Welcome to the "Christmas in July Blog Hop" hosted by Melva of Melva Loves Scraps!
I am excited to join in to share some ideas about holiday crafting! I always enjoy this kind of event that prompts quilters (and cross stitchers!) to focus on a specific category of projects to encourage getting some work done on them.
Like many quilters, I often have trouble getting all of my holiday projects done in time -- usually because I don't start thinking about working on them until November or December, LOL! I did "Christmas in July" for the first time last year and worked on two projects with mixed results.
My color scheme for last year was Red, Green, White/Light, Black and Gold. I say the results were mixed because while I did get this top started, I didn't complete it
until December. This year, it is still waiting to be quilted which is what I
thought I'd be working on this time around. However, a July 4th weekend camping trip and my husband being on vacation these last two weeks has definitely gotten in the way of that plan!
The other project I started for "CIJ" last year was this one:
That WIP is a "Scrap Squares" quilt using 2-1/2" squares that I cut from the "LTS" leftovers and from my Christmas stash as I auditioned fabrics for that top. The plan was to use the squares to surround some holiday-themed panel blocks to make a lap quilt. The project was influenced by the "Scrap Squares" quilts that I've seen quilt designer
Pat Sloan make so many times.
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| Pat calls it "making a bonus quilt while making other things". |
At this point, I still need to work on the layout of it and piece it together. However, while working on that project I happened to come across this:
It is a tutorial for making a "
Patchwork Bow" by pattern and fabric designer Liza Taylor of
Liza Taylor Handmade for her "Summer Sewing Series". As long as I've been a quilter, I've always looked out for ways I can use my scraps rather than just collect them. When I saw this, I figured that it would be another great holiday project for
the squares I was already cutting.
So this Hop is a good excuse to try making that project now! Liza's instructions call for sewing rows of three squares together and then sewing the rows together to create a "pieced fabric" strip that will serve as the "ribbon" for making the bow. Fortunately, I had already started piecing together pairs of squares last year in preparation for adding them to the layout of the other quilt so I had a head start on doing this now.
Liza had used "pieced fabric" on both sides of her "ribbon". However after I had decided to make this design, I saw a great holiday print on sale at the Fat Quarter Shop and decided to purchase it and would use it as the backing for the "pieced fabric" front.
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| If you like it, I see it's still available now. |
The benefit of doing that meant I only needed
half of
the amount of squares that Liza calls for!
After I got all of my squares pieced together, I cut two 6-1/2" wide x WOF backing strips, pieced them together and trimmed the backing to the length of the "pieced fabric". I then completed the "ribbon" following Liza's simple instructions that include how to mark it to create the pointed ends.
Of course, now I also needed to make sure that I remembered how to tie a nice decorative bow. I found
this video tutorial helpful for doing that:
It was pretty simple to do and here is the finished project!!
These bows would be great to display with a matching quilt or at the base (or even top) of a Christmas tree. It could also be hung on a front door or in a window but you'd have to be careful to check if the fabric might fade from exposure to sunlight.
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| Now if I can get this top quilted, I'd be gravy! |
If this is your first time doing "Christmas in July" or want even more tips for how to approach doing it, check out Kris O’Neill's "
Christmas in July 2025" video series on her YouTube channel "
Sew the Distance".
Kris is making a video daily for the month of July with tips on how to choose, thrift and organize your holiday stash and projects. She also has offered a few projects to make with your stash. But don't wait too long to watch it: Kris says this series is a "Summer Special" and she'll remove the playlist from her channel at the end of August. And of course there is even more to see from the other participants of this Hop! Be sure to check out all of their posts too!
"Christmas In July Blog Hop" Schedule:
July 24
Melva at Melva Loves Scraps -- Our hostess!!
Diann at Little Penguin Quilts
Carol Andrews at Quilt Schmilt
July 25
Vivian at Bronx Quilter --- You're Here Now!
Gail at Quilting Gail
Linda at Texas Quilt Gal
There is still a few more days before July ends so I hope you have been inspired to pull out a project and get your holiday season started early!
7 comments:
LOVE that bow! This is a great tutorial - I have saved the links. I have a box of Christmas scraps that I eyed while planning my project, but I hold out no hope that using them for this project will make them diminish - lol! I also love your Scrap Squares quilt. Do you remember the panel you used for the block centers?
I love your Christmas words quilt top, Vivian! And the scrappy patchwork to surround the panel pieces, too. The bow is really awesome - I would love to try that! Thanks for all the inspiration!
I'm enamored with your patchwork bow, too! Those would look wonderful on wreaths or between swagged real or artificial greenery indoors, on stair railings or mantles etc. Or as little girls' hair bows in scraps that included some of their dress fabric. Or attached to a giftwrapped package that contained a quilt...
Glad you liked it Linda! That bow was love at first sight when I saw that tutorial. The panel is from the MODA's "Cheer & Merriment" and it is still available around the web. Hope you can pick one up!
Thank you Diann, it was fun to participate and pick up things from everyone involved!
Lol, the list of how and where these can be used goes on and on and on! Liza was a genius to come up with it and anything that can use up scraps is a bonus!!
Absolutely love your bow! Rita
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