Some More Merriment and Merrily

I've been sewing more frequently this year but not with much enthusiasm, but that's OK, I'll get there, and I am finishing some projects which always feels good.

After I pieced my Wooded Whimsy tree quilt I noticed I still had a lot of Merriment and Merrily fabric by Gingiber for Moda, particularly the animal panels.  I couldn't think of another quilt that I wanted for my house using that fabric, and I already pieced 3 quilts for family members from those lines, but I do get requests for quilts for auctions and raffles and the like so I decided that making a donation quilt would be a good use of my time and the fabric.

For the pattern I decided to use Starry Eyed by Angela Mitchell.  It's a free Moda Bakeshop pattern from 2011!

This is my first Starry Eyed quilt using Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater for Moda.  One of my top 10 favorite Christmas fabric lines of all time. 

I added a few of the small animal panels to Starry Eyed II because they're my favorite aspect of these lines.  That Gingiber really knows how to draw some  endearing winter forest animals. 

So here is Lifetime Quilt Number 296

I've named it Starry Eyed II

The pattern is by Angela Mitchell and available here. 

It finished at 80" x 80"

The blocks finish at 16"

The pattern called for 5 rows of 4 sixteen inch blocks (20 blocks total), I went 5 x 5 (25 blocks total), because I like square quilts. 

It has approximately 951 pieces. 

Here's Starry Eyed I, Lifetime Quilt Number 78!!!  It's still one of my favorite Christmas quilts and gets used every holiday, an oldie but goodie.  It's hard to believe I've pieced over 200 quilts since piecing this one.  

I used some of the bigger animal panels for the backing of Starry Eyed II, it's ready to be quilted and when someone says "Hey Thelma, do you have a quilt to donate to our cause?", instead of panicking and sewing 20 hours a day for a week and begging a quilter to quilt the top to meet a deadline,  I'll happily say, "why yes I do".  

I am so behind on my blog but am determined to get all my quilt finishes from the last couple of years documented, so be on the lookout for some posts about quilts you may have seen on Instagram but not here.  

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Finishing the year with a finish

I finished a quilt!

This was a fun project, great pattern, Christmas themed stitching during the month of December, and allowed me to continue my current obsession with trees, but even with all those pluses it still took every ounce of concentration and focus that I could manage to get it done.  I don't think I ever sat down for longer than 30 minutes anytime I was in my sewing room. But now it is done and I'll have a new Christmas quilt to enjoy next year. 

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 294

The pattern is Wooded Whimsy by Coriander Quilts by Corey Yoder

The fabric is a combo of Merriment and  Merrily by Gingiber for Moda

It finished at 65" x 65"

It has approximately 1,029 pieces. 

This is the pattern.

The pattern has 6 rows.  You may have noticed my version has 5.  Hello, my name is Thelma and I'm addicted to square quilts. 

I have no quilt plans for 2021,  no long lists of quilts to make, I've never been so lost in the 15 years I've been quilting.  I'm thinking  I'll start off the year with a good sewing room reorg.  Maybe I'll look through all my books and patterns and come up with that list and a plan.  It's been ages since I've participated in a sew along, maybe some camaraderie is what I need.  Whatever it takes I am determined to make 2021 better.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, I know my posts have been infrequent, I'm hoping for more enthusiasm for everything in my life in  2021. 

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More Merrily

I had a sweet little admirer of my Merrily quilt that I donated to the hospital last year and decided to use my scraps to surprise him with a throw of his own.    These Gingiber animals put a smile on my face every time I play with them.  I've pieced 4 quilt tops using these adorable winter friends, and I didn't manage to keep a single one, lol.

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 232

I've named it Another Merrily Christmas Quilt

I just put it together myself, based on the scraps and panels I had on hand, no formal pattern.

The fabric is Merrily by Gingiber for Moda.

It finished at 66" x 70"

It has approximately 777 pieces. 

I'm going with this Moda buffalo plaid extra wide fabric for the back.

But buyer beware,

These color catchers were after the first wash, it took 3 more washes before the color stopped bleeding.

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A Merrily Finish

Sometime last year I bought this Moda Kit, Merrily.

I don't buy kits very often, as a matter of fact, I can't remember the last time I bought a kit, but this one was a winner.  I made the quilt exactly like the pattern and had no issues with fabric shortages.  That's my biggest fear when buying a kit, making a mistake then not being able to recover because there's not enough fabric, or worse yet, the kit supplier not providing enough fabric.

This is a horrible picture of this quilt, if the sun every shines again I'll take another one, it's a very bright and cheery quilt, it looks a little dull in this picture.

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 221

The pattern is Merrily, by Carrie Nelson for Moda.

The fabric is also Merrily,  by Gingiber for Moda.

It finished at  60" x 66"

It has approximately 372 pieces.

This is one of those patterns that looks like you worked real hard on it, but it only took me 3 afternoons start to finish.  If you have this kit be sure to check the Moda website for pattern updates before you start. (click here)


I bought this fabric for the backing, I think it's by Bunny Hill.

My goal is to piece 6 Christmas themed quilts for family members this year, this quilt is for my niece, I think she'll love it it, only 5 more to go!

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Merrily Finish

I'm alive and well, but when I checked out the date of my last blog post I understood why so many folks sent me emails asking how I was doing!  I've been on the go but I've been doing some sewing too.  

One of my Year of Thelma goals was to travel each month of the year, which sounded great in January, and really has been fun, but it's involved a lot of planning, packing, traveling, and unpacking, over and over. 

My August destination was Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Here I am at the top of Pike's Peak.  If you've never been to Colorado Springs I recommend it, it was my first visit but I hope to make it an annual trip. 

On one of the few days that I was home I answered my phone to this, "Hello, someone gave me your name and said you made quilts.  Would you be willing to make a queen size, Christmas themed quilt with hearts for our November fundraiser?"  My first response was, "You don't sew do you?" I tired to negotiate a lap size quilt but only a queen size would do, lol.

After weighing my options I thought using the animal panels in the Merrily by Gingiber for Moda family of fabric would make a big quilt go together very quickly and make a nice looking quilt, one that would appeal to folks and raise some money.

I decided to use the Thicket pattern from my Quilters Camdy Box as inspiration for a Merrily quilt.  This is my pattern, each square is two inches finished.  

I divided the pattern into 4 quadrants, to make it more manageable. 

I put a 1 1/2" wide frame around each panel and threw them on my design wall.

Then I filled in the space with squares.  I did this 4 times.  To save even more time I used jelly rolls for those squares. 

I think I enjoyed making the trees the most, and changed them for each quadrant.  

I used the trees from the free Merrily pattern by Moda as my starting point.  (click here for free pattern)

The geese in the pattern finish at 2 1/2" x 5".

I also pieced geese that finished at  3" x 6" and 2" x 4".

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 210

I've named it Merrily

The pattern is inspired by the Thicket Quilters Candy Box pattern.

It finished at 92" x 108"

It has approximately 1,821 pieces

In the end I went with just one heart, in keeping with the theme of the charitable event, I hope one is enough. 

Even though this project was a rush job, and even though I've sworn off huge quilts, this Merrily fabric was fun to work with,  and I really enjoyed those animals visiting my sewing room for a few weeks.

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