Design Wall Monday - December 22, 2025

Good Morning Quilters!   Merry Christmas!

Praying for joy in all of our little blessings this Christmas season.  There is much to be thankful for.

As for quilting, not much has been finished here, but I have a little bit to show you.   Here are two Jane Stickle quilt blocks that I re-made this week.  While sewing the rows together while at a retreat, I discovered two blocks where I had used dark green fabric instead of blue fabric.  Now that my cataracts have been removed, I can see colors much better, and decided that I would replace the two blocks.  So this week, that was accomplished, and here they are:

I am so happy that I can see colors so much brighter and clearer now.  And with these two re-makes, I can continue sewing the Jane Stickle rows together.  The outside triangles that are not finished will be back on the front burner in January.  At least that is my plan, which is always subject to change.  

The columns of the “In The Round” quilt on the design wall are being sewn together.  It is a peaceful quilt that is progressing nicely.   I am enjoying it.  The far left column……and the far right column are sewn.  I am always amazed at how much shorter a quilt becomes when the blocks are sewn together.  Here is a picture.

It is a good project to  get me to exercise, as I get blocks from the design wall……….walk over to the sewing machine………..and then after sewing a seam……..walk back and put them back on the design wall.  There is probably an easier way to do this, but the way I am doing it ensures that I keep the blocks in the correct order.

Since Christmas is this week, I will close with some pictures of decorations at our house each year.  

Real sleigh bells on the front door.  My MIL gifted them to us many years ago and I love them.  They make such a happy sound.

My snowman collection………..on the dresser opposite of our bed in the bedroom.  DH jokes, “How can I sleep with all these snowmen staring at me?”

Our manger scene is appropriate for our house because baby Jesus is covered with a quilt.   The set is made by the artist Jim Shore, who uses quilt patterns in his art.

One of the many Christmas pillows I bring out for the season.  I used tiny white buttons for the snowflakes.

I wish you all have a very merry Christmas, and will look forward to reading your blogs.  Please join in our Design Wall Monday Linky Party below.

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Design Wall Monday - December 2, 2024

 It’s December!   And lots f us have snow!!  Happy Design Wall Monday Everyone!

And just like that there are only 23 days until Christmas.  Time is flying by.  But as I age, I get less stressed and know that it will all get done…..or not…..but Christmas will be wonderful.  

This week I’m putting away all the fall quilts and getting out the Christmas ones.  I know some of you are way ahead of me on Christmas decorating, but I like to wait until Thanksgiving is over.

Since I don’t have any Christmas decorations out yet, I’ll share one frm a past Christmas.  My childhood metal dollhouse is decorated for Christmas, with Santa in the chimney.  I had Thyme growing in my garden that year, and the little window wreaths were fun to make.  It was very silly, but fun, decorating a dollhouse for Christmas.  I only did it once.

Maybe by nxt week I will have this year’s Christmas quilts on display and will show you some pictures,  I am looking forward to see what you are up to this month.

Joke of the day:  Christmas time is great because you can yell “DON’T COME IN HERE!” and people will think you are wrapping presents. (when really, you just want to quilt in peace and not be disturbed)

Thanks so much for joining our Design Wall Monday Linky Party.  We have so many creative people who join in and I appreciate all of you.  Thank you for participating.

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Design Wall Monday, December 25, 2023

 Merry Christmas Morning Quilters!

Here are some pictures from this Christmas week:

Hubby and I, taken at church, in the lobby, on Saturday.

Our great-grandson, Bennett, in my lap at our son’s house yesterday.  He is so cute!  He s just over one year old.

Bennett with the sleigh bells which were hanging from the ceiling in a long string.  He had such a great time ringing the bells, and enjoyed the process so much.

Our grand-dog, Buster,  who was splendid in his new Christmas ruff of velvet with bells.

Penny Lane and Bennett’s dog, Wrigley, who both followed Bennett around, especially when Bennett had a cracker in his hand.  Penny helped him eat the crackers.

That’s all the Christmas news here this week, but next week I will be back to posting pictures of quilting and doing some planning for 2024.  Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.  Please join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party below - even if you have no quilt pictures to show us.  Thanks for your participation, you are a blessing.

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Design Wall Monday - December 26, 2022

 Good Morning Quilters!

It’s the last Monday in 2022, and I will be spending this week planning how to tackle my UFOs next year, how to organize my quilt room to enjoy my time there more, and how to finish quilts without long pauses during the process.  It is an exciting time in my quilting journey, so I hope to have weekly plans and goals to share with you in the new year.

