Holiday Gift Ideas 2022

Happy holidays! 2022 went by lickety quick and here we are again at the end of year dash to finish and deliver our quilty gifts to co-workers, friends, and family. If you're still looking for a few ideas to take care of your list (or anyone who drops by!) here are a few of my new favorite gift giving projects.

1. The "Fancy Folded Star", designed by Maria Wallin (photo above, bottom right), was designed as a potholder, but can be made into smaller or larger versions for different gift ideas. For mine, I omitted the potholder loop but included a heat reflective layer so that it could still be used for that purpose, or as a trivet, or even as a mug rug...so many uses! This is rated as an "ambitious" project. However, it is not difficult, just time intensive. The beautiful finished pieces are well worth the effort!

2. If you have a need for a finish that is quick AND beautiful, I highly recommend the coasters above. This idea came from Bethanne Nemesh and uses practice pieces of quilting, 5" squares, and decorative thread to create these unique pieces. In the version above I used a decorative rotary blade that provided a scalloped edge, and an 8wt. metallic polyester thread, adding bobbin work to my projects.

3. Candle mats and (more) coasters! The pieces above were created from my feathered wreath practice in Bethanne Nemesh's Freehand Feather Fiesta class. But any feathered wreath practice, whether freehand or from a stencil will do! I simply cut out the wreaths I had sewn on my larger quilt sandwich, added bias cut binding, and produced these custom finished sets. I was thrilled with the outcome!

4. Gingerbread mini quilt. The design of this 24" x 24" mini came from Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts, and is her Gingerbread Trio Pattern. This project is fun, super easy, and customizable with favorite fabrics and background quilting. For this piece, I used a blanket stitch and invisible thread for my applique gingerbread men, and used a feather meander as my backfill.

5. And finally, the above pattern is "Shining Star", also from Edyta Sitar's Gingerbread Trio Pattern. This 24" x 24" project is patchwork pieced. For my finish, I simply quilted the star "in the ditch" and employed decorative quilting in the background and border. For my crosshatch quilting I used Bethanne Nemesh's "Arbor Lines 12" curved ruler and her "Garden Lines Stitch in the Ditch" ruler. The unique precision 1/8" markings provided a beautiful addition to the crosshatch and also gave great precision to my border work.

I hope you found these ideas useful and helpful as you share your love of quilting with friends and family. Wishing you happy holidays, safe travels, and a joyous New Year!

- Liz

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