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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Christmas Tree Au Naturale

I took down a spring/summer wall quilt at work, and put this one up.  Its bright and cheery and breaks up the monotony of endless beige cubicles.  Its always fun to get out seasonal items - they look fresh after being packed away for a while!

Some of you may recall this little quilt from last year.  I started it in mid December, to submit in Sew Cal Gal's Virtual Quilt Show.  Entries had to be submitted before the 25th.  I submitted it at 11:51 pm on the 24th - truly the 11th hour! 

Had some lime green fabrics I was itching to play with.  Had seen a Christmas card with a green/lime green tree - so I started sewing strips together until I got the look I wanted.  Once I had the tree shape put together, I decided to base the wildlife on the birds and animals in and around a pine tree in my backyard.  The rabbit and squirrel figures were adapted from cookie cutter shapes.  The critters are hand appliqued.  This was my first experience with embellishments.  Every bead and snowflake was stitched on by hand.  I find hand stitching really relaxing - its a nice contrast to all the annual Christmas hype.

Friends on quilter blogs and Facebook provided suggestions about how to proceed at various junctures - so it was a collaborative process.  Each time I look at it, it makes me happy to think about all of you who contributed to its design.  :)

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