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.

My sisters and I spent a wonderful week at Stacia’s cabin on Turtle Lake. We sewed from early morning until late at night and, at the end of the week, we were all thinking we needed another week. I always try to find some sort of gift for each of them because they have taught me so much and I appreciate their patience.

These boxes were the first pattern in a quilting book that Christy gave me.

In January of 2013 I made a third box to give to Diane for her birthday.