1/4" overlapping the seam, as shown. Stitch along the seam line, making sure to stitch into the gray seam allowance that surrounds the template. Clip your threads and flip your template piece over. Trim your excess fabric to approximately a 1/4" seam allowance, and press to set your work.
8. Repeat step 7 to cover area #8 on your template, using your other strip of dark green fabric.
9. To finish piecing the template, we'll use two strips of white fabric. This will become the center of the mariner's star. Align your white strip, right sides together the fabric side of your template, approximately a 1/4" beyond the seam line for area #8 on your template. Pin, as needed. Stitch along the seam line, making sure to stitch into the gray seam allowance border. Trim excess fabric to create a 1/4" seam allowance and press to set your piecing. Repeat for area #9.
10. After you've finished piecing each template piece, trim it down, trimming along the gray edges of the template. Do not cut off the gray seam allowance border!
11. Repeat steps 2-10 to make a total of four paper pieced units. Lay out your four finished template pieces in an order that you like. Feel free to swap them around as needed until you're happy with your layout. At this point, you can remove the paper from your templates; or you can choose to remove the paper after seaming your four template pieces together, it's just a matter of personal taste.
14. The pillow top finishes at 21". If yours turns out larger, don't trim it down just yet. First, layer your finished pillow top on a piece of batting and baste as desired. Then, quilt your pillow top however you'd like. Once you've quilted the pillow top, trim down to 21" square, as needed.
15. To finish the pillow back, fold 1/4" down on the top long side of a back piece. I'm terrible at this, so I use a seam guide as shown above to make sure my fold is consistent across the length of my fabric. Use a hot, dry iron to press in place. Repeat, folding down a total of 1/2", and topstitch along the edge. Repeat for both back pieces.
16. Lay your finished pillow top face up on a flat surface. Align the raw edges of a back piece with the top of your pillow front, right sides together, with the seam you just finished in the center of the pillow top. Repeat with the other back piece, aligning with the opposite side of the pillow, so that finished seams overlap. Pin in place, all the way around the pillow.
17. Stitch 1/2" seam all the way around the pillow, backstitching to secure your threads.
18. Remove the pins and reach in through the envelope opening you've created to pull your pillow front through. Make sure to use a pencil eraser or other turning tool to push the corners out all the way. And voila, a lovely finished pillow!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you use this tutorial to make a pillow or just the center block, I'd love to see it in the Stitching with Don't Call Me Betsy Flickr group!
The wonderful Brenda of Pink Castle Fabrics is sharing in the Christmas in July fun today, giving away a wonderful bundle from her shop, full of gorgeous reds and greens. I especially love how these fabrics aren't necessarily holiday fabrics, they don't use typical holiday graphics or designs, but the colors still evoke that holiday feeling.
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU!
Stay tuned for the rest of the Christmas in July posts, running through next Thursday!
Monday 7/16 - Don't Call Me Betsy
Tuesday 7/17 - Sew Crafty Jess
Wednesday 7/18 - Pink Penguin
Thursday 7/19 - Freshly Pieced
Friday 7/20 - Sew Sweetness
Monday 7/23 - Happy Quilting
Tuesday 7/24 - Comfort Stitching
Wednesday 7/25 - Diary of a Quilter
Thursday 7/26 - Felicity Quilts
that's a great chance, I love Brenda's bundles!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite holiday decor is a huge bowl full of old Christmas Balls (which I've collected in my whole family). And the best part of it is: It's absolutely cat-safe because the glass-bowl has a cover ;)
Does the 1st commenter ever win these givewaways? I don't know but I'm replying anyway.
ReplyDeleteI love your pillow. I haven't yet tried that block but I do love it so. Thanks for the inspiration.
My favorite holiday decor item are the special ornaments for our tree that we have collected over the years. Each one brings back the memories of where we were and what we were doing then.
