More holiday decor ideas!

Our Christmas preparation is continuing with two more holiday-themed magazine projects. Both projects were designed by Joanie Holton and Melanie Greseth of Tailormade by Design and are featured in the Winter 2016 issue of Quilter's World magazine. 

Golden Holiday

"Golden Holiday" by Joanie Holton and Melanie Greseth;
quilted by Sue Krause
featured in Quilter's World Winter 2016

Why did the Golden Holiday fabrics appeal to you?

I really liked the warm, rich colors it had. Plus the little bit of gold created a really pretty line that was fun to work with. Sometimes it’s hard for people to see how to use black background fabric, especially in Christmas. I think it gave the quilt a richer tone, which is what we were looking for.

Tell us about the triangle method you used to make this chevron-style quilt.

It’s easier than people think to create—it’s a simple process, all using the same piece. You’re not doing inset seams because you’re sewing them in rows. It’s such an easy way to add a rich-looking Christmas quilt to your living room with it having to be a three month process.

Any tips for making this quilt?

Starch is your friend. And the time it takes to starch is well worth it. It really makes a huge difference in the ease of the sewing and the quality of the finished project.

What do you like best about the quilt?

I like that it’s a traditional quilt with kind of a non-traditional flair to it. I like how it turned out as a more contemporary Christmas quilt.

Click here to see the Golden Holiday collection. 

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Joyful Table Runner

"Joyful Table Runner" by Joanie Holton and Melanie Greseth;
quilted by Naomai Polzin
featured in Quilter's World Winter 2016

What drew you to the Joyful collection?

The really cool stripe caught our attention. It’s always a challenge to decide how to use a great stripe.

How did this table runner develop?

We had designed it as a quilt to start with but it was too big and overwhelming. We realized it would be a great runner. It’s a very do-able pattern, and creates a beautiful table runner for Christmas. The runner is assembled with larger fussy cut diamonds—again, starch is your friend!

Tell us about how you used the stripe here.

Because we really liked all parts of the stripe, our focus was how to use it efficiently throughout the project. We wanted to avoid fabric waste and to create a design where quilters could use as much of it as possible. We used fussy-cut triangles in the runner center, and then different fussy-cut strips that alternate with the green and red diamonds.

What do you like best about the runner?

How the simplicity of the design created such a beautiful runner. It’s not complicated but it just turned out so lovely.

Click here to see the Joyful collection.

Click here to find the winter 2016 issue of Quilter's World. 

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Holiday Preview: Holly and Ivy

It's October, and signs of Christmas are already appearing (Have you heard Christmas carols in stores?!). But there's still plenty of time to sew a quilt for the holidays. Melanie Greseth and Joanie Holton designed the "Holly and Ivy" extra long twin-size quilt for McCall's Quilting. This quilt features our Golden Holiday collection--rich reds, greens and creams with metallic gold accents. 

"Holly and Ivy" designed by Melanie Greseth and Joanie Holton of Tailormade by Design;
pieced by Sue Homan and machine quilted by Sue Krause;
featured in McCall's Quilting November-December 2016

Joanie talked to us about the Holly and Ivy quilt:

What attracted you to the Golden Holiday collection?

It was very rich and yummy as we like to say, with the metallic gold. We thought it would be a really beautiful project to do.

Tell us about your medallion design.

This line seemed to really lend itself to a medallion quilt. We loved the ivy print because it created a background with interest—not just a quieter tonal print.

I typically start designing from the center. This design went through a lot of versions to get the balance to feel right. I wanted that outer star pattern to emerge, but I didn’t want it to be too heavy because the fabric is so rich. Leaving the negative space allows the outer stars to pop as well.

There are so many star blocks—how did you choose which one to use?

I like the feel of the twist in the star. We wanted a star with some movement in it, and this one seemed to fit for me.

You have another motif in the corners as well.

Yes, it’s similar to the holly leaves used in the center. I didn’t want the outer edges of the quilt to fade away—it just kind of finishes the corners.

What’s your favorite print in the collection?

I like the floral print with all its tonal variations. I knew I wanted to use this print when I designed the quilt.

What do you like best about this quilt?

It looks really super complicated but it’s not. We tried to do some fun different types of piecing and add extra interest to the quilt.

Tell us about the machine quilting.

Sue is really great about quilting in the negative space so the center of the quilt truly becomes the focal point.

Click here to see the Golden Holiday collection.
Click here to learn more about Joanie and Melanie.
Click here to find McCall's Quilting magazine.

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