Christmas applique by Sara

 First let me say that I really admire anyone who does applique.  Let's just say that my talents lie in other areas.  Not only did Sara applique every single block in this quilt, much of them are done by hand!  Wow!  She also told me that she didn't care for some of the designs, so came up with her own, or found others that she preferred and incorporated them into the quilt.   In addition, many of these designs have dimensional components.  The scarves have loose ends, the ski pole straps aren't stitched down.  So much fun! My challenge?  How to quilt this so it's not just the same thing in each block.  That's where the fun begins!

 If you are familiar with Portland I hope that you recognize the KOIN (local news channel) tower and the Fremont Bridge.  I was supposed to ask Sara which house was hers, but then I forgot as we talked about her lovely quilt.

A simply looping meander behind the carolers.  They are singing "Oh Holy Night."

 "Rudolph" has a figure 8 meander in his background.  8 tiny reindeer?

 Arrowhead meander behind the candlestick.  I thought it went well with the candle flame.

Peacock feather meander for the snowman.  Makes me think of swirly snowflakes coming down that he needs to sweep away.  You can almost see the candy cane stripes in the red border.

 Birds get music notes because they are singing!

 Saturn meander for the sleigh.  Please don't ask me why I chose that.

 Leaves for the wreath of holly.

 Three different snowflake blocks, this one just got a meander.  I wasn't thrilled with that, but  couldn't think of what else to do.

 This happy guy got a tight loopy meander to make his really stand out from the background.

 Flames behind the lamp post.

 I was trying to mimic the lines left on the ice after the skaters carve it up with their routines.

 They are supposed to be crocus flowers for mom to carry in her basket.

 Pine boughs behind the snow shoes.  Wouldn't you love to go tromping through the snow on fun shoes like these?

It's going to be hard to see, but the sledding snowmen are saying "Whee" as they glide down the mountain.

I kept thinking of the patterns in the snow that you'd see as you ride the chairlift up the mountain to take another run.    So these are the trails that the other skiers have left as they carved patterns in the snow.

I gave Sara back her quilt a few days ago, and got an email from her today.  Here's what she said.

Hi Beth, I am putting on the binding and wanted to let you know how happy I am with your quilting. I was going to give it away but now I have changed my mind. Selfish me.