I think I will try this! Great tutorial. Our favorite holiday decorations are dozens of stuffed bears and beany babies that were my children's. We use them all over the house during the holidays. Bears are found under the tree, on the tables, and the couch, just like when the kids were small. Thanks, Mary
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday decorations are some Christmas ornaments my parents purchased for their first Christmas. I have about 5 of them and they're almost 54 years old!
ReplyDeleteYou've put me in a holiday mood! Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without our angel tree topper. I love my folks' vintage one so much that I got a new one when we got married so I can keep the tradition in our new family.
ReplyDeleteI love to hang a ceramic ornament that my aunt made me when I was five.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great project! thanks so much! I love to stick paper snowstars onto the window!
ReplyDeletethanks for the lovely giveaway! wonderful pillow too.. I'm in the Christmas mood now :D
ReplyDeleteWell, we just have Christmas tree.
Love that pillow! And thanks for a chance to win such a gorgeous bundle. My favourite Christmas decorations are the ones my husband has made every year with our kids ever since our son arrived 5 years ago - can't wait to see what he comes up with this year!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday decor item is a nativity set that I painted 35 years ago in a ceramics class. I painted it the first year I was married and it is the only thing I bring out year after year.
ReplyDeleteLove your block! And pillow! It's always fun to pull out the holiday decorations. My favorite is putting up the tree and seeing all the ornaments I've collected over the years!
ReplyDeleteGreat paper piecing! Our family heirloom Christmas tree is the highlight of our Christmas decorating!
ReplyDeleteYou are right~ these colors do speak "holiday!" Love the greens, especially~ nice work on the pillow!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a single favorite, but my collection of ornaments is special to me. We have family ornaments, ornaments from the children's birth's, etc. I think that putting them on the tree each year is a special time for remembering.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a chance to win.
What a great pillow! I'm a paper-piecing junkie & can't wait to print this out and start stitching.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas decoration - the Nativity set I started collecting when I was in the service many moons ago.
Your tutorial is amazing... thanks! My favorite decoration is a small wooden painting of 2 snowmen that my son made when he was 7 years old! Love it to bits!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tutorial! Now even I might dare to try it! My favourite christmas ornament is some embroderied wall-hangings, made both by my mother and my grandmother. Love them and they remind me of them!
ReplyDeleteCorny as it is, my favorite decoration is the outside lights we put on our bushes. They just make mr happy. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteBoppiesgirl@gmail.com
I am totally smitten by the mariner's star--fabulous!!!
ReplyDeleteMy fave christmas decoration is a water globe that lights up, plays music and "snows"....it's magical.
I'm sooo in the mood to sew for Christmas!
I love this block! My favorite decorations are the stockings I made several years ago. They are huge and my kids love them.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is carousel horse ornament I've had since I was about 11. I love putting it up on the tree every year.
ReplyDeleteI have very little in the way of holiday items. Most of them were stolen unfortunately. But I am working on something from Winterkist for my house this year and I think it's quickly going to become my favorite!
ReplyDeleteI love this pillow! I have very little Christmas decor so I need to make this pillow to have a favorite. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful pillow pattern. I think my favorite holiday item is the Christmas stockings I made for my children when they were little. They still hang them today and they're in their forty's!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas item is a ceramic school house that lights up. It was my grandmother's.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the awesome tutorial.
Thanks for the nice tutorial. I love that the colors are Christmas, but the fabrics let this one stay out beyond the holiday season.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas decorations are little quilts I've made to place around the house.
What a beautiful bundle of fabrics. One of my favorite holiday decorations is my nativity set given to me when I left a church I had worked at for quite a while.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite christmas decoration is the nativity sey my daughters friend made for us from polymer clay a few years ago - it is incredible!
