Handmade Holiday Winners + Winter Solstice Fun

We hope you enjoyed our Handmade Holiday Blog Hop! All of the giveaways are now closed, and we've randomly selected our winners:

Day 1: Table Runner by Ann Lauer of Grizzly Gulch Gallery featuring Butterfly Forest

Judy F.

Day 2: Nesting Pocket Dolls by Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts featuring Little Katerina 

Sally W.

Day 3: Sew Easy Travel Case featuring Sew Easy

MaryBeth L.

Day 4: Firewood Tote by Mary on Lake Pulaski featuring Shades of Winter

Diane B.

Day 5: Evergreen Pennant by Jessica of Quilty Habit featuring Snow Days

Debby G.

Day 6: Patchwork Apron by Kristen of KD Quilts featuring Frosty Forest

Debra Kay N.

Day 7: Christmas Adorned quilt by Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation featuring Santa's Here

Michelle S.

Congratulations, ladies! If you haven't been contacted yet, please email your mailing address to sewinlovewithfabric (at) gmail.com so we can get your fabric bundles mailed out! 

Also, be sure to head over to Debby Kratovil's blog today! She's put together a post in honor of the Winter Solstice--she's trying to entice the sun to return with some beautiful bright color from Paula Nadelstern's Fabracadabra collection! Don't miss her post here.

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Handmade Holiday: More Tutorials!

Our Handmade Holiday Blog Hop is finished, but don't forget these fantastic seasonal tutorials, which were featured in our Christmas in July Blog Hop!

Santa Sack by Chris from Made by Chrissie D using Happy Holidays Snowmen

Tree Skirt by Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts using Homespun Holiday

Throw Pillow by Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation using Ornamental Splendor

Wonky Star Placemats by Kristen from KD Quilts using Santa's Here

Christmas Card Organizer by Melissa from My Fabric Relish using Frosty Forest

Table Runner and Napkins by Nikki from The Girl Who Quilts using Frosty Forest

Wintry Wall Hanging by Wendy from Ivory Spring using Shades of Winter

And if you missed any days from our Handmade Holiday Blog Hop, find them here:

Day 1: Table Runner by Ann Lauer of Grizzly Gulch Gallery featuring Butterfly Forest

Day 2: Nesting Pocket Dolls by Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts featuring Little Katerina 

Day 3: Sew Easy Travel Case featuring Sew Easy

Day 4: Firewood Tote by Mary on Lake Pulaski featuring Shades of Winter

Day 5: Evergreen Pennant by Jessica of Quilty Habit featuring Snow Days

Day 6: Patchwork Apron by Kristen of KD Quilts featuring Frosty Forest

Day 7: Christmas Adorned quilt by Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation featuring Santa's Here

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Handmade Holiday Blog Hop: Day 7

It's Handmade Holiday Blog Hop time! We've been sharing both gift and decor ideas here on the blog for the last week or so, and today is the last day! Make them now; bookmark them for later. Either way, we hope you'll enjoy the inspiration and ideas to help you get in the holiday spirit and/or cross a few names off your gift list.

Today Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation is sharing an a fun ornament quilt made with E. Vive's Santa's Here collection. The ornaments are made using 2-1/2" strips--fast and easy! Enjoy her tutorial and then head over to her blog for a chance to win a Santa's Here bundle. 


Hey there, y'all! I'm Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation, and I'm delighted to share a tutorial for a festive throw sized quilt with you. This is the time of year when Christmas trees are adorned with beautiful ornaments of all shapes and sizes, and that's just what I'm calling this design. 'Tis the season for gift giving and house decorating, and the pretty Christmas fabrics and ornament blocks in this quilt are perfect for both. This quilt is quick and easy to put together, which is also a big help as things get hectic!

