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My Turn: Windham Fabrics CURIOUS DREAM Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY

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Hello Friends – looooong time no chat!  I have missed corresponding with many of you.  The truth is, life has taken an even busier turn with the holidays and all that goes with them.  I have been sewing like crazy for my 2017 projects. It’s crazy to share this — we haven’t even had Christmas 2016, but I am already working on Christmas 2017 stuff.  I actually have quite a few Christmas 2017 things already in the works, much more than years past.

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Today is my turn on Windham Fabrics’ Curious Dream Blog Hop.  I never turn down a chance to participate in a blog hop because that means I get the opportunity doing something fun and different — even if I am up to my eyeballs in deadlines!  Curious Dream fun fabric group by Angela Pingel, based on Alice in Wonderland.  The fabrics are adorable.  Click here to view the entire fabric collection.

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Since Christmas is really big in our house (especially for a certain little girl), I used these fabrics to make a Christmas pillow.  ANYTHING is possible in Alice’s Wonderland, right? :)  Even if that means pulling off a Christmas pillow from non-Christmasy fabrics!

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Remember the Old World blown glass bauble Christmas ornaments?  I have a soft spot for them even though I don’t have any.

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Curious Dreams has three different fabrics that feature medallion motifs made of keys, which I fussy cut to fit the ornament templates, found online, as the starting point for my fabric bauble ornaments.  You can click here to print these ornament templates.

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Before I fused my applique pieces, I measured and marked where I wanted my hanging ribbon to be.  I used Aurifil 40wt to stitch the straight lines. The heavier wt meant I only have to stitch along the paths 3 times to get the hanging ribbon effect.

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I do not like my applique piece to have raw edges in view.  So, I always finish them with buttonhole stitches when I am doing fusible machine applique.  This is my first time using the heavier Aurifil 40wt (compared to 50wt) for the buttonhole stitches.  I have to say I like the effect for these ornaments!

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For this particular ornament, I thought that the buttonhole stitches would detract from the look.  So, I outline-stitched around the ornament three times, also with a 40wt thread, and I REALLY REALLY like the result!

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To finish off the hanging ornaments, I used embroidery floss from my Marmalade Meadows collection to make bows that were then secured to the pillow top by hand.  Click here if you haven’t heard of my Marmalade Meadows floss collection.  I will share more about this collection next week with a few juicy details!  Stay tuned.

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The hanging ornament section was then pieced with two other fabrics to make my pillowcase!  I kept the other sections simple so that the focus will be on the ornaments.

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GIVEAWAY:

#1.  Click on Windham Fabrics’ blog post HERE for chance to win  FQ bundle — this giveaway is open to the USA and International quilters!

#2.  Between now and Dec 22, leave a comment on this post for an extra chance to win a FQ Bundle within Continental US, and I will announce winner on Dec 23.

That’s it for now, Friends!  I hope to share with you before the weekend a few (like 4!) magazine quilts that are made with Windham’s fabrics!!  Till then.

165 thoughts on “My Turn: Windham Fabrics CURIOUS DREAM Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY”

  4. Lovely pillow! Love how you stitched around the ornaments, It has given me quite a few ideas for future projects! :)

  5. I never would have connected the fact that the medallions looked like ornaments. What a wonderful idea. Your stitching really enhanced the effect.

  12. I am not a lover of the ‘Holiday’ fabrics, which it probably why working with them makes me shiver. Making use of fun prints to make these cute ornaments, genious!

  15. Love the ornaments and L O V E this line. The ornaments work perfectly and do have the look of the antique ones. Thanks for the chance to win!

  22. Good Morning Wendy! The pillow is lovely! I especially like the added embroidery stitches, they always add that extra special touch of love (in my opinion). Yet, that could be because I have always enjoyed hand embroidery, both my Grandmothers taught me. I still have quite a few gifts to make and will be adding some touches of embroidery also. I would love to win a bundle of this great fabric! Thank you for the opportunity! Have a fantastic creative day!

  25. Wow, Wendy, what a creative way to use the fabric as a center for the ornaments. I love it! When I was a kid, our tree was full of those ornaments. Slowly, one by one, they broke. I do still have the tree topper, which we don’t use on our tree currently, but I do take it out of the box each year just to look at it. Happy Holidays!

  28. Those are so nicely applique’d I really love the fabric.
    Your tree looks perfectly decorated and I love the fabric covered books.
    I hope you have a very blessed Christmas

  30. These are such pretty fabrics, and your pattern highlights that, but it would be really charming for so many other styles as well–I’m already thinking of very traditional Christmas reds, greens, and golds for my sister-in-law. Thanks for your generosity in sharing.

  31. I love the old fashioned ornaments, also. Many happy memories associated with family tree trimming parties. Such sweet fabric and you were very clever to use it to make bauble ornaments.
    Saw Dan last week and he said tell you HI!!!! Rhonda wasn’t in the shop yet.

