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Yesterday, Florence commented about the Santa pattern, wondering if I had created a whole wallhanging from just a pattern of Santa's head. Well, no--I really can't take that much credit. I had simply misplaced the full color cover when I was trying to get a photo. It has since turned up, so I thought I'd show you that what I ended up with looks much like the pattern.

A friend of mine made the same Santa wallhanging (we started at the same time but she actually FINISHED hers!) and used a narrow corduroy for Santa's coat; I used wool for mine. The ivy leaves are also wool. It's funny, looking now at my tiny blanket stitches on Santa's coat--I can't imagine having done that back then. With the leaves, I used a method I've talked about before where I stitch down the wool as I'm quilting the piece, and in this instance, I left the leaves somewhat dimensional, stitching only the veins of the leaves. I think that back when I was first working on this project, the idea of stitching down all those ivy leaves using teeny, tiny blanket stitches probably played a big part in my decision to pack it up and put it away!

I mentioned I had another old Christmas project I wanted to pull out and assess to see what still needed to be done. This is it--

I pieced the basket quilt top some time ago, and then I added some minimal applique a few years later--I can't remember if it was last year or the year before. Now that I have it out, I'm just as stumped as I was then. Do I add more applique or do I make the quilting itself the "star" of the quilt? I'll leave it on the design wall for a couple days and decide whether to do something more with it this year. Any suggestions? (I am planning to add some yellow buttons for the poinsettia centers and red buttons as berries for the holly leaves.) I keep going back and forth about whether I think it's too bare and boring or not. Part of me likes the clean, simple look.

In the meantime, while I ponder the baskets, I had separated a few small Christmas patterns out of my pattern baskets, and I decided to work on a small Santa applique. This will only be 12-1/2" tall and wide and will fit in one of those standing metal frames.

I've picked a winner for the English Ivy Santa pattern, and that person is Sandy E-H, who said: "My goodness you are doing a good job of finishing up projects! That is always such a good feeling,and like you,I always wonder why I didn't finish it up instead of setting a project aside. I guess the call of starting something new. This little Father Christmas quilt is so cute, would love to win your giveaway and create the quilt for Christmas 2012."

Sandy, send me your mailing address, and I'll get the pattern out to you. And I sure hope you DO get it done for Christmas 2012 and not wait ten years like I did until Christmas 2022!

Tomorrow I'll try to get my little swirly quilting design tutorial posted. I love to use it on many of my winter quilts because it reminds me of snow. See you then!