Long Time no Post!

Well, I know that it has been a long time between posts and so much has happened! I am sure that the same is true for all of you. I found out that I will be a first time grandmother next March to a beautiful little girl. I will also be a new mother in law to a lovely woman as my older son will be married next fall. So many exciting things ahead. One son a new husband and the other a new daddy. We also will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary next summer ! How time flies!

I have also begun working in a local quilt shop with some lovely women. It was such a surprise to be asked to work there as I was not job seeking. Thanks to Nancy and the crew for adding me to the staff and for making me feel so welcome at Church Street Fabrics. 

I have been doing some sewing and designing in the midst of all the news and excitement. I took classes at the Mid Appalachian Quilt Retreat in Gettysburg, PA with Karen Eckmeier. She is known for her Happy Villages which are small wall pieces using 6 1/2 inch squares to begin. They are cut with her template and then arranged to make villages. By adding rooftops, trees, people, etc, it becomes a real village. It was tricky at first because I kept wanting to rearrange but she encouraged us to just run with it. Here are a series of pictures of how my Christmas village came to be. 

Here is the finished village. It is difficult to know when enough is enough but I added a lot of details with buttons, ribbons, and thread. There are hidden objects and it is a bit like looking for Waldo!

Left to Right: The shapes that suggest buildings are arranged on a background. I used a variety of colors and included blues as well as green and red. Then I added a frozen river with trees and some dachshunds around the trees instead of deer. I really looked at my fabric differently in order to see what would accent the village. I used baby rick rack along the river and snow fabric for a wintry scene. And of course my last addition was the caroling Peanuts characters. I really look at fabric in a new way when shopping. I look for landscapes, skies and water, etc. 

I just finished another Christmas village for a dear friend that has another friend that loves Christmas. I am still waiting for it to arrive so I can see how his friend feels about it!

So, now that I am working small, I LOVE it! I have so many ideas for other villages that I could work for years! Here are several others that I have done:
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Halloween was so delightful to do. So many great fabrics to fussy cut and buttons and ribbons!

For Bethlehem,  or Silent Night as I have named it, I used very muted colors and stone landscape fabrics. I tried to imagine what would be on doorsteps and added plants and pitchers, etc. I chose to put the silhouette figures of the holy family in the right corner. I think that the silhouette figures are more powerful than an attempt to make the faces which I would have found difficult.

Next up? A dog village with a cat or two. Valentine's Village. Dia de los Muertos. The sky is the limit. Karen is also so encouraging to me. She has given me tremendous feedback and I cannot thank her enough. I have also been given the green light by her to teach this which I really look forward to doing. 

Thanks for reading and spending time looking at my creations. Hope that you are having a lovely creative holiday season whichever holiday is yours to celebrate. I promise not to be so long in posting next time! Lots more to share! If you would like to try one of these, I would be happy to help in any way possible. 

Until later, 

Piecefully yours, 
Trisha

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