Christmas Updates and Finishes on Free Motion Mavericks

Allô and welcome🎄 I hope that you had a lovely Christmas. We had a terrific time with all of the kids and Poppy, great food, and gifts! It's now Boxing Day and very quiet. Time to get this post done and then do some more embroidery. 😊

Snow Happens wall hanging

The last time I shared this embroidery was last January in my 2024 planning post and then again in a slow stitching post a few days later. I'm afraid not much happened after that. I picked it up in December again and it's slowly coming along. Instead of giving myself another year to finish it (we know how that worked out!😁), I'm aiming for the end of January. At least it's a winter piece, so it won't have to be put away with the Christmas stuff.

The first two snow people, almost finished!

Here are the other snow people.

Some progress on the snow people

The last one hasn't been started
except for the bird house

Metal Christmas Ornament 

Do you remember the trees embroidered on metal? They have great potential but we'll call this version a sample. I did learn a lot making and putting it together. I'm not sure if I'll make more but if I do, I'll have good notes below! 

Christmas tree ornament - lots of potential

Not great but learned lots!

Kawandi style Christmas mat

For November's Table Scraps Challenge, I put together a little Kawandi style mat made of old fashion Christmas fabric. I finished it in December. I just love it and I think that my DL likes it too! As I mentioned in a previous post, I sewed the fabrics down by machine. This was so much easier than wrestling with pins and bits of fabric as I stitched it by hand. I will probably keep making them this way. My favourite part about making them is the slow running stitch.

Finished Kawandi style Christmas mat

Doesn't it go great with the Grinch card? The fabrics
are probably from the same era.

It's quiet here today. Poppy is spending a few days. I'm so happy.😍

Poppy checking out the yard!

Poppy coming in from the snow

What I learned

• The Snow Happens embroidery is coming along. It's weird to be following a commercial pattern.
• The piece is supposed to be in blue but I just can't do that - so the embroidery thread is all kinds of values of blue. It makes things more interesting to stitch!
• The metal Christmas tree ornament was a disappointment. I now know not to use fuzzy thread.
• The most frustrating part was stitching them together. I just don't like how I finished the edges. It only occurred to me a few days later that I could have backed them with felt. I think that this would be better and much easier. At least if I make these again, I'll have notes to follow!

Related links

• Making Plans on my 600th post! January 04, 2024
• So much slow stitching going on, January 09, 2024
• It's that time of the year again! December 04, 2024

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. You may want to check some out! Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Midweek Makers, Put your foot down,

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 512 of Free Motion Mavericks! I think many quilters were busy getting ready for the holidays. Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. 

Deb from a Scrappy Quilter quilted six Irish Chain quilts. Two have been donated while the others will hang around for the special occasion. 

Kat quilted this one with a diamond grid

Six lovely quilts finished by Kat

Quilting Gail finished her Floral Fusion, based on Denise's sew along. What a beauty. 

Gail's finished Floral Fusion

Gail outlined the flowers and FMQ swirls in the background

Brenda from Songbird Designs made this beauty for the Island Batik's It's All Up to You Challenge. You'll want to check out her post to read how she made it. She quilted it using some lovely sparkling thread. 

Check out Brenda's lovely Christmas tree!

It's now your turn.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter