“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, that will be for all the people.” ~Luke 2:10
Thanksgiving is over and everyone is breaking out the lights and the ornaments to decorate for Christmas. As quilters, this may be the best time of year! What is better than giving a quilt for Christmas or hanging up that perfect project for the holidays? I’m excited for this season, because this is the first Christmas that my husband and I get to decorate our first house together! Unpacking my small box of Christmas decorations, I quickly realized that I had no Christmas quilts! Luckily, I had a charm pack of Christmas material, probably from Gramma, stashed away just for this occasion. (Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you have too much fabric. You never know when you are going to need it!)
This is my Dashing Star that I am making for a Christmas table topper. I found the pattern on Missouri Star Quilting Company website. It took my an afternoon to put together this quilt top which fits well into my hectic schedule. I used a charm pack with 10” squares called Winter’s Song by Holly Taylor. The pack did not come with enough squares to make all the background fabric the same, so I had to improvise with different white background fabric for the corners. I plan on making the corners triangles to give the quilt a rounder look for the table.
I liked this pattern, because the half-square triangles are made by putting two squares’ right sides together and sewing all four edges together, then cutting triangles. Once complete, the blocks are trimmed to size. If you are like me, you rarely use pins (it slows me down); therefore, your blocks are just a little bit imperfect. My favorite part is the quilting, so I need the piecing to go fast! Patterns that trim blocks to size during the sewing process give people like me another way to ensure my corners match, and I can continue using fewer pins! BIG NEWS: I just ordered an Amara ST quilting arm (not the full long arm) that should come in this week, so I think I will use this project as my trial quilt! Stay tuned for the quilting process!
My mom has been setting up her sewing room in her new house. Look how cute her wall is! I am going to be re-arranging my sewing room for my new sewing machine, so I will probably get my mom’s advice.
The Christmas season brings a lot of different emotions: from seasonal joy to family stresses. No matter your history with the Christmas season, let us take some time to remember the reason for the season. With everything that we do, from work to quilting, let us do it in love and remembrance for the savior we celebrate on Christmas. Just as the angels said to the shepherds, “Fear not!” Do not fear the hectic traffic or shopping the Christmas season brings! Do not fear finding the perfect gift or the potential of disappointing your friends and family! Do not fear the message of the Gospel! Christmas brings the GOOD NEWS! News that calls us to be joyful and celebrate the coming of a savior who is for ALL people! Happy Thanksgiving and welcome to the Christmas season!
Quilt Bus 
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