This time of year I often think, “I need to make more red and green quilts.” And, I sometimes stitch using those colors, part of being in the holiday spirit.
But here is a quilt I made one Christmas season that isn’t red or green.
I needed something seasonal to hang above the table where my Nativity scene would live for the holidays. I had always loved the raw-edge technique of Rosemary Eichorn’s work, and had enjoyed making Stella, Harvest Princess using that method. I was in a hurry to have something on the wall, so I was off to the fabric store to find ancient biblical – looking foliage.
I came home with some leafy fabric, did some fussy cutting, and went to work. The patchwork sky was easy. I had some brilliant blue fabric with flecks of sparkle that made for a perfectly magical sky. I drafted a star with some elongated points, stitched that in place, and cut Bethlehem-like buildings free form. Then I added palm trees and was proud of my accomplishment.
Jimmy G, who had been called upon a few times to give names to quilts, promptly named this one Star over Tahiti.
Whatever you call it, it served as a backdrop for the nativity scene. And, I learned some ways to get a functional piece together in a minimal amount of time.
Finished measurements are 22″ x 30″. I used cotton batting, cotton thread. The quilting stitch secured the free-form pieced elements and raw-edge appliqué, all accomplished in the quilting process.
