I bought this snowman panel a couple years ago and finally got it finished. You can get panels (usually 1/2 yard) in most fabric stores; but I find that the quilt shops have the cutest ones and usually have several cordinating fabrics. This panel had not only the patchwork fabric but several of the other fabrics in the panel. This particular panel was manufactured by Troy Corporation as part of its Riverwoods Collection and I have seen it in several quilt shops. I purchased mine at the Sterling Thimble Quilt Shop in Mt. Olivet, KY.
Purchasing a panel and then adding to it is a quick way to get a seasonal wall hanging. The panel itself is the picture of the snowmen and penguins with a 1" black border and the patchwork. I trimmed the patchwork border so that it was equal width all around and then added the red border and another 1" black border before completing it with the patchwork fabric for the outer border.
Before quilting, I embroidered snowflakes randomly on the red and black borders. Then I quilted it on the longarm, using the patchwork fabric for the back. A 3/8" black binding along with a hanging sleeve completed the project.
UNTIL.......I decided to embellish with some crystals. I used a 4mm hot fix crystal with a wand applicator and put a crystal inside each of the snowflakes in the sky behind the snowmen & penguins. Then I put a few more randomly placed crystals on the dark blue above and below the main panel. It was the perfect finishing touch!
Here are a few more of my Snowmen. This is picture of my dining room where I have two bakers racks that I love to decorate for each season/holiday. I make sure that anything I put on these lower shelves are 'grandchild-safe." I don't care if they take them down to play with them. Most of them are stuffed animals anyway!
Not to be left out, I always put a seasonal wall hanging above the cart in my kitchen and try to put seasonal items out such as my snowman cookie jar (it has never held cookies, however!). The wooden napkin holder and shelf were made by my husband in junior high.
Think of ways that you can easily and simply dress up your spaces for each season.
Organizational Tip
I store all of my seasonal decorations in clear plastic tubs so that I can easily see what is in them. When I take them out and then put them away each season, I purge the inventory - getting rid of anything that I have not put out for 2 seasons. I like to dontate them to a place such as Goodwill Industries or St. Vincent dePaul.
What Am I Working On?
My next project is a jacket called "A Little Somethin' Jacket" which is published by CNT Pattern Company.
Pam
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