Santa Express Lap Quilt Throw

Santa Express Lap Quilt Throw

I have to confess, I like easy decorating tips. Actually I prefer easy decorating and that’s why Santa Express Lap Quilt Throw is a personal favorite.

We grew up setting up HO-scale trains around our Christmas tree every year. The track set up itself could take a whole week to lay out so that each of us had a train, and a switch to operate. Once the trains were rolling, the objective was to keep the train engines from running into each other and the cats from knocking the train cars off the tracks.

It was a lot of fun and I can still recall the smell of cookies baking in the kitchen as we laughed at the cats and sometimes didn’t work so hard at keeping the train engines from running into each other.

This brand new, 50x60-inch holiday lap quilt reminds me of those holidays down to the child-like applique designs along the lap quilt border.

If you want to give this as a personalized gift, a family name can be embroidered along the bottom red border.. Or for fun, family member names can be added to the train cars.

Just imagine this hanging from a wall in your den or entrance way, it would quickly add a holiday flavor to any room!

Charlotte

Reindeer Fun Lap Quilt

This reindeer is having too much fun with a tree! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Reindeer Fun Lap Quilt

I just had a marvelous phone call with a returning customer who buys a holiday lap quilt from us every year for her holiday decorating. She has a two-story entrance to her home and uses the holiday lap quilts to easily set the tone for her holiday parties. She is having a number of young grand children visiting this year so we laughed about what was ahead - kids getting into presents early, cookie decorating with more icing on the kids than the cookies, reading Christmas stories at bedtime.

Considering what she has planned, it was easy to recommend a holiday lap quilt for her, our Reindeer Fun Lap Quilt. The 50x60-inch standard lap quilt features reindeer also getting into holiday antics, a perfect reflection of what she has to look forward to with all of the visiting relatives.

Someone is getting into the presents early. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

She also wanted a holiday lap quilt with burgundy colors instead of tomato red and Reindeer Fun Lap Quilt includes those colors as well as traditional Christmas green and even a touch of contemporary lime. Or should I call it chartreuse!

Reindeer Fun Lap Quilt sets the fun tone to the holidays. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I may still have a box of stuffed reindeer toy ornaments I will include so her grandchildren can add their names to the ornament before hanging it on the Christmas tree. She said she expects a few may adopt the reindeer toy and that’s fine, too, I’m sure the reindeer ornaments won’t mind!

Charlotte

It's Snowing Handmade Quilt

Love the way the scarf has a little movement in the patchwork quilt design.

It's Snowing Handmade Quilt

This may sound silly but I got into a lively discussion with a very young man earlier today while waiting at a hardware store. The question was how cold does it have to get before one can make a good snowman.

His contention was that there is no bad time to make a snowman. I didn't disagree with the sentiment but at what temperature, I asked, does snow not pack enough to hold a shape.

This 10-year old had it all figure out, down to bringing a spray water bottle with him to add a little moisture if the snow needed it.  I admired his tenacity but when the temperatures dip below zero, that's too cold to be doing much of anything outside even in a snowy garden, which makes this charming "It's Snowing" handmade quilt a great way to bring a snowman inside. Make that four snowmen!

Here's the handmade quilt with all four blocks making a charming quilted wall hanging.

I know the piecer and quilter of this quilt so this becomes special just for that reason.

In addition, though, I love how the patchwork scarf has movement instead of just sitting on the snowman's neck. Patchwork quilts are based on geometric designs so to see a simple square turn into movement is a nice touch.

The other part of this handmade quilt story? Well, see for yourself in the posted story at Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild's fall 2017 show in Rolla, Mo.:

See, there's hope for those of us with unfinished projects still around!

For those of you who may not know, UFOs are unfinished projects and I have a few of those myself so this will be further inspiration to get some of mine done.

Nice job, Loretta!

Charlotte

Christmas Sampler Handmade Quilt

Sampler quilts feature a different design in every quilt block.