I used the gorgeous Santa's Here fabric collection in this quilt. These fabrics stick with traditional Christmas motifs without feeling cartoonish. They feel fresh and modern, and were a joy to work with. One of my favorite things about the collection is the color variation. Sometimes when working with a fabric line that is centered around only two or three colors, the colors don't have enough depth, and even if you use several different prints, it is difficult to achieve enough contrast in the quilt. Not so with this line. The reds range from the deepest cranberry, to a lighter, more antique-ish red; and there are several distinct green hues to play with as well, from dark hunter to light sage.

Fabric Requirements-

*9 fat quarters- I love lots of fabric variety in my quilts, so I used 17 fat quarters, and just used the leftovers in the binding and backing. As long as you start with the correct number of strips (125) for the ornaments, you're good!

*2 1/4 yards white background fabric

*1/8 yard solid gray (ornament caps)

*1/2 yard binding fabric

*3 yards backing fabric

Cutting Instructions-

Press your fat quarters to be sure your cuts are accurate, and cut each fat quarter into 14 strips, measuring 2.5" x 10.5" each. Please note that the cutting diagram below is not perfectly to scale, and all strips are cut the same size. This yields 126 strips with virtually no waste. You need a total of 125 strips for the Adorned blocks, so if you want to use a wider variety of prints as I did, go for it! Just make sure you end up with 125 total strips.

From background fabric, cut

*(50) 5.5" squares- cut 8 strips, WOF (width of fabric) x 5.5," subcut to yield (50) 5.5" squares
*(50) 2.5" squares- cut 4 strips, WOF x 2.5," subcut (50) 2.5" squares
*(50) 2.5" x 4" strips- cut 5 strips, WOF x 2.5," subcut (50) 2.5" x 4" strips
*(25) 1.5" x 3.5"strips- cut 1 strip, WOF x 3.5," subcut (25) 1.5" x 3.5" strips
*(20) 1.5" x 12.5" strips- cut 7 strips, WOF x 1.5," subcut (20) 1.5" x 12.5" strips

From solid gray, cut

*(25) 1.5" x 3.5" strips, cut 1 strip, WOF x 3.5," subcut (25) 1.5" x 3.5" strips

Now, onto sewing the blocks! Sew with a 1/4" seam, and either press your seams open or to one side as you prefer. Start by mixing up your strips to create strip sets of five different strips in each set. Take one strip set and sew the strips together to make a 10.5" block.

It's also important to note that I prefer to sew my blocks in stages. That is, I like to sew and press all of my strip sets, then sew and press the corners for all blocks, etc. I find that it is a little bit faster for me, but I know that some quilters make a single block from start to finish before moving to the next. Either way works; it just depends on your personal preference!

Sewing the corners is up next! This block is really just a simple variation on a traditional snowball block. By varying the corner square size, the ornament has an interesting shape that is rounded at the top and pointed at the bottom, like so many of the old fashioned ones I love. A simple snowball block with uniform corner squares would yield more of a ball shaped ornament.

To create the ornament shape from your strip set, sewing corner to corner is required. You can do this with a couple of different methods.  Either-

*Draw a diagonal line on the back of each corner square and sew along that line OR

*Use a piece of painter's tape as a guide. Align the edge of the tape with your needle and extend it several inches on your table. Keep the corners of your squares lined up with that edge, and you'll have no trouble keeping your seam straight and accurate!

For the corners of each block, you will need two 2.5" squares, and two 5.5" squares.

Sew the 2.5 inch squares to the top two corners of your block, and sew one 5.5" square to a bottom corner. Don't sew the second 5.5" square just yet!  Trim the 5.5" corner to 1/4" seam allowance.

Press it open, and then sew the remaining 5.5" square to the last corner. Again, trim to 1/4" seam allowance. While you're at it, you might as well go ahead and trim those top ones too!

Press all four corners open, and voila...a lovely ornament shape! Trim this portion of your block to 10.5" square.

Doesn't that ornament look lost without its little cap? The next step is to remedy that. The cap portion of the block requires (2) 2.5" x 4" white strips, (1) 1.5" x 3.5" white strip, and one gray strip. Lay them out and sew them together like this-

And then sew your ornament cap piece to your block. These blocks are rectangular, finishing at 10" x 12" in the quilt, so trim your block to 10.5" x 12.5" if needed.