ReplyDeleteI have a small nativity that is not worth much but it has sentimental value because I bought it when my kids are were little, about 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas decor item has to be the gold paper star my husband made for our first tree 41 years ago. II love unwrapping it and remembering his sweet gesture then putting at the top of the tree. Thanks for a great tutorial and giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI have a tiny plastic doll in a blue felt shoe that my brother gave me for my first Christmas. We always hung it on the tree when I was a kid and now I put it on my tree. It is 56 years old.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great pattern for a pillow or a christmas quilt!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite christmas decoration is a small 'nisse' (troll) in painted wood. It comes from my grandfather, is about 90 years old and it goes on the christmas tree every year:-)
I am going to try that pillow, it's really wonderful! Thank you for the tutorial.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite decoration is a handmade recycled metal cat angel that goes on top of the tree every year.
We like to make a new holiday wreath each year, and it's my favorite.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas decoration is a hand painted wooden Nativity set that I painted over 30 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI do sooo love your tutorials and this one was no dissappointment.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday item is a little christmas village that my mom started collecting when she was a teenager. Sm many wonderful old memories every single time it comes out :)
My favorite holiday decoration is a set of needlepoint nativity pieces - 8 pieces in all. I bought the canvases on sale and did the handwork myself. Size is about 8" tall x 4" wide for each piece, backed in velvet and each stands. One of my nieces has asked for this in my will!!
ReplyDeleteMy fav is my tree. Finally found the perfect one about 5 years ago.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite decorations are my "old world glass" ornaments. I just love them... I have a cow, a pig, a seahorse, a rooster, an Abominable snowman, and several others.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas decoration is a photo album with all the pictures I have had taken of the kids since birth with Santa! I love looking at it and seeing their expressions. I also write down what they ask for each year too. Good memories!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite christmas decor is a wallhanging I made three year ago.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful block! Some day, I will have the courage to tackle paper-piecing (I still can not wrap my brain around it.)
ReplyDeleteThat bundle is beautiful. I love Christmas decorations. My goal is to have a Christmas quilt for every bed in the house someday. Thanks for the chance!
That is a great fabric bundle! My favorite Christmas decorations are my wooden snowmen that I have picked up at various craft fairs over the years.
ReplyDeletePaper piecing makes the most crisp blocks. I have GOT to do that more.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas decoration is my Christmas pickle. You're supposed to hide it in the tree and whoever finds it gets a prize, but I just like having a pretty green pickle hanging on my tree. Especially since we had one when we were kids and my mom bought one for me when I got married.
Thanks for the great tutorial and of course the chance to win an adorable fabric bundle! My favorite Christmas decoration I think will always be my tree. Probably because there are so many ornaments that bring back a lot of memories and I love to just sit and stare at it in the evenings.
ReplyDeleteThanks again,
Amanda
amanda at materialgirlquilts dot com
Thanks for the great tutorial. My favorite xmas decorations are my handmade stockings.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Pillow! My favorite holiday item is a little wood advent house! I love watching my kids open the little doors every day leading up to Christmas!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite decorations are the lights and garland that I put up in the kitchen! Yes the kitchen. I place them on top of the upper cabinets - it also forces me to clean up there! I love them because they add a great chritsmas vibe without being in the way of our routines. Unlike the tree that we walk around to get to the family room.
ReplyDeletewhat an awesome pillow! well done. I think my favorite holiday decor is my new tree skirt that I made 2 years ago. It is made of wool and cotton.
ReplyDeletethanks for the giveaway.
My favorite Christmas decor is ALWAYS the Christmas tree!!! ALl the lights and ornaments....I love it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great giveaway. My favorite is a star tree topper that my nephew made in pre-school. He's 15 now but I use it every year.
ReplyDeleteThe pillow is beautiful and I just may have to try it out.
I love that cushion and I've just started paper piecing so I'll give it a go!
ReplyDeleteMy house is known for rubbish decorations but we do have some lovely snow globes my Dad gave the kids and last year I made an advent calendar so that cheered things up a bit!
My favorite holiday decor would have to be a set of pillows that my cousin got me one year! They are just adorable! I love your pillow, just dont know if I have the courage to try paper piecing yet!!! Thanks for the chance at the giveaway!!!
ReplyDeleteI love your pillow. My favorite christmas decor is a stable with my precious moments nativity set.