Christmas Sampler Handmade Quilt

Have you started to take down your Christmas decorations? I'm just starting, focusing first on the ones that need a little repair before I put them away until next year.

As I was painting one of the damaged ornaments, I was thinking about this Christmas Sampler handmade quilt featured at the fall Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild show in Rolla, Missouri. This holiday-inspired handmade quilt has a different design in each of the quilt blocks, making this a more challenging quilt to make.

One of the star-shaped quilt blocks in this Christmas Sampler handmade quilt.

The other surprise about this Christmas Sampler handmade quilt is that it was hand-pieced, which means Joyce Darr stitched all of the pieces by hand. No sewing machine or mechanical instrument to stitch the pieces together.

The story behind the Christmas Sampler handmade quilt, including how it was pieced.

When you put all of the different quilt blocks together, the quilt turns into a lovely work of art.

Each of the blocks in this Christmas Sampler handmade quilt are different.

These are definitely Christmas colors, the tomato reds and the dark greens. It would make a lovely wall hanging and quickly give a room a holiday theme.

One more ornament to glue back together and I can start packing up some of my holiday decor. I keep one of the tiny decorated Christmas trees out all year as a reminder to keep the Christmas spirit alive every day. This holiday quilt would be another sweet way to keep that reminder alive, too, don't you think?

Charlotte

Winter Reds Handmade Quilt

Winter Reds Handmade Quilt was shared at the fall Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild show in Rolla.

Winter Reds Handmade Quilt

If there is one bird that should be the Christmas bird I nominate Missouri's red native cardinal. I have a couple of pairs that live in my garden, visiting the bird feeders at dusk to enjoy a dinner of sunflower seeds. In winter, the bright red of the male cardinals stand out against snow, their color even brighter by contrast.

This handmade quilt called "Winter Reds" reminded me of bird-watching from my living room window during winter. The small quilt was among a number of entries in the Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild's fall 2017 show in Rolla, Missouri.

The quilter, Joyce Darr, has done a nice job of melding several different kinds of printed cotton fabrics with cardinals on them in the overall design. The darker panels contrast against the ones with a snowy white background.

Closer look at the beauty of the printed cotton panels in this charming handmade quilt.

Beautiful machine quilting adds a snowy feeling to the white fabric surrounding the center quilt block. Sometimes the quilting can compete with the quilt design but in this case, it adds to the overall feel of the design, as if snow has fallen around the red birds.

Every quilt has a story and this is the story that was posted with Winter Reds Handmade Quilt.

There is snow in our weekend forecast, a promise that we may have a white Christmas, or at least Christmas Eve, this year. I will look forward to watching my bird feeders to see if any of these lovely red birds make an appearance.

There is a charming Ozark legend that red birds appearing are visitations from a loved one. Native American Indians attributed many special attributes to Cardinals and a quick search on Red Cardinals shows that these lovely birds have held a colorful history in many cultures.

I just like them simply in this handmade quilt, a reminder of the beauty of red against white.

Merry Christmas!

Charlotte

Trees with Lights Handmade Quilt

Modern patchwork Christmas trees get a little help from a border string of lights.

Trees with Lights Handmade Quilt

My gardening colleague Harriet Bain created this fun take on a modern patchwork tree quilt design by adding the border of Christmas tree lights.

The tree design itself is not necessarily one of Christmas trees but Harriet said with the red and green fabric colors, they were Christmas trees to her. I can see her point!

The machine quilting also adds beauty to this combination of trees and lights.

This handmade quilt was one of dozens of entries in the bi-annual Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild show in Rolla October 2017. Several of my master gardener colleagues are also members of the quilt guild so I enjoy going through the show and finding out what they've been making when they weren't spending time in their gardens.

One of the nice things about the quilt show is that every quilt has a written story attached to the side noting the name of the person who created the quilt as well as the quilter. Although this narrative does capture the basics of the story, it's a lot more fun to hear Harriet, how is originally from Burma, tell her version of the story.

