2015 Crazy Quilt Calendar: December..."Peace"

Pamela Kellogg invited me to be one of the 12 crazy quilters to create a page for the calendar she produced and has made available for purchase.  I was given the month of December.

When I think of that month, of course Christmas comes to mind.  But that holiday is from only one our world's religions...and I wanted to reach for something universal.  So my block expresses my feeling about the onset of deep winter, and what we all celebrate....

Hence, "Peace".  I photographed my process as I went along.  The 8" block's construction was unusual....

 I began with printing up the template for my lettering.

Using adhesive spray and a light touch, I adhered the paper template to some holographic lame that had first interfacing, then fusible web fused onto the back. Using sharp scissors, I cut out my letters and then carefully peeled off the paper.

For my block's landscape (and skyscape) design, I made freezer paper templates.

I fused some interfacing onto the back of muslin, and ironed my freezer paper templates to the front.

Using the freezer paper templates, I marked the muslin, making sure there was a healthy 1/4" seam allowance before I cut them out.

I used the flip and sew technique to piece each section.

Then I ironed the templates back on for the final marking, trimming, and folding under of the edges.

Here they are all ready for assembly on the block's muslin foundation.  Note, the block pattern is drawn onto the muslin for placement guidance.

Fast forward...this was fiddly work, getting the edges ironed under, pinned into place, and machine appliqued with a clear thread in a small zig zag.  The snowfields were easy after that!  I put the most heavily textured lace in the foreground, to help give a hint of perspective.

I hand embroidered all the sky seams with feather stitch in machine weight silver thread and herringbone in Kreinik metallic threads, then fused on the letters and appliqued them with the clear thread in a zig zag as well.  I like using a Microtex Sharp needle for this step, sized 60/8, to keep the holes as small as possible.

Here is my finished block, with the stars all shining on a peaceful winter night.

Thanks again, Pamela, for inviting me into this project!  The other crazy quilters are:

Mary Ann Richardson

Nicki Lee Seavey

Maria Mulder

Kathy Shaw

Pat Winter

Cathy Kizerian

Brenda Sandusky

Gerry Krueger

Terri Lee Takacs

Betty Pillsbury

Connie Eyberg

Pamela Kellogg

What a great gift the calendar will be for your stitching friends.  Order it here!