Drum roll...The Christmas quilt is sewn, tested, and photographed. It's ready to roll. I am dying to tell you the name as it makes me chuckle whenever I think of it. As mentioned in a
previous post, this project is designed for scraps. I've also mentioned on previous posts how heavily into puns and word play we are in this household. I was casting about for a good name (thinking along the lines of a play on presents/presence...) and casually asked my son Patrick if he had suggestions. I told him the design used scraps pieced to look like wrapped presents. He shot back with, "oh...you mean it's
Gift Scrapped!" I love it!!
Here's Gift Scrapped...about the easiest, quickest quilt you can imagine. It's all straight sewing, rotary cut, no templates, and no seam matching. You can twist and turn the gifts different ways to add a bit of variety in the layout. The pattern includes directions for a lap quilt, table runner, and placemat. I pieced the blocks for the lap quilt easily one afternoon.
Here's the table runner:
...and the placemat. (By the way, those gorgeous bee-embossed goblets from France were a gift from the very talented - and sweet! - Monika Kinner-Whalen of
My Sweet Prairie. Awesome, Monika!)
The testers who proofed the pattern were equally enthusiastic about the ease of the project. Here's a placemat made by tester Darlene Gerber of
I Quilt Scarlet & Grey. Darlene previously tested my Roundabout Again pattern; she does great work.
Grace Blanchard from Wisconsin was no time making her placemat. She is one fast quilter! I love the black candy cane fabric she chose for the sashing; it really sets the blocks off nicely.
Debbie Grifka of
Esch House Quilts in Michigan
turned her blocks into a runner. I like the white ribbon she chose for her gifts.
Tester Sandra Hulsey pointed out that this is a perfect pattern to use Fat Quarters and Fat Eights rather than scraps. Wouldn't this be pretty done in a coordinated collection?
My friend
Cheryl suggested the
Craftsy site as a great way to make this pattern available. Hers are very hot sellers there. I have used Craftsy in the past, when my fingers were more cooperative, to download some of Cheryl's sock patterns. The site is very easy to use, and free to join. You choose a user name and password and use your credit card to download the patterns directly to your computer. The digital patterns are less expensive than printed versions, and you receive them immediately. The pattern for Gift Scrapped is $7.00, and you can find it at
this link.
My sincerest thanks to the testers who undertook a challenge this close to Christmas, to Beth Munroe who obligingly moved the furniture - including a lit Christmas tree! - around Mrs. Pugsley's Emporium for the photo, and to Cheryl for her always good advice. It's a fun pattern and pure joy to sew, and - as Beth says - it's happy and bright and all things Christmas should be. I'm also happy my son came up with this name!