Every quilt has a story and here is part of the story of this handmade quilt.

The only thing missing from this holiday-color inspired scene is the jolly man himself!

Charlotte

Box of Chocolates Handmade Quilt

Love the name of this handmade quilt, perfect for Valentine's Day eye candy!

Box of Chocolates Handmade Quilt

One of my favorite things to do at quilt shows is to take pictures so I can be reminded later of the beauty of these textile works of art.

This is another handmade quilt from the Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild's 2015 show in Rolla, Missouri. The handmade quilts are beautiful and, what I enjoy even more, are the stories that accompany each of the show entries. 

Each quilt is unique not only because of how it is made but also because of those stories.

Story behind handmade quilt called Box of Chocolates from Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild Show.

I am not sure I would have recognized this as a box of chocolates at first. It does remind me of one of my favorite floral sampler quilts, each block different  but made out of complimentary fabrics. Clever to name the handmade quilt inspired by the Moda fabric line.

Now that I see the name, the quilt blocks do remind me of a sampler box of chocolates, as if each quilt block represents a favorite chocolate sample.

This quilt block reminds me of a chocolate-covered nut, a personal favorite.

Close up of a quilt block from the handmade quilt named "Box of Chocolates."

What do you think, what kind of chocolate is this quilt block to you?

Charlotte

Red Feathered Star Quilt Throw

Simple but elegant, the feathered star patchwork pattern is pretty in the single block.

Red Feathered Star Lap Quilt Throw

I can still remember the first time I saw a feathered star quilt. It was hanging at a quilt show, in the back row, without any ribbon, not exactly a reject but not loved, either. The young quilter who had made it was sitting with her mother close by, although I didn't know that at first.

As I made a bee line for the quilt, I told the lady sitting next to the feathered star quilt this was one of my all-time favorite patchwork quilt patterns and I really liked the one she was sitting by. She beamed at the young quilter sitting next to her and I realized then the young woman next to her had made it.

Like most patchwork patterns, the patchwork patterns can take on different designs based on what fabrics are used. In this red feathered star quilt, reds, white and beige fabrics have been used, a basic elegant color palette that makes this design even more beautiful.

Here's the feathered star quilt in a bigger design with the feathered stars together:

Several feathered stars form the center of this red feathered star quilt throw.

Combined with the detailed border with the red stars, this is a lovely throw that will add an elegant touch to any room. I would be tempted to used is a quilted wall hanging so I could enjoy the design whenever I looked at it, wouldn't you?

Charlotte

Reindeer Games Lap Quilt Throw

This reindeer is getting into trouble, or at least into a gift package.

Reindeer Games Lap Quilt Throw

Naughty reindeer?

You bet, or at least mischievous ones are featured in this charming, brand new 50x60-inch Reindeer Games lap quilt throw.

In addition to the furry reindeer, I loved the trouble they were getting into in each of the quilt blocks.

Talented reindeer, this one is showing off balancing a Christmas tree on his nose.

Maybe it's not trouble, more like highly talented. After all, they have most of the year to practice their juggling and balancing skills before Santa needs them.

Reindeer also need to be able to carry presents and fly at the same time.

Looks like these reindeer have their juggling and balancing act down pat, and just in time!

Reindeer games practicing for Christmas eve.

Now where is Rudolph?

Charlotte

Holiday Traditions Quilt Throw Wall Hanging

Holiday Traditions Quilt Throw Wall Hanging celebrated the best of the Christmas holiday.

Holiday Traditions Quilt Throw Wall Hanging

What are some of your holiday traditions?

We didn't have too many set in stone but we did keep to a few of the basics: hanging stockings on a mantle, baking cookies, making gingerbread houses, decorating a tree. This brand new, all cotton quilt throw includes some of those traditions, and more.