ReplyDeletequilting dash lady at comcast dot net
Thanks for the great pattern.
ReplyDeleteI still use my felt stocking with applique and sequins that my aunt made like 40 years ago....
My favorite holiday decor item is a painting of Santa and his sleigh (santa is wearing a cowboy hat for some reason) that I purchased at a garage sale last summer. I hope my soon to be NEW favorite decor is the quilted tree skirt that I am planning. Hopefully we'll be able to see it done this year. Thanks for the chance to win your cute giveaway!
ReplyDeleteOOOH! thanks for the great tutorial! My very favorite Christmas decoration is my Jim Shore Santas I've been collecting them for a while and I have quite a few....
ReplyDeleteI love my Christmas quilt, made with the help of my bee friends last year. :) Thanks for the Christmas sewing motivation!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite decoration is a counted cross stitch picture I finished 25 years ago with a Xmas welcome scene on it. I bring it out every year and it gets dispayed in a prominent spot in our house. Love the fabrics. Here's hoping...
ReplyDeleteMy favourite decoration is a felt snowman with beads and sequins - he is so cute. I think my mom was given it from a student when she was a teacher. I love making Christmas ornaments - I love the holidays!!!
ReplyDeleteLove the pillow and the fabirc! We have an advent quilt that is a family favorite.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite (and only) christmas decoration is a pink flamingo with a santa hat. I'm a recent college grad, so decorations were too expensive to go buy last year.
ReplyDelete-Elisabeth
elisabeth.woo@gmail.com
A large Mr & Mrs Snowman Christmas wall hanging made of felt. I made it 10 or 12 years ago and they come out with the first big snow fall until xmas ...or spring melt.
ReplyDeleteAt the top of our family Christmas tree every year is a tattered red bow that my grandmother tied around my dad's neck as a bow tie on the Christmas morning after my parents got engaged. Since my mom said that all she wanted for Christmas was my dad, Grandma was just wrapping the present. :)
ReplyDeleteAs a child, I always had a mouse decorated on the tree and I carry that up till this day. I search for that perfect mouse every year to add to my Christmas decorations. Judith, Texas
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great tutorial!
ReplyDeleteOur treasured fairy who sits on top of our tree was made nearly 20 years ago by my eldest son!
Gorgeous pillow. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI have so many favorites during the holidays. I think the most favorite holiday decor item would be the Christmas Ornaments given to me by my father. They were from his childhood and even though they are quite ugly, I still hang them on my tree in honor of him since he is gone now.
My favorite is easy to pick. It's the menorah shaped like a bicycle my mom bought for me a few years ago. I love it so much it's on display year-round, not just during Hanukkah!
ReplyDeleteOh man, not sure I'm ready to be embracing Christmas yet, I'm still waiting for summer to roll in! If I'm at my gran's for Christmas, she has a funny shelf sitter snowman and reindeer, which always make me smile. At mum and dad's all their bears get into Christmas too, sleighs and all!
ReplyDeletea wonderful pillow.
ReplyDeletemy favourite holiday item? a swedish candlestick, folded stars, pillow covers with mooses. I hope to add a christmas quilt and christmas table runner soon.
My favorite holiday item.. my throw pillow covers. I change them for every single holiday. I have halloween ones, Christmas ones, valentines one's.. you name it!
ReplyDeleteGreat bundle and great pillow! My favorite decoration is a huge fluffy Christmas tree skirt made of red and trimmed in white Santa Clause fur. It is also my cat's favorite decoration!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite decoration is a tie between the Christmas tree and a nativity set which is just the right scale and size for my hall entry table. I smile each time I look at them!