You'll need 25 blocks for this quilt. Of course, this tutorial is written for a throw sized quilt, but if you want to use this block for smaller projects, it would be just as cute. I'm thinking a few of these would make an adorable table runner or table topper.

Just keep in mind that since the blocks are rectangular, you can't orient some of them horizontally and others vertically, and have them still fit together. To do that, you would need to add additional sashing to the sides, making it square (and of course, if you wanted to do that, you probably wouldn't want the additional sashing listed).  **This is a break from the tutorial, and would require a little extra fabric math on your part, but I'm just trying to point out some options if you want to branch out a little bit.

I decided on a straight layout for my quilt though. So, sticking with the tutorial as written, just lay out your blocks in a 5 x 5 arrangement (my design wall isn't quite big enough, so the last row of my blocks are laid out on the floor underneath).

Notice the gaps between the blocks? That's where your sashing strips go.  Sew your blocks together with sashing strips between (do not sew sashing to the beginning or end of the row, only between the blocks). Then sew your five rows together. Because of the way the ornament caps are constructed, you don't need sashing running horizontally between the rows.

Then just baste, quilt, bind, and snuggle! As I mentioned earlier, I used way more prints than necessary. I love to do that, because I enjoy pieced backings in my quilts. Since I use the leftovers in the backing and binding, I can use tons of variety, but without creating a hoard of scraps.

I rounded out the leftover fabric on the back with one of the darkest green fabrics in the collection, and I even made a scrappy binding.

This quilt was fun from start to finish. It measures 54" x 60," so it is a very generous throw size for covering even an adult. The traditional colors paired with more updated, modern prints in this fabric line look right at home in my living room with my other holiday decor.

Of course, it's not going to stay under the Christmas tree, but it looked so perfect, I couldn't resist taking the photos there.

If you need a quick gift, or a new quilt to brighten up your own holiday decor, I hope you give the Christmas Adorned quilt a try!

Benartex is generously offering a fat quarter bundle of the Santa's Here collection line to a lucky reader! Pop over to my blog to find out how to enter!

I have truly enjoyed sharing the Christmas Adorned quilt tutorial with you, and I hope you'll come visit me at my blog home, My Quilt Infatuation to browse around. I always have lots going on. Merry Christmas to all!

Thanks Kelly! 

Don't miss any days of our Handmade Holiday Blog Hop!

Day 2: Nesting Pocket Dolls by Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts featuring Little Katerina 

Day 3: Sew Easy Travel Case featuring Sew Easy

Day 4: Firewood Tote by Mary on Lake Pulaski featuring Shades of Winter

Day 5: Evergreen Pennant by Jessica of Quilty Habit featuring Snow Days

Day 6: Patchwork Apron by Kristen of KD Quilts featuring Frosty Forest

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Handmade Holiday Blog Hop: Day 6

It's Handmade Holiday Blog Hop time! We're sharing both gift and decor ideas here on the blog. Make them now; bookmark them for later. Either way, we hope you'll enjoy the inspiration and ideas to help you get in the holiday spirit and/or cross a few names off your gift list.

Today Kristen from KD Quilts is sharing an adorable patchwork apron made with Cherry Guidry's Frosty Forest collection. She fussy cut part of the Frosty Forest panel for the apron top and then stitched a patchwork skirt--super easy and super cute! Enjoy her tutorial and then head over to her blog for a chance to win a Frosty Forest bundle. 

Here's Kristen:

Hello to all the lovely Benartex readers! I'm thrilled to be back here today sharing my super quick, super easy apron tutorial! If you aren't a garment sewer, don't worry. If you know how to work a sewing machine and cut fabric, then you will be wonderful!

You will need:

6 fat quarters and 1 panel (you will have enough fabric left over for a child size apron as well! Perfect for baking cookies for Santa!)