  38. The fabrics are delightful. I have been collecting Alice in Wonderland fabric over the years to make something special. These new designs add a whole new dimension. I love your creativity and whimsy in all you do.
    Margaret

  41. Wonderful fabrics! Love your Christmas Ornament pillow. Thanks for sharing the details of your embroidery.

  44. Your “Ornament” pillow is very, very pretty….it made me very nostalgic for Christmas trees of my childhood….that box of ornaments looks like the ones my quilting grandmother used to have. How I wish I had the foresight to keep things like those after she passed. Thank you for the lovely memory. It’s so good to hear from you…glad all is well….don’t get too busy to really enjoy life and family. Merry Christmas….may 2017 be your BEST year yet…full of peace, love and prosperity.

  46. I love your Ornament pillow. The applique really made the fabric pop beautifully. Wonderful post for this time of the year. Happy holidays and thank you for the giveaway opportunity.

  47. You are so sew busy, first time here and just blown away with how much you create. Thank you for going into detail about how you sewed on the ornaments, just love it and your Marmalade Meadows floss is now at the top of my wish list.

  51. Love the way you appliqued the ornaments..beautiful…and I have my mothers and fathers glass ornaments they go on my little tree every year…

  52. You are so clever! I love how you fussy cut the fabric into beautiful ornaments.
    kakingsbury at verizon dot net

  57. How clever. Don’t know how you find time to dream all this stuff up. Is Miss Baby rearranging the ornaments on the tree again this year?

  60. The pillow is beautiful! I love the way you fussy cut the fabric for the ornaments, and I was particularly drawn to the way you stitched a straight stitch around the black ornament! Very striking. Thank you for sharing.

  62. My parents had the kind of ornaments that you are remembering,
    loved them and love the ones you are creating

  63. You have a great imagination, Wendy. Those ornaments are so pretty in those fabrics. I remember that kind of ornament, but I don’t have any, either. I do have some that were from my grandmother’s tree. I’m 73 (tomorrow), so you can guess how old they are!

  65. I love your project it is sew beautiful. Thank you for the inspiration. I can’t wait to see all the projects you have been working on. Have a beautiful holiday.

  68. The name alone —Curious Dream—is so pretty! It’s a great collection and very inspiring with all of the luscious colors! Your ornament project brings back lots of memories! Super work!

  73. Oh a great looking present for someone. Would love to make some pillow cases also with this beautiful fabric. Your ornaments are darling. Thanks for the chance.

  74. Your pillow is so festive and the floss just sets off the ornaments. I collect antique glass ornaments, so your pillow spoke to me. Thank you for a chance to win this lovely collection. Merry Christmas!

  81. LOVE your Tree!! Gorgeous!! Also Love the Pillow! You are sooooo Creative!! The Ornaments look like they came that way… I am soooo impressed! AWESOME!!
    Thank you for chance to win your Give-a-way too! :)

  82. 2nd try… Making the great ornament pillow from non-Christmas fabrics is so creative! I don’t have a creative bone in my body, so when people like you, who are so creative, make it possible for people like me to make beautiful things for our friends and family. THANKS!!!

  85. What an adorable pillow! I love the way you added the ornaments on it. I’m with you…I don’t like the raw edge showing so I either turn the edges under and hand-sew my appliques or do as you did and use a decorative stitch around them. Thanks for the giveaway!

  96. Old world bobble ornaments are also a favorite of mine. Love that you made them out of non traditional fabric. The fabric line looks fun to use.

  97. You are so creative! The ornaments are marvelous! Hoping you have time to slow down and enjoy Christmas with that little girl! Is she going to play you a Christmas concert? I always did at my house when I was a kid. In fact I am practicing my Christmas music now, so who knows, maybe it will be ready for Christmas Day!

  99. Love love love the pillow with the old world ornaments. Merry Christmas, Wendy. Wishing your and your family a joyous holiday season.

  103. Just love these fabrics! Thanks for the additional idea for appliquing multiple times around an object instead of button hole stitch.

  112. I really like the colors in the fabric. I remember those old ornaments. We had some when I was a kid. I remember them being quite fragile.

  114. What a great idea you created with the ornament pillow. I do not decorate trees anymore for the holidays but I surely decorate my home.

    tushay3 (at) yahoo (dot) com

  123. Love all the red on your Christmas tree. What goodies will Santa leave underneath???

    No need to apologize for a pastel Christmas pillow. That is what some people need this time of year–softness.

  138. I love the idea of triple stitching around the fused appliqué shapes! The fabrics in this bundle are so gorgeous!

  146. I LOVED those ornaments too. I still have a couple of them – very high on the tree. You did an amazing job recreating them. The detail on the pillow with the ornaments is perfect. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

  149. Wendy, I can’t believe how ingenious you are! Making ornaments out of the one fabric is absolutely the most creative idea I have seen! It makes me realize I need to spend more time really studying fabrics. There is so much more there than first meets the eye. Merry Christmas!

  150. Wendy, the idea to fussy cut the fabric to enhance the ornaments is great! The extra stitching around the edges adds so much to the project! Great job and creative ideas!

  154. Old World blown glass bauble Christmas ornaments: I had quite a few of them at one time. My son decided to show them to his then girlfriend (now his wife) and took them down from the attic. Only he didn’t make sure the bottom was secure. They bounced all over the hall because the bottom of the box broke open on the way down. Ornaments from my Dad’s early years, mine, all shattered!! I still remind him when the opportunity arises ~ lol.

    Think I will look for this fabric and replicate the memories.

    Thanks Wendy. Merry Christmas and healthy, happy New Year to you and your family!!

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