Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Today is December 15th — 10 days until Christmas!

Are you ready yet?

Gulp — other than shopping, I have yet to even get started. Oh wait! I put out a couple decorations in the living room and got the outside lights on. Hmm. That’s it.

Yikes! I’d better get moving, there’s only 10 days until Christmas…..

Background Image by Freepik

December Quilt Class Christmas Party

Recently, I wrapped up (pun intended) my 2022 Table Runner a Month class with a festive December Christmas party/class. What a lot of fun we had — we met an hour earlier than usual so we could do a pot luck lunch. YUM! I don’t know why, but quilting and food always go together. And chocolate — you have to have chocolate!

It was a soup and sandwich pot luck — we had 2 soups, sandwich wraps, meatballs, and an awesome assortment of everything else! Way too much food, but OH SO DELICIOUS! I tried my hand at potato soup. I ended up mashing 3 different recipes together. I made it on the stove top and then transferred it to a crock pot. I was amazed at how good it actually turned out, considering I’d never made potato soup this way before. In the past, I always started with a white sauce, but this time I started with chicken broth — I didn’t even have to add any flour — the starch in the potatoes thickened up the soup when I squashed them up with a spatula once they were soft. Of course, the cream cheese and shredded cheddar didn’t hurt any either! Here is one of the recipes I mashed up: Easy Potato Soup Recipe.

We did a 1 yard fabric exchange, too. For my group, that means we each brought the equivalent of about a yard of fabric in a gift bag or box (could be 4 fat quarters, 8 fat eighths, 1 charm pack, 2 half yards — you get the idea). To do the fabric exchange, we sat in a circle and played a Christmas game using a Right Left version of Frosty the Snowman.

Don’t know what a Right Left Gift Exchange is? You can go HERE for more information and 5 fun Right Left stories. Or just search “Right Left Christmas Game” on the Internet and you will get lots of different story options so you can choose your favorite! What I love about this game is that it doesn’t take a lot of time, you can do it with any size group, and no one’s feelings get hurt.

I also went over our December project and introduced the group to the Disappearing Nine and Four Patch blocks. Are you familiar with these? I just love all the different ways you can do them and how each time, your quilt looks completely unique even though you are using the same concept over and over. Lots of fun! If you are new to Disappearing Nine and Four Patch designs, you can go HERE for more information.

Our 2022 class was a Table Runner a Month theme this year (I try to choose a different theme or project each year). We began the class in March and met once a month through December. We skip January and February because those are usually the worst winter months in our area, but sometimes March and April can be worse than January and February. Oh, jolly Pennsylvania….. Each month in 2022, we made a different Villa Rosa Rose Card table runner pattern.

One of my quilty pals, Sherry, had been after me for a couple years to do a class on my VRD runners. I finally agreed to do a year of my VRD table runner Rose Cards for 2022 — it felt kind of weird to do an entire year of my own patterns, but Sherry was right — it turned out to be an awesome group/class.

Here is the list of the Rose Cards we did for 2022 (I added the links to the VRD website just in case you want to know more or purchase the patterns) —

March — Ice Jam

April — Belle Amie

May — Pinwheel Picnic

June — Unfurled

July — Whirly Bird

August — Lattice

September — Leaf

October — Dapper

November — Peppermint & Holly

December — Coffee Break

Now for the fun! Here are photos of some of the table runners made by members of the group.

Awesome runners, aren’t they??? And these are only some of the numerous runners!

I love how each person showed their own styles, used their own fabrics, modified the design by adding or subtracting borders, made the runners smaller or larger or even a square, and even made some runners extra special by piecing extra fabric into the backing. These ladies are not only talented, they are a great group of people.

I was so inspired this year using my Villa Rosa patterns, we are going to do a Year of Panels and Novelties in 2023, using — you guessed it — Villa Rosa patterns.

Villa Rosa Designs has over 500 patterns in our VRD catalog, so I could seriously go for years without using the same pattern twice. How cool is that? Besides, VRD releases 5+ NEW patterns every month — that’s over 60 NEW patterns EACH YEAR.

You might wonder why I am taking so much time to talk about the Table Runner class, but it leads right into my next topic!

Perfect Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas Quilters Can Make

Table Runners!

Yep — table runners are my go-to solution for a quick last minute handmade gift.

Let’s break this down:

Table Runners are….

1. quilts
2. handmade
3. a very personal gift
4. a lot faster to make than larger quilts
5. easy to personalize to the recipient
6. less expensive to make because they require small amounts of fabric
7. precut and stash-friendly
8. a great gift for practically anyone on your list
9. special
10. AWESOME!

Of course, any small quilt or project that can be finished quickly makes a great last minute gift — table runners, place mats, wall quilts, table quilts, doll quilts, mini quilts, pillows, and more.

Villa Rose Designs has got your back, I promise you!

A stack of VRD Rose Cards makes an amazing gift for yourself or your favorite quilty pals, too…..just sayin’……..

If you don’t have time to make a runner or other project before the holidays, consider gifting a quilt kit — pick a fun pattern and add the required fabrics for the top and binding. A kit for your fav quilty friend will give that person something new and fun to do during the winter months. Or gift a kit to a non-quilty person with a note saying you will complete it for them after the holidays.

However you do it, here are some great Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card patterns to inspire you:

Table Runners and Place Mats

Amen uses pre-printed panel squares or a theme fabric which means some of the work is already done for you before you even get started.

Griddle uses stash or scraps so there’s no need to head to the quilt shop (unless you really want to…).

Ripple Runner is super fast to make and finish. Short on time? Use a light, medium, and dark fabric instead of making it scrappy. Or go Christmas scrappy — what fun!

Season’s Greetings is a no-brainer — really. Don’t have fat sixths (12″ x 22″)? Dive into your scraps and stash instead!

Sugarplum is a super simple and cute pattern that goes together in a snap. 1 fat quarter and a bunch a scraps. Sew sew sew! Presto! DONE!

Let’s Eat is a fun set of place mats that uses pre-printed panel squares or a theme fabric which means of course that some of the work is already done for you.

Small Quilts

Baby Goose is a great versatile quilt at 42″ x 58″ and can be backed with only one width of fabric. It would take longer than a table runner to make, but it still goes very fast because the focal fabric does most of the work.

Blue Girl — just 3 fabrics….

Cabin Fever is the perfect size for a baby quilt or a wall quilt or a small lap quilt AND it goes really fast.

Cat City for your favorite feline lover. Go HERE for a 2 Cat City quilt block mini cat quilt tutorial.

Dainty Machines has directions for multiple sizes, including a 26″ x 26″ mini quilt with 4 blocks. You can check out my interview with Sewl Sister HERE.

Mod Tiles and Mod Tiles Too — got charm squares???

Fun Stuff

Did you know we have a whole VRD collection of Accessory Rose Cards? Accessories make great gifts for anyone and everyone. I’ll show you some of my favs, but you can click on the link above to see the whole collection.

Olivia Jane — a Charm Square Patchwork Tote

Savannah Jane — Cool pieced scarf. Add a fleece backing to make it cozy for winter.

Belinda Jane — Pillow Sham

Petula Jane — Roll & Go Place Mat and Napkin

Emmalina Jane — Eyeglass Case

I hope these great projects have not only inspired you but give you the desire to whip up those last minute holiday gifts. There’s still time, but you’d better hurry!

Well, that’s it for this week.

Until next Thursday —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat. And SEW some more.

Always,

Tricia @VRD