Welcome! It’s my turn on the Ho Ho Ho Blog Hop. I’m so glad you stopped by to visit.
This hop has been a wonderful event full of cheerful, inspiring Christmas projects all thanks to the amazing Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt, and Santa’s favorite little helper, Carol of Just Let Me Quilt. Without further ado, let me show you what I made.
The inspiration for my project came from a pattern booklet entitled, A Winter Wonderland of Quilts and Projects by Jason Yenter available at Winter Creek Cloth. The pattern in the booklet features some of the most stunning fabric by Yenter I have ever seen in a pixelated layout. (You must take a peek at his rendition.) I was immediately drawn to the stars within the wreath. Are they great or what???
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the recommended fabric on hand and I really wanted to make this project from fabric in my stash. Yenter’s fabric choices blended beautifully with the background and created a realistic evergreen wreath. As I started putting the pattern together with my own fabric selections, I realized my “greenery” was a little too harsh for Yenter’s pixelated pattern. I tried to soften the pattern with a few half square triangles here and there to give the wreath a more rounded appearance. Overall, I am very pleased with the effect, but as I am looking at the photo I can see that I need to reconstruct the bottom row with a couple of quarter square triangles to complete the rounded effect I am trying to achieve. (Seam ripper, here I come!) Regardless of the greenery, I still love the stars!
This wall hanging currently measures 43″ x 43″ square, but I am thinking of adding a corded border and an additional outer border once I find the perfect fabric. I’m really stumped on how I should quilt this beauty though and I’m hoping to get some ideas from you. And since, nothing in life is free (especially advice, it seems), how about a giveaway?
I recently purchased two fat quarter bundles of Holiday Bouquet from Intrepid Thread – one for me and one to share. Julie from Intrepid Thread has graciously permitted me to include a photo of this beautiful bundle from her website for your viewing pleasure. For a chance to win, leave a comment with your best suggestion on how I should quilt my holiday wreath wall hanging.
For a second entry, follow my blog and leave a comment telling me how you are keeping up with the happenings at Darlington Delights (bloglovin, twitter, wordpress, email). I will randomly select a winner on August 15. Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to visit the other stops on the Ho Ho Ho Blog Hop Today.
Darlington Delights 
I love your wreath. I would quilt it with cross-hatch stichinig in the green and outline the stars and a second line of shadow stitching inside the stars.
I have done a lot of quilting on my sewing machines. My favorite quilting method is all over stippling! I find it relaxing and the fastest way to quilt whether it’s a small or queen sized quilt.
I think a pattern of stars would be lovely. Do it freestyle!
Thanx so much for the spirit! I will definitely follow:)
I am mostly a hand quilter. I would quilt the wreath in the ditch following the grid, make the stars pop by outlining them, then do little squares in the white corners half the size of your wreath squares. Trying to figure out how to quilt it is the hardest part for me. Good luck finishing it up. Amanda’s fabric is beautiful. Thank you for a chance to win. janita
I would probably hand quilt it with shiny embroidery thread. I’d probably outline the stars and see what it looks like before I decided to use some green in the wreath part. I might even use some silver in the green.
I follow bloglovin-karrie smith
Your wreath is wonderful!! I am no expert on quilting ideas, I would probably stitch around the stars and bow and then decide if it needed more.
Love your wallhanging. I have never seen this pattern before. I would outline the stars and bow and leave the green fabric as is. Thanks for the great giveaway.
Hiya!!! I follow you by email, and on my wordpress blog. Thanks for sharing and for having the giveaway. Merry Christmas, blessed be, hugs!!! Pam
pamspretties57 at gmail dot com
Hiya!!! What a lovely wall hanging! I’ve never done any quilting (yet), but I’d just outline the stars and bow to give them a puffy look. Then the greens would get a pebbly or tight stipple and the background a loose stipple. I think that would give it texture and presence. Thanks for sharing and for having the giveaway. Merry Christmas, blessed be, hugs!!! Pam
pamspretties57 at gmail dot com
I’m a new follower via email.
Your wreath is beautiful! I love the red stars. I would outline the stars and bow and then quilt swirls in the green fabrics, and use cross hatch quilting in the background fabric. I think using a glitter thread from Superior Threads in gold would be pretty used in the quilting of the wreath.
I think your wreath is lovely as is without redoing anything. Quilting suggestions: I can see pine cone motifs in the darker sections and echoing quilting else where.
this will be a wonderful wreath when you have it all quilted.
I think I would quilt with a sparkle thread in the stars in either a echo or a swirl pattern and I would quilt holly leaves in the green background area.
Thanks for sharing with us and hosting a give away as well
in stitches
Your wreath is beautiful. The stars are wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
I’m not experienced at all with the quilting part, but I think I would outline the bows and then maybe do some straight line quilting going between the bows around the quilt
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That is a beautiful wall hanging! I am not overly creative with my FMQing yet. Probably because I am so new at it. I think I would outline the stars and ribbon and the wreath itself. Then maybe try to quilt some kind of holly leaf design in the green part. And I am all about stippling in the background because you can hide mistakes so well in stippling!!! However you do it, I am sure it will be beautiful!
Wonderful wall hanging! 🙂
I too love the stars! For the quilting… maybe stitch in the ditch around the stars and bow, add a bow or star design on the corners, then stipple around the stars, bow and corner designs to make them pop! … can’t wait to see it finished! So glad to find you and follow your posts!!!
I`m a new Bloglovin Follower!
Lovely, lovely wreath. I would hand quilt around each star, and maybe the bow.
Your wreath is lovely. I would stitch in the ditch around the stars, bow and outside of the wreath. But I’m sure others will come up with a better idea.
New Bloglovin follower: Nicole Sender.
I am a novice quilter and stitch in the ditch so that is what I would recommend.
I would use a green thread and stipple in the green areas so the red stars would pop.
I am now following you by bloglovin.
I am new to quilting so I am not the one to ask about quilting. I am sure you will know when it speaks to you right before you start quilting. You wreath is beautiful just like that. Thank you for sharing.
Your wreath is beautiful! I don’t do the quilting unless it is stitch in the ditch……so I can’t really suggest how to quilt it. I’m sure whatever you do it will be beautiful.
Have you considered christmas trees? I hear they are fairly easy.
Following your blog.
The wreath is beautiful! I’m not an experienced quilter, but I think a combination of methods to enhance the design would be my guess. Like I said, it is just a guess!
Beautiful wreath. What about doing some trapunto on the bow (for sure) and maybe in the stars, too.
I love your wreath. I would emphasize those stars and then stipple the rest of the wreath.
I am a quilt in the ditcher so I would quilt in the ditch…..easy and done.
I am now a follower of yours and look forward to seeing all of the great things you will be doing!
I’m really not the person to ask about quilting. I can only do the very basics! I love to look at others beautiful work and only dream that I could do something like that. I surely hope that you post your wreath after you do quilt it so we can all enjoy what you do!
Beautiful wreathe. I think if you look at it long enough, you will know what quilting will achieve the effect you want. I am not good at suggesting, but you have lots of ideas to consider from all the comments made.
I am a new follower on Bloglovin!
cheers
maggie
maggiemine42@gmail.com