ReplyDeleteI don't have one specific piece of holiday decor that I love, my favorite thing is my tree once it is decorated.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great tutorial and template! As for my favorite Christmas decoration, it's tough because they are usually ones the kids have made. Everytime I pull them out I love looking at them, especially when they have their little faces glued on the ornament and you can see how little they were :) Oh and I have a little handmade angel my daughter made that always goes on the tree. Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteI guess my favorite Christmas decoration, if I had to pick, would be a pink snowman fabric, quilted table topper that I made years ago. It makes me happy whenever I pull it out for the year.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas decoration(s) are my ornaments - they're from the span of my life so far and many of them have a lot of meaning or were purchased to commemorate special events or trips. It's great to go through them each year!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite decorations are my German glass ornaments I got in the 70's when I worked for Marshall Field's in the Christmas Shop.
ReplyDeleteI have a wooden nativity that is the first thing out and the last thing put away at Christmas time. We try to add a piece every year or so.
ReplyDeletebrookeali(at)hotmail.com
HELLO! THERE ARE SO MANY CHRISTMAS ITEMS I LOVE TO TAKE OUT OF THEIR WRAPPINGS EACH CHRISTMAS:the Nativity Set,crocheted white ornament snowflakes from my Aunt,special tree ornaments given to us by friends+famiy,of course,quilted runners,table toppers,wall hangings.My favorite of all would be the wooden Nativity Set we purchased.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing a great giveaway!
msstitcher1948@yahoo.com
My Grandmother gave me some Byers Choice dolls dressed in Christmas attire several years ago. They are special to me because she gave them to me. Love your pillow!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite decoration is our German smoking men collection. The kids, and now grandkids, receive the first present to announce the coming of the season following Thanksgiving dinner, always a smoking man, and always a signal to head to the attic to bring all the rest down.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 favorite holiday decorations: one is a nativity scene that my mother purchased when I was 10 or so. The other is "Morton the Moose" - a Christmas moose I made a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteI love the Scandinavian Dala horses and candle sticks I have! I am always on the lookout for more!
ReplyDeleteHoly quilting, Batman -- looks great! :) Hmm, favorite holiday decor? My mom has this wooden Santa face that hangs on the wall. It has a GIANT beard with a countdown to Christmas. I still look forward to it each year! :)
ReplyDeleteLast year I bought a huge (like over 4 foot tall kinda huge) Santa print from Kirklands. It's my first really grown-up Christmas decoration, and I love it.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday decor items are my nativity sets. I love collecting different ones and displaying them all over :)
ReplyDeleteA nativity set, hand-painted by me, has been a family favorite piece for years. Even if we don't put up a Christmas tree - when the kids can't make it back home for Christmas - the nativity set all arranged in a stable, gets set up. Thanks for the chance to win. Fabric is always the best kind of giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI love Christmas in July!! I just started working on my quilts for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteDecorating for Christmas is SO fun, every year I seem to pick up more and more trinkets, but my favorite has to be the santa claus quilt I have that my grandma made. It's smallish, maybe 3x3 square, with Santa's big face in the center. I think I'll see if I can put a sleeve on the back of it this year so we can hang it properly.
I love that you're inspiring me to sew Christmas quilts in 100 degree July!! Your pillow is wonderful. My favorite decor are our stockings - knit my my grandma. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday decor are my Christmas ornaments. Every year my grandmother would give me an ornament - with the year written somewhere on it in her neat and tidy script. Now my tree is decorated with years and years of memories! Doing this for my kiddos.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great giveaway! My favorite Christmas decor is the garland I hang on the staircase every year. I let it drape and have lovely gold bows to tie where it meets the banister.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday decoration is the Rudolph latch-hooked wall hanging my mom made. It's really cute and whenever I look at it, it reminds me just where I get my craft mojo from. ;)
My favorite are the stockings that my mom cross stitched for my boys who are now 20 and 15. I love your pillow too!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas decorations are the ornaments my mother made for our tree when I was little. I can't wait to give them to my boys when they grow up!
ReplyDeleteLovely pillow!
I love the memories that go with ornaments when we put them on the tree. It's like being reunited with an old friend who you haven't seen in a long time!
ReplyDeleteAwesome tutorial! This will be my first attempt at paper piecing and I think its a great way to start. My favorite holiday decorations are the stockings I knit a few years ago. They aren't perfect but thats what makes them unique!
