Friday, July 27, 2018

Christmas in July Blog Hop


Well, it is Christmas in July Blog Hop Time and today is my day!  I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do for this hop and I found this panel I bought last year because I loved the chickadees so much and the tealish background with the green and red holly was so pretty.  Well, I have to admit that I bought 3 panels and was thinking about making a quilt, but I decided I really didn't want to do that now.  So, what to do with three big quilt panels???  Use them for Christmas in July!


I wish to thank Carol from justletmequilt.com for hosting this blog hop.

I began by cutting apart all the "pieces" of the panel down to each individual component, except I kept the middle section of one of the panels intact.

 









This section was going to be left as it is.  I then proceeded to put fusible fleece on the back although I am not sure now why I did that.  It did turn out really nicely though after quilting...










Next I started resewing everything back together, but in totally different ways.

 

You are probably getting the gist of what I was making now, a table topper with four placemats, two of the bird with berries and two with the birds on the pine tree.  I then applied fusible fleece to these.

But, I was not done yet...  My daughter is always asking for those kitchen towels that have the flap that buttons over the top so she can put it on her stove.  I found a cute red checkered towel that was in my stash and decided to cut it in two to make two towels.

 

Gathering and attaching it to the front of a panel piece, I then sewed the "inside flap" above this piece.  Then sewing together the front and back outside flap right sides together, I pinned the flaps together folding a quarter of an inch up for the back side, I sewed the three sides together, turned the flap right side out and stitched down the opening through the two flaps and the toweling.




At this point, I was ready to find a button and make the buttonhole.







I knew I would find something in my button box, and so I did.  I decided upon the deep red.
 

I had never made a buttonhole with my Bernina before, and I tried just "winging it" and ended up taking the entire thing out.  I found my manual, followed the instructions, and OMG it was so easy.  I will have to remember look things up in the instructions.

Anyway, I loved it!

 

All that was left was to quilt and bind the placemats and table topper.  I used a soft and white batting in between (and yes, this is the time to wonder why I used fleece on all the pieces) and did echoing around all the designs in the pieces.  I think this turned out great and I am really proud of it.



 


And the final project (Don't tell my daughter because she will be getting this for her birthday):

 

Happy Christmas in July!  I hope you have enjoyed my project.  Please look at all the other bloggers' posts for other great ideas!

There's a ton of amazing talent among the hoppers.
Be sure to visit them all and leave a sweet comment...it will be appreciated!

July 23


July 24 


July 25


July 26


July 27


Always, Kay


 PS.  Leave a comment below for a chance to win a Fons and Porter Half and Quarter Square Ruler.





27 comments:

  1. how clever of you to find alternative uses for your panels than the original plan! The results were amazing.

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  2. I've never seen these panels before. They are really beautiful.

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  3. You did a lovely job with those panels! I'm sure your dd will love them.

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  4. That panel is so pretty with the rich, deep colors. It's great how you used it to make so many gorgeous projects just by cutting it into separate sections. I love that little bird on the towel! Thank you so much for joining in the hop and sharing your beautiful creations. :O)

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  5. Nice quilt. I would never have thought to use a panel for the towel. Creative idea!

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  6. Very pretty fabric. Birds are a favorite of mine. These go great with the Winter Lennox dishes with all the birds!

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  7. You sure made the most of those panels. Well done! Panels always seem like a good idea until you get home. You have motivated me to get at them. Thanks for sharing. Janice.snell@gmail.com

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  8. WOW !!! Way to go. Who would have thought those 3 panels could yield so much creativity. Great projects all the way around. Thanks so much for sharing your process with us.

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  9. thank you for being a part of the tour. oh my goodness, your projects with this panel are lovely. thanks for the inspiration.
    quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

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  10. Hi Kay! It seems they saved the best for the last day! What cute projects you made from that panel. I have always love those towels that can hang from the stove handle or a drawer. It's always nice to have ones to hang for the holidays! I am sure your daughter will be delighted to receive them. Your quilting looks fabulous - just the perfect thing for these pieces. Happy Friday! ~smile~ Roseanne

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  11. There are some super talented people. I loved the Christmas trucks and the bears. I'm going to make bears this year. Jmikebalou (at) aol (dot) com

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  12. Kay, Lovely post. I am liking all of your projects.

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  13. What a fun way to use up those panels - perfect! And I liked your explanation of the towels - I've always wondered how they go together. Now I know! Enjoy!

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  14. Thanks for showing how you made those towels. I like them too and never tried making one. Your runner and placemats look so pretty. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Nothing beats the versatility of panels. Your daughter is getting a treasure for her birthday.

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  16. Love what you did with that panel - great finishes!

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  17. Love that panel! I have seen it made up in so many cute ways. You have gotten a lot of use out of yours.

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  18. I love your project. Doesn't it make you feel silly when you have to do something over again just because you want to plow ahead before reading the instructions. I have a tendency to do that because I'm so impatient. The newer machines make buttonholes so easy compared to the older machines.

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  19. Kay, You certainly are an inspiration as what one can do with panels. Your daughter is going to be thrilled. I am one to forge ahead and not read the manual and I see I have a kindred spirit in you. Thanks for sharing your projects and participating in the hop. Merry Christmas in July.

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  20. Great projects! Your daughter will love them. Thank you for the tutorial on how to make the Christmas towels.

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  21. Your project turned out beautifully! Cutting up panels always gives me grief. Thanks!

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  22. Wow, what an inspired use for some beautiful panels! Thanks so much for showing what can be done with a little thinking and creativity. I like every piece, and think your daughter is quite the lucky woman. I like that kind of towel, too, but would never have thought of doing that. Thanks for showing how it was done.

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  23. Ooops, I was so excited about that kitchen towel tutorial, that I forgot my manners! Thank you for the chance to win that great ruler! That would be a nice addition to mine, because I don't have anything like it.

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  24. You are so creative! I love how you used your panels creatively. Panels can be difficult for many quilters. They're a weird size and the pieces aren't always squared up nicely.

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Hi, it's Kay, I really want to read and respond to your message... I will do my best to get to it as soon as I can.

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