Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange
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Welcome to day 4 of our final (so sad) Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange hosted by the lovely Carol from Just Let Me Quilt.
First of all I’d like to thank Carol for hosting this every year! It’s been amazing. And also to Joan for co-hosting the blog hops all these years… thank you both sooo much! You’ve given us so much inspiration over the years!
Our mission for this blog hop was to share a current or past Christmas quilt and/or a cookie recipe….
I thought I’d share the first and second Christmas quilts I’ve made.
My goal is one day to have enough Christmas quilts to swap out all the regular ones scattered around the house… well, I am nowhere near that goal yet!!! I’d better keep at it!
So, my first ever Christmas quilt was a rail fence… because that was my first ever pattern I made….
It’s simple… it’s nice… and as an absolute beginner I did something crazy… My skill levels at the time were “in the ditch” only… but I decided to do free motion on this one…. and not just free motion, but free motion with gold metallic thread… because that would look pretty…… hahahahahahaha! (hysterical laughter)
Well, I did it… with lots of thread breakages and lots of sighing (I don’t swear otherwise there would have been some of that too!)
It looked semi ok at the front… but the back….
Well, what can I say….. it was an overly ambitious idea for a complete beginner! But I finished it!
My second Christmas quilt was an improvement! And I absolutely love it…
It’s called Tis the Season by Natalie Bird and was a SAL that Chooky hosted in 2011. A SAL that I actually finished… in 2011, amazing!!
I have discovered that I have nowhere to take nice pictures of quilts in our garden… I must try to rectify that…
Here are the stitcheries a bit closer up:
It was a fun quilt to make and lovely to see everyone’s versions.
I need to find a place to hang this one up in the house rather than drape on a couch because I don’t trust pet claws not to get stuck in the embroideries…
Well, that is it for me… I have posted my favorite Christmas cookie recipe on this blog before, you can find it here…
Make sure you check out the other bloggers sharing recipes, decoration and quilts today!
If you haven’t been checking my blog recently, I have an Advent series happening with lots of free printables:
And a stitchalong:
Merry Christmas!
Good job with your first ever machine quilting. I have several quilt tops that I need quilting. I’ve tried already with a few small wall hanging but have yet to tackle a full size quilt.
Both quilts are beautiful! Good work on the first one, and as you said, done is better than perfect. 🙂 I haven’t used metallic thread for quilting for exactly the reasons it gave you trouble. The cookies look yummy!
I wish I could tell you that I have no idea what you’re talking about when quilting with metallic thread, but I have gone down that same rabbit hole you did, and there may have been a LOT of bad words used. LOL!! We all have to learn I guess. Regardless, it’s a beautiful quilt and those always seem to hold a special place in our hearts. Thanks for playing along in our hops. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Oh Joy I laughed out loud at your “hysterical laughter” over your FMQ with metallic thread! 😀 Love your Christmas quilts. My very favorite quilts to make are Christmas quilts, I love pulling them out to drape across our living room furniture. The cats love them – lol! Those lemon stars look amazing, I’ll have to try your recipe.
I’ve been quilting for years but sometimes my machine tension gets a little wonky. Both quilts are lovely.
It was fun to see your first Christmas quilt and good for you for dealing with metallic thread. It looks lovely but it can be a bear to work with.
Fun to see a first quilt and then a much later more sophisticated beauty. Love them and those cookies look yum! I mostly look and don’t bake unless I need to but these are so darn cute!
Thank you for the recipe. I love lemon glaze on cookies. Just the right amount of Zing!
Thanks for sharing your quilts!!! I don’t blame you for not purring the 2nd one on the couch … I’m sure you can find somewhere to hang it! It’s beautiful!
LJ here. We love shortbread cookies and your sound and look so tempting. Lemon should be a hit! Love the quilts and I’m so glad to see that you shared the first quilt. Your skills have definitely improved, don’t you think. Me, too, I’m so sad that the blogs are coming to a close – the final one. I too am “so sad” 😂, but all things come to a close. Aren’t we lucky to have had them for all these years?
Really pretty quilts. Your cookie recipe is a really good recipe.
Thanks for sharing your Christmas quilts! I can completely identify with the frustration of quilting with metallic thread. I don’t swear either, but I made up a few new swear words when I tried quilting Thanksgiving place mats and a table runner with metallic thread. One day I shall try it again, after I’ve investigated the ins and outs of that type of thread.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Your quilts are beautiful! I can totally relate to that horrible beginning of FMQ. Everyone made it look so easy, but I had the same type of results you did. We’ve definitely come a long way in our skills, haven’t we. Thank you for the recipe and the wonderful memories I’ve had with you over the years. You always inspire me! xo