ReplyDeleteMy mom has all of our Christmas stockings plus those for all our pets, she has a floor to ceiling brick mangle and they are hung all over it. Santa visits everyone, even pets!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas items are all of the homemade ornaments on the tree. Many were made by my kids when they were smaller and they bring back such great memories! And I love your pillow!! Such wonderful fabrics!
ReplyDeleteYour tutorial is fantastic! My favourite Christmas ornament is the Angel that sits on the top of our tree, my daughter made it when she was in pre-school (she's nearly 28 now) & I treasure it. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteMy fave is the family's christmas tree! But it is rarely displayed because my dad doesnt want to search for the tree in our storage room...
ReplyDeleteandri_chama(at)yahoo(dot)com
Great tutorial. My favorite holiday decor item is a wooden Santa sign that says "this house believes in Santa". I keep it up all year long. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday decor is the red velvet Christmas stocking my grandmother made for me over 50 years ago. When I married and had children I re'created the pattern and made matching red velvet stockings for the whole family.
ReplyDeletesowingstitches [at] yahoo [dot] com
My favorite Christmas decor is our Christmas tree. With our children now grown and gone, I love reminiscing as we decorate with the many ornaments we've collected over the years.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful Elizabeth! Thanks so much for the pattern and tutorial!
ReplyDeleteWhen my mother retired she took a ceramics class and made many great things. My favorites were always three Christmas angel candle holders. I admired them so much that one year she gave them to me. Now when I put them out think of her. I miss her and these are such a reminder of her and the Xmas spirit.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to Christmas stuff, I love the traditional look the best. This pillow is perfect!
ReplyDeleteAs for my favorite decor item, it's probably the three wooden snowmen my Grandma probably found at a yard sale a hundred years ago. I snagged them when we were helping her de-clutter awhile back.
A very old nativity set that the kids used to role play with when they are small. The kings have lost an arm or two and Joseph is missing his nose but I couldn't bear to replace it. It sits on the dresser every year.
ReplyDeleteI love the little crocheted Christmas tree decorations that my Grandmother had made me.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite decorations are our stockings. Both of our (me and my husbands) stockings were handmade by someone in our family and we have both used them since we received them as kids.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite holiday decoration is the tree! Christmas wouldn't be the same without it!
ReplyDeleteI love the pillow!!! My favorite holiday decor is definitely christmas lights! I could watch them for hours.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite christmassy decoration is the angel that we put on the top of the tree - love your tutorial!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome pillow! I love it! I'm going to have to try one! :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas decorations are my hanging snowflake lights that I sting across our front window every year. Thanks for a chance to win! :)
My favorite is a Christmas quilt that a made a couple years ago. I would love to make another one! Thanks for the chance to win this pretty bundle.
ReplyDeletewow, i am favorite-ing this design, it rocks! it causes me to make up words! my favorite is the stockings i made last year (and the one my husband made for himself, adorable).
ReplyDeleteLove the star! I'm going to try to make several items for our Christmast decor this year... hope I can do it! My favorite decorations are our Christmast ornaments. Collected over time, I really try to buy or make ornaments that have special meaning to our family. Plus I get at least one new one every year, so that's always fun to look forward to. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! My aunts made each family an advent calendar with handmade ornaments from felt for each day and it continues to be my favorite decoration.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite holiday decor item is our nativity set. We started to collect the figures the year our daughter was born (they're quite expensive so we couldn't buy the whole set at once). Now she's 9 and we're still adding a figure a year. It's so much fun!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorites is the box of wool applique Christmas runners and mats made by my best friend. My birthday is in December, so I get one each year, just in time to use for the holidays. Even though I do wool applique too, hers are special because she did all that hand sewing just for me!
ReplyDeleteI have a collection of "creepy" elves that I love to put out at Christmas. I also have some (my kids would say creepy) angels too. The first one was on my tree as a child. It has a china head and a dress made out of an organza type material, although one of the ones I have has bright pink feathers for a dress!