Did you have a nice Christmas? We did!  I was singing…..”The weather outside was frightful but the fire is so delightful”…….We spent Christmas day at our son’s home in front of their very big fireplace, all cosy and warm.  Grand Rapids got slammed with a blizzard over Christmas with frigid temps, snow, and high winds blowing the snow all around.   Blizzard warnings were in effect for the first time in over 10 years here.

I enjoy seeing all of your Christmas pictures so I will show you today some Christmas pictures from my house.  Merry Christmas!  I hope you enjoy them.

This is our tree topper, that was a UFO for a long time, but is now finished, and on top of our tree every year.  (Needlepoint from a kit)

A picture of Penny Lane on the front porch with a red and white “crossed canoes” pattern quilt that I purchased as a top, and finished into a quilt.  I love red and white quilts.  This picture is from a Christmas past - when we didn’t have very much snow.  (This year there is nothing on the front porch except the white bench, covered with a thick blanket of frigid snow!)

A picture of Penny and me, taking a nap together under a vintage quilt that I purchased a long time ago.  The red and green feathered stars are all hand pieced and the quilt is nicely hand quilted.  I bought it from another quilter while I lived in Virginia, and I don’t have any history on it.

On our bedroom dresser is the snowman collection.  I am not adding any more snowmen to this collection, but I treasure each one, as some were hand made for me by friends over the years.

I’m looking forward to reading your year end posts, hearing about your Christmas, and how much snow you had, or didn’t have.  Link up below and let us know what you are doing in this last week of 2022.  Thank you so much for joining the Design Wall Monday Linky Party this week.  Please mention it in your blog so others can join us.  

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Design Wall Monday - December 19, 2022

 Good Morning Quilters!

Santa visited our family Saturday while we were dining in Frankenmuth, Michigan.    He told me I AM on his GOOD LIST this year, and he also said it’s been quite a few years since I’ve been on the good list, so he was very proud of me!  I was so happy with the good news I asked him if I could have a photo:

The quilting has been slow this week around here, and is probably going to continue to be slow until the new year.   I did take a redwork square with me in the car to work on while we were traveling.  It is a little log cabin:

We had 12 inches of snow Friday night and Saturday.   Sunday morning I took a picture while sitting in my bed, looking out the window toward the woods behind us.  It is so beautiful, and looks just like it should for Christmas week.  I love it.  

What is happening in your quilt room during the holidays?  I am excited about the new year starting soon, and am planning on setting new goals for getting more quilts completed.  

Merry Christmas to you all!  I shall share some of my Christmas decorations with you next Monday.  But for now, let’s see what you are up to.  Join in the Design Wall Monday Linky Party below and show us.  Do mention our party within your post and invite others to join us.  Thank you.

 

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Holiday Favorites Blog Hop - December 19, 2019

Hello and Merry Christmas to one and all.  If you are new to my blog, I post every Monday, with an invitation to link up and show what you are quilting.  I make lots of small quilts and doll quilts, and it's fun to share what I'm working on, and see what others are working on.  Please join us every Monday!

I thank Lori for inviting me to join her 12 days of Holiday Favorites Blog Hop.   A little about me:  I live in Michigan and am happily married for 56 years.  Our last name is Hansen, and hubby is 1/2 Danish so we've visited Denmark several times.  We have children and grandchildren, and a yellow labrador puppy.

So let's go on a tour of our home to see what quilts and traditions we have.  

Front Door:  Two Danish flags are on the front door swag.  I put different things on this swag each year; last year it had my old ice skates hanging there.

Inside the front door are the wonderful sleigh bells gifted to us by my MIL.  She had some old authentic sleigh bells and had them made into three leather straps, one for each of her three children.  We love the sound of them, and so do our guests.

Front Entry Way:  Just inside the front door I have a little doll dresser that I change out the decorations on for each season.  It is different every time.  This Christmas it has a little quilt on it and a Santa and a Russian nesting doll.  The two tiny Christmas socks are from Lloyd's mother's Christmas tree from many years ago.  

I love these little socks.  They are usually on the Christmas tree, but get lost with all the other ornaments there, so this year they are where I can enjoy them more.  Aren't they cute?

The doll quilt on top of the dresser is this one:  The picture of it is from an old post (Here) if you want more information about it.

The mirror by the front door has been replaced for the season with this wreath.  I bought it because I loved the pine cone seeds that someone had glued onto the wreath.  Amazing.....I had to buy it when I saw it because I sure wasn't going to make it myself.  The little "Let It Snow" sign has been out somewhere in the house every Christmas for at least 20 years.  