A snowman keeps a red cardinal company in this traditional Christmas snow scene.

Although we grew up in South America, and a new bathing suit was part of our Christmas gift traditions, we heard about snow. It was the promise of seeing snow that got us excited about our move up north. I still get excited at the prospect of seeing the first snow, don't you?

Hanging stockings from a mantle is another Christmas tradition.

This brand new, imported from India quilt also has a sweet scene of stockings getting hung on a fireplace mantle. To personalize, you could add names, or initials, those are teeny, tiny stockings, almost the size of stockings for mice. And yes, I have a little stocking on my fireplace for the cats, and the Christmas mouse.

In our home, baking cookies was a favorite pastime even when I had stepchildren.

And what is Christmas without gingerbread - houses, cookies, ornaments. Love the smell of gingerbread anything cooking in the oven so was enchanted to find these little gingerbread cookies having fun in another Holiday Traditions quilt block.

What holiday traditions do you have in your family?

Charlotte

Santa Express Quilt Throw Wall Hanging

Applique trains, reindeer, trees and snowmen are part of the Santa Express Throw landscape.

Santa Express Quilt Throw Wall Hanging

Here's an easy way to add a train to your holiday decor without having to set up one train track. Santa Express Quilt Throw Wall Hanging has a little train traveling through the center bordered by train tracts.

Charming applique and embroidered characters are along the way and in the train cars, including this little blond girl with her brown bear dressed for snow - or maybe for bed?

This little blond girl has a nice companion, a teddy bear ready for bed!

One of the charming details of Santa Express Quilt Throw Wall Hanging is the railroad tracks at the bottom and top. 

The brand new, imported throw is made out of multi-patterned cottons in holiday green and red fabrics.

Cute train tracks along the border encourage the train to keep on going.

Christmas trees, presents, snowmen are all along the border of this 50x60-inch lap quilt and throw.

To easily turn this into a wall hanging, Santa Express Quilt Throw Wall Hanging has a sleeve on the back so it can easily give any room a holiday theme. When not in use, the sleeve lays flat on the back and is barely noticeable.

Lap quilt throws are easy ways to change the look of a room either by hanging these quilts or by tossing one over the back of a sofa or easy chair.

Choo Choo!

Charlotte

Happy Holidays Cardinals Quilt Throw Wall Hanging

Happy Holidays Cardinals Quilt Throw Wall Hanging nicely marries nature with the holidays.

Happy Holidays Cardinals Quilt Throw Wall Hanging

Living in Missouri, it is also hard not to appreciate all of the red cardinals-related references, from baseball teams to kids groups. One of the signs of the holidays for me is seeing red cardinals in my feeders when it snows. There is nothing so pretty as the male red birds against the white countryside.

I'm reminded of that vision every time I see Happy Holidays Cardinals Quilt Throw Wall Hanging, only I don't have to worry about driving in the snow storm. 

These brand new, imported quilt throws have a warm, country feel thanks to the patterned fabrics and simple, applique red cardinal birds.

Simple applique red cardinal birds add country charm to Happy Holidays Cardinals Quilt Throw.

There is also nice space under the birdhouse to add a family name in custom embroidery to easily personalize these quilt throws, we have made several with custom embroidery in that spot over the years.

This design brings the outdoors inside without the cold.

Good spot to make into a personalized gift, the space under the birdhouse.

Don't those red cardinals look happy?

I can easily see this quilt throw handing from an entryway or den, welcoming the neighbors to a warm Christmas party, can't you?

Charlotte

Santa's Workshop Quilt Throw Wall Hanging

Santa's Workshop Quilt throw wall hanging quickly turns any room into a very busy place!

Santa Workshop Quilt Throw Wall Hanging

I really should have a Santa's Workshop Quilt Throw Wall Hanging in my business office, sometimes it feels like I am another one of those little pointed-ear workers madly trying to get projects done - hopefully, in time!