ReplyDeleteI love the Christmas stockings that I made for my kids. So much anticipation on their faces when we put them up over the fire place.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your holiday creating.
Since we were kids, my mom always got my brother and I a new ornament every year. I still cherish those, and have started the tradition with my own kids.
ReplyDeleteFabulous bundle!
Those fabrics are scrumptious. =)
ReplyDeleteTen years ago I made a SnowPeople family depicting our family. The Dad has the long, blond hair and earring, the boys have their colour coordinating toques, mitts and scarves and Mom sports an apron and ponytail. It's the first decoration my boys look for each year when the tree goes up.
Thank you for the chance
My favorite is the tree. Every year, we get the kids each a special new ornament, so the tree is full of memories of favorite things they've outgrown.
ReplyDeleteHandmade (mostly by me) felt stockings with sequins. My mom made me one when I was a baby and I've made my hubby and four kids felt ones to match. The patterns are all different but they are all the same size and style. I love them!
ReplyDeleteI think my favourite decoration is my miniature christmas tree that I decorate with snowmen and snowflakes and put on my antique buffet in the dining room.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an awesome pillow, Elizabeth! My favorite holiday decor item is the red felt Christmas stockings. When I was little, a lady in our church made one for me. When we got married I made one for Mark, then Aaron when he was born, then Christa when he got married, and all the grandkids. They aren't fancy but they sure give me feelings of nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful bundle - thanks for the chance to win and the wonderful tutorial!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite hokiday decor item is our "Nuremburg Angel" which graces the top of our Christmas tree. It was purchased in Germany the first year we were married - 26 years ago!!
Christmas..... i start the countdown on January 25th each year.....
ReplyDeletelast year i made 2 quilts one for us - a Christmas Tree which i'm real proud of, and is a new favourite (we'd recently gotten a new kitten and weren't sure how a real tree would fare) and the other was for a (second) Mom... she was thrilled with her Christmas quilt done in "oh Fransons - spark punch" pattern.
I'm looking forward to make more Christmas lap quilts.
Thanks for the lovely tutorial! Your pillow is breath-taking.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday item isn't for Christmas. It's a very tacky-looking plastic item that's sort of hard to describe. It's basically a music box. When the key is wound, it plays music and the top twirls around with strands of plastic beads hanging down and flying around with it. Yeah, I said it was tacky, and I meant it! When I was a child, on birthdays we'd put it on the cake after the candles were blown out. After it played its song, we'd all sing Happy Birthday. I loved that thing and am glad it's still in the family!
My favorite Christmas decoration is my mother's wind up music box Christmas Nativity Scene and my handmade Christmas stocking. I love to put these out first. Thanks for the tutorial - and the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday decor item is a huge paper mache snowman. It always goes in the same spot every year next to the same snowy tree...love it ! Thanks for the Christmas inspirations!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite decor is the frosted glass nativity that my grandmother gave me years ago. As far as your tutorial, I've always loved these stars but have been intimidated. I won't be intimidated now! Thanks so much!!
ReplyDeleteBetsy in the Seattle suburbs
I would say my favorite Christmas decor item is the homemade Christmas stockings that I made for our family over 30 years ago when our children were little. It makes me smile at the memories that they hold.
ReplyDeleteI have wanted a nativity set for forever, and last month I finally brought one home, after six months of paying it off. Yay!! I can't wait until Christmas so I can have it on display. Roll on December!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday decor is the set of Jesse Tree ornaments I made for my familly.
ReplyDeleteDeborah
homemakerhoney @gmail .com
Thanks for a great tutorial. The decor item i put out every year and love is my set of vintage elves that my mom collected! thanks!
ReplyDeleteMy favourites are the Christmas stockings I made for the family years ago. We hang them on the mantel, and the dogs and cat have theirs too!
ReplyDeleteI am not much of a holiday decorator, but I love Nativity sets. I like them small, but detailed. I have some from Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Mexico in addition to the traditional ones.