Frosty Forest panel

Cutting:

From the panel:

Trim main panel design down to 16.5" x 19" (for the apron top)
Fussy cut a 17-1/2" x 4-1/2" strip from directly below the panel (for the waistband) 

From each of 4 fat quarters:

Cut two 10" x 9" pieces

From one remaining fat quarter:

Three 2" x 22" strips joined to create a binding strip measuring at least 53" long

From the last fat quarter:

Four 4" x 22" strips for ties

Let's get to making!

Sew together the 10" x 9" pieces, short sides together, in pairs. You will now have four segments measuring 17.5" x 10".

Sew these segments long sides together to make the apron skirt.

Time to gather! There are lots of ways to gather, but I haven't ever veered away from the old fashioned method:

 

With the longest stitch length you have, run a line across 1/4 inch from the top. Be sure to leave super long tails on either end. Hold the top thread on one side and gently work the fabric down the stitch line you made. Keep gathering (you might have to do some from the other side too) until your skirt measures 17-1/2". The gathers should all be even across your skirt.

Right sides together, attach the waistband to the skirt. The stitches that were used to gather should be inside the seam allowance so they are not visible on the front.

We will set this aside and start the binding and apron ties.

On all four ties, you need to fold the fabric in half lengthwise. Press. Open and fold each side to the center line. Press. Fold in half again. Press.

On one end, fold ends in to make triangles before sewing down the final fold. This gives your ties a finished point at the end.

Topstitch down the angled end and open side of each tie.

Now repeat the folding process for the binding piece, this time leaving the ends open. Set aside for now.

Turn the apron top wrong side up and measure 3" in from the top edge on each side. Sew down the neck apron ties here. (They'll be flipped up after the binding is attached.)

Starting at the bottom of one side, attach the binding around the sides and top of the apron panel, sandwiching the raw edges of the panel in the center fold of the binding. Be sure the raw ends of the apron ties are pointing down and are encased in the binding also.

At the corners, open the binding and pinch it closed again. A tricky process to put in words, so hopefully these pictures help!

Trim remaining binding strip if needed after adding to all three sides. After the binding is sewn on, flip the neck ties up and stitch across again. This way they stay up and don't crease funny.

Tack down the apron waist strings onto the sides of the apron waistband as shown (position waist tie on right side of waistband). Hem all around the apron sides and bottom with a 1/2" hem (Fold in 1/4" wrong sides together. Then fold in 1/4" again and sew). The waist ties will fold into the hem.

Are you ready?! Last step!! Right sides together, attach the apron top to the waistband of the apron skirt. Now proudly wear and bake some cookies! (Or just wear it and browse the Benartex blog hop, you worked hard this afternoon!

Thanks Kristen! 
Head over to her blog to find out how you can win a bundle of Frosty Forest.

Don't miss any days of our Handmade Holiday Blog Hop!

Day 2: Nesting Pocket Dolls by Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts using Little Katerina 

Day 3: Sew Easy Travel Case featuring Sew Easy

Day 4: Firewood Tote by Mary on Lake Pulaski featuring Shades of Winter

Day 5: Evergreen Pennant by Jessica of Quilty Habit featuring Snow Days

Day 7: Christmas Adorned quilt by Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation featuring Santa's Here

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Handmade Holiday Blog Hop: Day 5

It's Handmade Holiday Blog Hop time! We're sharing both gift and decor ideas here on the blog. Make them now; bookmark them for later. Either way, we hope you'll enjoy the inspiration and ideas to help you get in the holiday spirit and/or cross a few names off your gift list.

Today Jessica from Quilty Habit is sharing an easy evergreen pennant. Use your favorite holiday prints (she combined Snow Days with a few coordinating solids) to make a seasonal decoration that can brighten up your house all winter long. Enjoy her tutorial and then head over to her blog for a chance to win a Snow Days bundle. 

Here's Jessica:
Hi! I'm Jessica Skultety, a quilter, teacher, and lecturer on modern and modern traditional quilting - and I blog voraciously over at Quilty Habit! I love decorating for the winter season (not just the holidays, but winter - after all, here in New Jersey, I'm inside quite a lot over these next few months. Might as well make it pretty).

