Saturday, December 27, 2014

The Gifts of Christmas


I would like to introduce you to my "Peeps"...that's me (a quilter), my husband (a model railroader) and my daughter, who just finished her university degree in business. I have a friend who makes these little wooden figures and ordered "Peeps" for all my peeps for Christmas.  I sent her pictures of everyone in the family and she custom painted each figure.

Here are all 10 Peeps--my dad plays the violin, me, my daughter, my husband, my MIL who likes to garden, my SIL who likes to take pictures, Skye the dog, my BIL who likes to play baseball, my niece who likes to read and her sister who likes to sing. 

Everyone was very pleased with their "Peeps".  Thanks, Toni, for a job well done!

You may remember that I made quilts from my FIL's shirts last Christmas, our first Christmas without him. The quilts were for my husband and his sister, the three grandchildren and my MIL. This year, I made my BIL a pillow from the shirts.


I used organic quilting.

 
 


I found some perfect shirt fabric for the back of the pillow.


Here it is, all done.  My BIL was pleased with his pillow. It will have a place of honour in his office or in their family room.


As you know, my husband is a model railroader.  We were in a model railroad store before Christmas picking up a train engine that he had ordered and I happened to find this:

 

Doesn't every model railroad need a house with a quilt on the front porch????  They even had it in "N" scale, the gauge my husband models.

I made a feather pillow for my daughter for Christmas. The pattern, by Anna Maria Horner, is for a queen sized quilt, but I decided to just make a pillow to try out the pattern before committing to a big quilt. I used a Kaffe Fasset charm pack that was in my stash for the feathers.
 
I paper pieced the feathers so each one would be different.
 
 
Lots of straight line quilting...


 
The finished pillow!
 

If I was making a pillow from this pattern again, I think I would have less background material between the feathers...

I am happy that my homemade gifts were well received this year! 

11 comments:

  1. I really liked your Peeps! What wonderful gifts for everyone. So thoughtful of you to make quilts and now a pillow; such treasures! The pink feather pillow is dynamic; the colors really make it pop. Great quilting. Love it.

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  2. Oh I love the pillow and the backing fabric couldn't be more perfect. Great idea to make a pillow before attempting a large quilt. That Kaffe Fassett fabric really makes those feathers pop!

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  3. Your backing fabric for the shirt pillow is perfect--so fun!

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  4. Those peeps are fabulous and I love the shirt backing fabric.

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  5. I love your cushions, they are really great!

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  6. Oh your peeps are so cool! I love them! And that pillow ... those Kaffe Fasset fabrics are perfect for the feathers and just pop on that background.

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  7. The 'peeps' are precious -- I love 'em!! And your string pillow is marvelous -- the backing fabric was just perfect! :)

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  8. I think your Peeps are just so cute. What a wonderful tradition and so unique. I am in awe with all the quilts and now a pillow that you made from your FIL shirts. You are such a thoughtful person and those quilts are all wonderful. You put so much thought into each one to make it personal and I think that is the best gift one could receive. You are a very creative lady. Love seeing what you are working on. Happy New Year to you and your family.

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  9. I love your peeps! I also really love the feather pillow (I might have to make one and I'll take your advise and put them closer together. I also appreciated the links to the quilts made of shirts. My brother in law died suddenly in November and I have promised my sister to make a quilt from his plaid shirts. I really like the disappearing four patch. I also like the strings in the pillow.

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  10. YOUR projects are beautiful and I am in love with the peeps!!!

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  11. I just found your blog today.... i'm enjoying looking at your creations.....
    xo

    LOVE your peeps!!!!
    does your friend (who makes the peeps) have a website where we can order our own peeps?? they are lovely!!
    xo
    eva ..in bc..

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