Many of us associate warm happy feelings with the holidays for good reason. Christmas is a time for gathering with family and friends for good food, gifts, and fun. Wouldn’t it be great to enjoy some of those things all year long? Besides, as quilters and all craft makers, Christmas needs to start a bit earlier than you might think because it takes time to complete these beautiful creations in time to give them on the 25th of December. So although we think of snow and chilly weather when we think of Christmas, we are celebrating a sweltering Christmas in July! And don't miss our limited edition Santa and Sunshine Glide Thread of the Month pack to really get you into the Christmas quilting spirit!

Our renters bring us all sorts of Christmas quilts all year long as well. Some are super early for the holidays while others are a bit late. I hope their quilts can act as inspiration for your own. If you start now, you’ll definitely be done by December… maybe.

Are the gifts on the placemats, or are the placemats gifts?

Barbara brought this cute top made with Christmas presents. This is actually four placemats that are all sewn together to make it easier for her to quilt all at once. Once she got this home, the plan was to cut it into four separate pieces to bind. She quilted it with Seamless, a great pantograph that our renters find simple but very effective. It calls to mind Christmas lights to me. These would make a great gift for someone seeking to expand their Christmas decorations.

Looking out at a chilly scene during our Sweltering Christmas

Laura used a Christmas panel to create this attic window quilt. Doesn’t it look like you’re looking out the window at a cute winter scene?

She quilted this with White Out, a great paper pantograph with snowflakes meandering across her quilt. It definitely plays well with the winter theme of the top, that is for sure. This would make a great wall hanging, as well as a snuggle quilt on the couch.

Judy was busy with lots of Christmas Cheer

One of our regulars, Judy, brought this cute top in. As adorable as it is now, it got better. She sewed on faux fur beards to the gnomes after quilting it! Judy quilted this free-hand with lots of swirls and curls. She did a really great job of keeping it even all over. And I love the wonky stars too.

This is also from Judy. There are three tops here, all wall hangings. I believe the two small ones are for a cabin somewhere, one for Christmas and one for the rest of the year. These are patterns from Annie Brady. She has a couple real cute animals in the same style. I like his slightly surprised mellow look. I suppose a bear would only be able to have a sweltering Christmas considering he'd be hibernating for the usual one. The bright reds and greens also look great against the gray taupe background. It really pops. She used Airborne to quilt these quickly. This pattern has a sort of faux feather feel that is quite lovely. It gives a great all over texture that is reminiscent of a much more complicated heirloom style.

Now those three bears weren’t the only thing on that backing. Judy added these adorable snowmen placemats onto the side of them as well. She chose to quilt them with her free motion swirls and curls just like the dwarf quilt from earlier. We agreed that it looked a little like wind blowing snow around on a blustery day.

Time to have your own Sweltering Christmas this year! It’s never too early to start getting ready for Christmas gift giving. Or just your own Christmas decorating. Check out the many different Holiday patterns that are available online and get sewing for the Holidays! Then check in with us on Facebook or Instagram. We’d love to see what you have been working on.