I designed the Evergreen Pennant Banner to work for both winter and Christmas (or one or the other - whatever you prefer). It's unique because it uses two different sizes of Evergreen trees, and it's reversible! Might I suggest trying an all-solids version with Benartex's Colors for Quilters? Whatever fabrics you choose, I hope this banner brightens up your space this season!

Evergreen Pennant Banner Tutorial

Materials: 
Templates (download here) 
Cardboard or template plastic 
Sewing machine and general sewing supplies 
Iron 
Rotary cutter and ruler 
Turner, chopstick, or pencil 

Fabric: 
9 fat quarters (I used six from Snow Days and three solids: Lime, Lipstick, and Kelly) 
1 fat quarter for strip (I used White)

Making the Trees: 
1. Print out the templates above at 100% (not fit to page). Cut out on the lines. 
2. Trace onto cardboard or template plastic - cut them out.
3. Fold your fat quarters in half along the 22" side and trace your trees. This way, you'll have two trees from each fabric to cut out from just tracing once.  See diagram below.

*If you are using directional fabric like the snowmen, you may want to fussy cut. You also will not be able to fold as instructed above because the directions will likely lay the wrong way - you will have to cut them out separately (this is why you have a whole fat quarter!)

For the rest of the tutorial, I decided to make my evergreens without raw edges. You could simply sew them together wrong sides together and proceed to "Making the Strip" IF you don't mind raw edges. 
4. Place your evergreens RST (right sides together). Pin and leave a 2" opening on one of the long sides. 
5. Sew all the way around with a 1/4" seam.

6. Snip all the corners. This will reduce bulk! 
7. Use a chopstick or turner to carefully turn the trees out. Press. 
8. Topstitch around the trees at 1/8" - this is both to close the opening and for prettiness.

Making the Strip: 
I didn't want to cut the points of the trees off by encasing them in bias tape, so here's an alternative method. 
1. Cut 7 strips from your strip fat quarter. The strips should be 2" wide x 22" long. 
2. To join them on the bias, lay them RST at an angle (see picture below). Draw a diagonal line from top left to bottom right. 
3. Sew on the line and cut off at 1/4". Press open.

4. Join all your strips in this way. This should leave you with a strip of about 120". You may want to to decide at this point if you want to add or subtract length, based on where you will hang your banner. Also, just as a note, the measurements in Step #10 will have to change if you alter the length. 
5. Fold the entire piece in half and press.
6. Fold the two ends to meet the middle and press. You should now have three press lines down your whole strip, like below.

7. With the two ends folded to the middle, fold the strip in half (along the first press line you created).

8. Sew a topstich 1/8" from the edge along the strip to close it.
9. On each end, fold over the strip 1/4", then 1/4", and sew. This might be tricky to get through your machine, as it is bulky. Take this step to ensure that the raw edges are enclosed.
10. At 20" in from one end, place a pin. Pin along the strip every 11" to allow for 9 evenly spaced evergreens. You may want to alternate big and small trees like I did, or come up with your own pattern!
11. Sew each tree onto the strip in an "X" fashion. I started at one corner, used stay stitch or back stitch, sewed to the other, and cut my thread. Then I did the same on the other side). Sew slowly and your "X" will come out nearly symmetrical.

12. Hang your pennant banner and enjoy!

Thank you to Benartex for inviting me to be a part of the blog hop! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you'll check out my projects, tutorials, and musings over on my blog. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Thanks Jessica! 
Head over to her blog to find out how you can win a bundle of Snow Days.

Don't miss any days of our Handmade Holiday Blog Hop!

Day 2: Nesting Pocket Dolls by Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts using Little Katerina 

Day 3: Sew Easy Travel Case featuring Sew Easy

Day 4: Firewood Tote by Mary on Lake Pulaski featuring Shades of Winter

Day 6: Patchwork Apron by Kristen of KD Quilts featuring Frosty Forest

Day 7: Christmas Adorned quilt by Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation featuring Santa's Here

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