The Stair Railing near the Front Door:  I always have a quilt hanging over the railing here, and it varies by the season.  I've given away the Christmas quilt that is usually here, so this year we have "Roll Roll Cotton Boll", a Bonnie Hunter quilt.

Living Room:  Several years ago, I made Christmas fabric pillow covers for the living room couch pillows.  Here are the pillows (Santa fabric) along with some other holiday ones.  One end of the couch:

And the other end:

Another Christmas pillow I made a few years ago is made of felt, and was blogged about (Here)  I changed the pattern from "Happy Holidays" to "Merry Christmas".  

The coffee table in front of the couch has my collection of three "The Night Before Christmas" books.  The oldest one is from 1947, another is illustrated by Mary Engelbreit, and the third is our daughters - the front page says given to her by us when she was little (Why do I still have it?)  

Also on the coffee table, are the skaters.  They used to be magnetized, but alas, are not any more.  We used to put a magnet under the tray and move them around.  Now the puppy knocks them over with her tail.  Similar, but maybe not quite the same.

The Doll quilt on the coffee table is one of my favorite little quilts.  I blogged about it (Here) if you want to know the pattern and dimensions.

Christmas tree is decorated with Danish flags on a string.  I've seen them on trees in the usual garland way we do it here, and also from top to bottom as I've done it this year.  

I change up the quilt I cover the bottom of the tree with, and this year it's an old plaid bow tie quilt, functioning as a tree skirt.

Creche in bookcase is one by Jim Shore, featuring quilts, so I have one of my favorite little quilts under it.  If you want info about this quilt, I wrote about making it (Here).

Dining Room, I usually decorate the light fixture, and this year I also hung three little ornaments from it.  Some of my favorite ornaments are not noticed enough when they are in the middle of all the others on the Christmas tree, and I like to feature them.  Picture doesn't show them very well, but they are a pine cone, a tinsel star and a silver snowflake.  You can see them from sitting at the table much better.  Also two little bird ornaments are hanging on the knobs of the cupboard in the background.

Kitchen:  The kitchen counter has two stools, and I've set two places for hubby and I to use.  Here's a picture of one (they are both the same)

Also in the kitchen are two little birds that are usually in the kitchen window at Christmas time.  This year I have them "wishing" together on the Thanksgiving wish bone, which has been in the kitchen window since Thanksgiving.  I do like whimsy.

Back Door behind the kitchen:  Since we go in and out of this door all the time, and not the front door, I hang bells by the back door too.  Not as beautiful sounding as the sleigh bells, but a slight jingle jingle is good too.  The light fixture in the back room has mistletoe hanging from it, as I like to get a kiss from the hubby when we are coming and going.  

Kiss, kiss:

Our bedroom: We have two dressers directly across from our bed, and this year the snowman collection is on top of them.  When hubby saw it, he said "Are all these guys going to be staring at us while we are in bed?"  I said, yes and you'd better behave yourself!  

Our bed has my recently finished quilt on it, and I love it.  It's 100" by 100" and very cozy to sleep under.  The sheets are ones that we've had for years, and are only used during Christmas week.  I love sleeping with the reindeer.

One tradition we have is playing a game similar to "hide the thimble".  See this small box?

See what is inside?  This Santa is only 1 inch tall.

Can you find him now?  The grandchildren love to play this game with me, even now when they are in high school and college.  One year someone hid him inside a salt shaker at the cabin and we didn't find him until the next summer!  Now I have this little box for him and keep him there after Christmas so he doesn't get lost.

The living room sofa has a vintage quilt on it that I like to use for napping with my dog Penny Lane.  Here's a picture of yesterday afternoon's nap.  This lovely quilt is hand pieced and hand quilted, and I purchased it from a friend in Virginia.

Also, as part of the Holiday Favorites Blog Hop, I have a Christmas giveaway drawing for a lucky someone who comments on this post.  It is for two Christmas pillow covers for square pillows.  The picture shows the two pillow covers - one with the back opening showing, where you insert the pillow.  They are the same size as the Santa ones shown on my couch.  Second picture is a close-up of the fabric.   I will announce the winner on the December 30th regular Design Wall Monday post.  The drawing will remain open until midnight on the 29th.  Merry Christmas everyone!  

Tomorrow, Be sure to check out the last stop on the blog hop - it's over at Kevin the Quilter's blog:

Dec. 20 Kevin, http://kevinthequilter.blogspot.com

Thanks again to Lori of Humble Quilts for having this Holiday Favorites Blog Hop.  It was fun.  If you are a reader of my blog and don't know Lori, she is great, and inspires me.   http://humblequilts.blogspot.com