This was a Project Tuesday option in November. I chose this pattern because it looked quick and easy. What I didn’t anticipate was how long it would take to stitch down the garland, lights, balls, bells and presents.

I used some beads from Mum’s stash as garland and loved the way it looked. I used red buttons for balls and stitched bells around the bottom of the tree. I had to buy the lights, although I knew I had some somewhere (and I’ve since found them). The presents came from another Guild member in exchange for some of my garland.

I used a template to trace the stars; the rest is free-motion quilting.

I purchased a pattern for Fabric Tree cocktail napkins and planned to use them as my 2012 Christmas gift. I thought I was running too short on time so I gave up the idea. However, several ladies at the Guild retreat were making them so I dug out my pattern again, watched a demo at the Guild meeting, tweaked my pattern a bit and ended up with something I liked and that I had time for.

I made 52 napkins in total. Most got a set of four, with a couple of folks getting a set of six.

For this I used one of the Slashed Blocks and one of the Foundation String blocks from the Craftsy Block of the Month series. I used straight line quilting on the blocks, but practiced my free-motion quilting in the borders.

The Guild offered this as a class to teach you how to make a tree skirt. I signed up because I wanted to learn the technique of cutting a hole in the center of the piece and splitting it down one side. I thought eventually I might make a tablecloth that would accommodate an umbrella if we used it on the table on the deck.

When it was put together and quilted we liked it so much that we decided to keep it as a table topper. It is the perfect size for the dining room table.

Once I knew the center wouldn’t be cut out I played with some metallic thread and one of Ruby’s decorative stitches.