This charming, all cotton imported from India lap quilt throw features very detailed applique and embroidered elves, some working on favorite holiday traditions. One of the reasons I love lap quilt throws is that they can so quickly change the decor of a room, either by hanging them or tossing one over the back of an easy chair or sofa.

This one would definitely be fun as a holiday quilt wall hanging in a den, entryway or sewing room. 

Did you grow up with trains under the Christmas tree? So did I and this elf is putting the finishing touches on a train for a good little boy, or girl.

This applique elf in santa's workshop quilt throw wall hanging looks like he's almost finished.

Now most of our Christmases growing up where on the Equator so for Christmas we usually got a new swimsuit. That didn't prevent us, however, from wondering about the kids who were given ice skates for Christmas.

This elf is lacing a set of skates in santa's workshop quilt throw all hanging. Love his smile!

This next elf made me chuckle. Having grown up with slide rulers and telescopes, I am sure this is one of Santa's engineering elfs!

This elf is wood-working in santa's workshop quilt throw all hanging, love the ruler in his pocket.

And finally last, but not least, what does this elf look like to you?

Putting the finishing touches on a doll house, this little elf looks like a girl elf to me.

Look at that pretty top, I am sure this is a girl elf finishing the doll house by carefully adding tacks to the roof.

And the biggest jolly elf of them all, of course, in the center, Santa himself! Ho Ho Ho!

Charlotte

Red Double Wedding Ring Throw Wall Hanging

Red Double Wedding Ring lap quilt throw wall hanging is a great gift for a Christmas wedding.

Red Double Wedding Ring Throw Wall Hanging

Christmas has become one of the favorite times of the year for weddings - well, any time of the year becomes special when one has a wedding but the trend has been to mark the day with a ceremony around this time of year.

One of the couples included the daughter of one of our long-time customers. She wanted something appropriate for the wedding party as gifts but not too sentimental so I located these red and white double wedding ring lap quilt throws.

The double wedding ring patchwork quilt pattern has been a favorite wedding gift for decades. Considered one of the hardest quilt patterns to make, many quilters will bypass even trying to make this design because of the curves in the pattern.

Red Double Wedding Ring Throw Wall Hanging is finished with hand quilted flowers in the center.

This is the last Red Double Wedding Ring Throw Wall Hanging in our inventory. It is brand new with a white cotton backing and hand quilting.

Made in China.

A sleeve on the back of Red Double Wedding Ring Throw Wall Hanging easily hangs the quilt.

The polyfill makes the lap quilt throw lightweight and the design is nice enough that this could easily be added to a wall for holiday decoration.

Wash in cold; dry on cool.

If you don't need a Christmas wedding gift, Red Double Wedding Ring Throw Wall Hanging would make a nice splash of color on the back of that sofa or favorite easy chair. I will bet even Santa might be tempted to curl up with it for a quick cat nap!

Charlotte

12 Good Wishes Throw

12 Good Wishes Throw would make a lovely quilted wall hanging at an entrance for holiday decor.

12 Good Wishes Throw

If there is one throw I give as a housewarming gift, especially this time of year, it's this one. 12 Good Wishes Throw is a charming 50x60-inch lap quilt throw that includes a number of good wishes for the family and home.

Each of the throw blocks has an image, and word, that associates with the wish. A card enclosed with the throw explains each block and wish.

With each 12 Good Wishes Throw, an explanation of the wishes enclosed.

One of my customers who received this as a housewarming gift said it reminder her of a modern version of the 12 Days of Christmas, which is a lovely comparison.

In addition to a well-wishing quilt, this charming throw is a perfect size to hang in a room or entry way to easily add a dash of holiday decor.

Charlotte

In Memory Of

I catch myself sometimes when I hear someone describe Bluebird Gardens as a quilt-making company. Considering the projects we complete, I think of us more as repurposing memories, especially on this Memorial Day weekend when we should take time out to remember loved ones who are no longer with us.

