For Jessica

Jessica commissioned me to make her some Christmas decorations this year. I was happy to oblige her, and had fun with these projects over the past few months.

There were napkins, each with a red side and a green side.

There's a tree skirt, modified from Modern Handcraft's fun tutorial.

And my favorite, a table runner and placemats. The table runner is made of scrappy strips (some from the napkins, some from stash), and the placemats are all different.

The table runner and placemats are also reversible, with a side that could be used after the holidays are over.

It makes me happy to think that Jessica and her family will be enjoying these decorations for years to come.

I hope you all have a peaceful end of 2014. I'll be back next week to share some goals and end-of-year thoughts!

Tutorials you might like!
Happy Trees Mini Quilt
Gift Tags
Hexagon Tree Skirt
Scrappy Stocking

For the Love of Solids - complete

Now that I've both received and sent in the Solids swap, I'd like to show you the results!
So first, I received from ShapeMoth. My package flew all the way from Germany, and it contained:

this incredible metal-frame pouch (just look at that linen!), and

this beautiful mini-quilt. I love the gradient effect and the quilting is fabulous.
Joanna really spoiled me with these lovely items!

On the other side of the swap, I sent to Krista. Krista really wanted placemats or an apron. I almost made an apron, but I was afraid not many people would have requested one, and I didn't want it to be obvious she was my partner.
So, placemats!

Krista's favorite solid is Kona Butterscotch, so I paired that with some lovely blues, yellow, and a few brighter solids.

Krista has three kids, so I wanted to make sure everyone had their own placemat.

When I made that decision, I didn't think about all of the hand sewing it would entail, but I'm so glad I didn't skimp.

These were really fun to make, and I know Krista really loves them!

I quilted each one a little differently, and bound them in various solids.

The triangle quilting was my favorite (I didn't want to let that one go!).

I also whipped up a little zippy pouch to send along, and stuffed it with some solids and a couple of prints.

Swaps are super fun, and I'm so glad I jumped in for this one.

I don't plan on joining any others until the new year, but I'm sure I will be tempted. ;)

P.S. I'm planning to post my very first tutorial here soon!

Have a great weekend!