ReplyDeleteYour pillow is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing the tutorial. I think my favorite holiday decor is the tree where we put all the ornaments we have collected over the years.
ReplyDeleteAn elderly friend has given our family nutcrackers for several years. The kids are fascinated by them and we have quite a collection now; they are cherished because we cherish her. Thanks for chance to win! (EMAIL: marshudson at comcast dot net)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I can choose a favorite decor item. In some way I love them all. But I made a Christmas quilt two years ago that I really love. Thanks for sharing this tutorial and giveaway with us.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday decor item is a Christmas Tree wall quilt. It was the first quilt I made and it got me started in this hobby which I enjoy immensely.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday decorations are my Santa collection which I display in various ways.
ReplyDeleteI have quite a few very old Christmas ornaments that were originally owned by my Grandmother. We used them on our tree when I was a child, and then on our tree when my girls were growing up , and now each year when I place them on our tree, I remember all those wonderful times past... :-)
ReplyDeleteStunning quilt block! I love it. Thanks for sharing your talent and your giveaway!
ReplyDeleteWe have a delightful hanging Santa with a 3 foot long white rag beard! I just love that beard so cute..
ReplyDeleteI don't have a favorite christmas decoration. I think the whole season is just so pretty. Love your tut on the pillow, it is so pretty.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday item is the angel that goes on the top of the tree. It is a beautiful doll my mother bought for my daughter when she was very young. When my mom passed away 20 years ago, I put my moms favorite ornament, a glass bird she had from her childhood, in the arms of the angel. She sits atop our tree every year,
ReplyDeleteI have a fabulous Santa collection!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday decor are the things my children made.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas decor is the nativity set that my parents gave me. Thanks for the giveaway and for the tutorial!
ReplyDeleteOur favorite holiday decor item is our tree! We have a large, eclectic collection of ornaments. Some made by the kids way back when, some received as gifts, others souvenirs of special trips. Each has a story, and we love remembering the people and places associated with each one!
ReplyDeleteI have several nativities of Joseph, Mary and Jesus that I love. I'm always looking for another great one.
ReplyDeleteA child's red rocking chair with a straw seat that was mine as a child. My two sons and both of the grandchildren have sat in the rocker at Christmas time. Thanks for a chance to win this gorgeous fabric. I love it.
ReplyDeleteWell it's not quite the end of the day here... I love a little beaded tree that I purchased a few years ago when I was in a Christmas Grinch mood and decided we weren't going to put up a Christmas tree. It is about a foot tall and has little ornaments and candy canes to hang on it, a tree skirt and some tiny presents to put underneath. And a gold star for the top. Last year I even found some tiny lights to put on it. Love the giveaway and your pillow design.
ReplyDeletemy husband an i got married on dec 15th 1979 and went on our honeymoon. so as to have something christmassy in the house my husband picked up this angel tree topper made out of a cardboard cone with gold cardboard wings and yellow hair on it. so after the holidays away she went. the following year we welcomed our first son born aug. 20th. so at christmas my husband hauled out the cardboard angel and assisted our 3 month old son to place it on the top of the tree. each year since out came that cardboard angel much to my chagrin, and is placed on the tree with honor by our first born. after a few years the angels hair started to look like it was stuck in a light socket no matter how much i tried to fix it. and i tried to replace her but they, my husband and now 2 children, would have no part of it. so due to the condition of our beloved angel we named her phyllis as she looks just like phyllis diller, the well know comedian. to this day 35 years later, phyllis still appears to the delight of my family.
ReplyDeleteI just recently found your pattern as a free pattern on the Craftsy site. I was looking for a Mariners Compass pattern to make a couple of cushions for our new boat. I had a fat quarter collection of nautical fabric for 2002 or so. Your pattern was perfect!! The instructions were great! Being a left handed person I find I am a bit challenged with the whole left and right spacial concept and try to avoid paper foundation patterns! But the block went together even better than I expected! Thank you so much. I will try to figure out how to up load my photo to the Flickr site!
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