We do make a wide range of custom quilts; some traditional, most unique to the customer. What makes our custom quilts and associated projects different is that often we are making a memory catcher for someone who has died. It may be a quilt out of clothing from a departed husband; a wife who died of cancer, or a quilt a wife with cancer is having us make for each of her children so they will remember her when she's gone.

The quilts out of departed children's clothing with pictures are the hardest. Looking at those young faces, I think about the souls those faces represent who have left us much too soon.

To some, Memorial Day weekend is about the beginning of summer. To us at Bluebird Gardens, Memorial Day weekend is a time to remember all of our customers and the memories we were honored to help them capture.

Charlotte

Short History of Quilting

We are waiting for another winter storm to hit Missouri's Ozarks. On days like this, I wonder what it must have been decades ago when homes didn't have heat and depended on handmade quilts for warmth.

In those days, quilting was an important skill for women who joined the western expansion. Quilting skills were used to make curtains and clothing as well as bedding, many cottons recycled from one form to the most needed household item.

When looking at vintage quilts such as double wedding ring quilts, you can see the recycled items because fabrics used are not uniform or necessarily matching. I have a special place in my heart for these quilts, giving new life to fabrics that today sometimes are discarded without a second thought.

I found this short history of quilting in the Old Phelps County Courthouse, which is slowly becoming an interesting peek into mid-Missouri's past:

Have you stopped by the old Phelps County Courthouse Museum in Rolla, Missouri to see their displays?

Charlotte

Christmas Log Cabin Quilt

Christmas may be over but it inspires me to start thinking about what to make for next year. The colors in this handmade quilt remind me of the colors in our Vintage Log Cabin Quilt, definitely Christmas colors with a little additional spice to them.

Christmas Log Cabin Quilt by fellow master gardener Harriet Bain makes me smile every time I see it. This one was on display at the 2013 Piece and Plenty Quilt Guild show in Rolla, Missouri.

Sounds just like some of my personal projects, the traditional patchwork quilt started out as a tree skirt and literally grew from there! 

Quilt patterns tend to look different from different perspectives, especially log cabin quilt patterns. Up close, the fabrics prevail. From a distance, different-colored fabrics add to the overall design depending on whether fabrics are light or dark.

Plenty of time to get one of these done for Christmas 2015. Have you made a log cabin patchwork quilt?

Charlotte

Christmas Tree Quilt Wall Hanging

With this Christmas tree, you can wait until the last minute to put it up! Not only were presents already under the quilted wall hanging but the quilt maker Portia Ellis had literally added small white lights to her embellished fabric tree.

Usually Christmas-themed quilt wall hangings are made just out of patchwork or applique designs in red and green holiday colors.

Gone to Pieces Quilt Guild, St. Robert, Missouri used Portia's lighted Christmas Tree Quilt Hanging to mark the Christmas Tree Lights Patchwork quilts section of their November 15, 2014 quilt show.

Humm, I've seen farmer bear before and love the gift-wrapped presents. Fun details, these gifts are ready to be unwrapped:

Now this is the way to quickly decorate a tree, hang it up and plug it in!

Charlotte

Red and Black Christmas Tree Lights Quilt

Some Christmas season quilts are very literal with Santa Claus and friends easily recognizable. Some patchwork quilts, like this one, are more abstract, suggesting more than showing the theme.

This Red and Black Christmas Tree Lights Quilt was pieced and hand quilted by Viola Cotton in 2013. The member of the Gone to Pieces Quilt Guild in St. Robert, Missouri made this quilt as part of a mystery challenge, which means she didn't know what the final design was until she put it all together.

Here's a close up of the Christmas Tree Lights Mystery Quilt block:

Here's the whole Christmas Tree Lights Quilt:

Interesting how individual patchwork quilt blocks look when they are all together. Do you see the Christmas lights?

Charlotte