A couple of years ago I bought the lovely Star of Wonder Christmas panel (by Nancy Halvorsen) from a friend who had given up any intention of putting it together herself. The days of the country colours in the panel are long gone, but I still love the way the panel has captured the wonder and worship of Christmas in its whimsical design.
Initially, I added a couple of borders, quilted it, bound it and added a hanging sleeve. I always had the intention of one day embellishing it.
When my daughter, Janelle, saw it, she told me she had the same panel that she hoped to put together one day. She also has a huge array of beads, sequins and all sorts of glitzy bits, so next time she visited, she came with packets full of pretties and great ideas on how to use them on the panel!
Eventually I was motivated enough to put in place some of her ideas. I think the cleverest one is what she suggested to use for the crowns.
I ended up with glue and fluff everywhere but I like the three dimensional effect.
The beads bring the holly to life.
And the roofs look like they are decorated for Christmas!
Much as I dislike using metallic thread because of the way it strips so easily, I persevered and there are little bits of gold highlight here and there, like the angels headband and the crosses on the lower garment.
I couldn't resist using it on the scallops on the dress and the swirls on the wings. If you look closely on some of the previous photos, you will see other little bits highlighted as well.
My favourite Palestrina Knot Stitch had to be included somewhere, so the crib blanket received the treatment!
I am so thrilled with the completed hanging and can't wait for December so I can hang it on the wall.
Christmas 2021 is just so uncertain here in Australia. It is the year of our cycle when the whole family comes to our place for Christmas. How much of the whole family will be able to come is the big question. Our daughter is in Japan, so being able to fly home is very doubtful. This week our son was supposed to be coming to spend some time with me from interstate, but the trip was cancelled when they went into lockdown and our State borders closed. I am thankful that our government is keeping us safe while they work very hard on vaccinating everyone, but I do long for the days when family can come and go as they please. Meanwhile long Skype calls are a happy alternative! Cultivating a heart of thankfulness makes all the difference. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Blessings on you
Val
5 comments:
Lovely hanging quilt! I hope the situation will be better for Christmas.
Its so beautiful. I wonder if this panel is still available.
Val, the quilt is absolutely beautiful!
Oh Val! What you did to embellish this panel is absolutely glorious! All those beads, sequins and metallic threads (I know how difficult they are to work with!) make the piece ten times better! I'm glad your daughter could share her bobbles with you, and give you the motivation to make this extra-special. Oh, those sheep! Indeed, this will be a be a very special Christmas decoration. I understand your concerns about your Christmas-time family gathering. Life isn't easy, is it? In all honesty, I think it will be several years until all the COVID variants and vaccinations run through the worldwide population. We're hearing about getting boosters before the end of the year. A heart of thankfulness and love is the best kind of heart to have.
Your embellished quilt is so beautiful, Val! I love all the beads and sequins. I have a Christmas tree panel that I bought with the same idea in mind. I might try to work on it for this Christmas but I have a lot of other things that I want to do also. Never enough time. Hope life gets closer to normal for you soon. Here in the US it's a mess. No lockdowns but constant fighting over masks-no masks and vaccine-no vaccine. I'm 64 and never thought I'd see the world in such bad shape.
Many prayers and blessings for you,
Sherry in NC, USA
Post a Comment