July 16, 2016

12 Days of Christmas in July - Snow Friends

Remember all those snowmen I was making back in May? Well, today is my day for the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop, so I finally get to share them with you. First, though, I want to say a huge thank you to Sarah for all her work organizing this blog hop! Also, I'm sharing today with Marsha at Quilter in Motion, so be sure to pop over to see what she has to show you :)

And now, meet my Snow Friends!
Snow Friends Quilt | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
This quilt came about because I wanted to re-do the first pattern I ever offered for sale. Portrait of a Snowman was my design for one 12" block and I was so excited when I first offered it for sale.
Portrait of a Snowman | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
Almost immediately after posting it for sale, though, I realized it could have been constructed differently, which would have eliminated the seams across his face. It has kind of nagged at me ever since, but I never really made time for it until Sarah, at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, asked if anyone would be interested in a Christmas in July blog hop. I signed up right away, figuring it would be the perfect opportunity to get this pattern redone.

And it was! This is my new version of that first snowman. I like him so much better without those seams in his face. I like the shape of his hat better too.
Snowman quilt block | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
Since I was re-doing the pattern, I also wanted to make it into a full quilt, rather than just a single block, so that meant my first snowman needed some friends. My inspiration for the layout was those picture collage frames you can buy and so I made the snowmen (and women) blocks in a couple of different sizes. There are 12" x 12" blocks, 6" x 6" blocks and a couple that are odd sizes, like 8" x 12".

I had a lot of fun drawing the different snow people and then making all the blocks!
Snowmen quilt blocks | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com
I love that their character seemed to come alive once I embroidered the mouths on!

My plan had been to finish my quilt, finish the pattern and get it to the two people who generously offered to test it for me, all in time to have the pattern available to launch today. Well. That didn't happen. Why is it things always take longer than I think they will? The pattern is with the testers (finally!), so it will be available shortly after I hear back from them. 

The quilt finishes at 48" x 48." When I finally got it all put together, I was surprised by how big it was, which really amused me because it was exactly the size I designed it to be! Not only that, but I've made 48" square quilts before and somehow they always seem bigger than I was expecting. I'm not sure why I can't seem to visualize that size quilt! Thankfully, it still fits on the wall in our entryway where I plan to hang it come Christmas time :)

You may have noticed that my quilt is still only a quilt top, not actually a finished quilt. That's partly because I haven't figured out how I want to quilt it yet! The faces are big enough that they need some quilting, but I can't decide what. I'd appreciate any suggestions you have :)

There are lots of other great Christmas-related projects being shared during this blog hop, so be sure to check them all out. Plus, Sarah is hosting a quilt-a-long during the hop, posting a new set of instructions each day (about an hour's worth of work for each day, I believe). Here's the full schedule:


July 14th:     Sharon Vrooman @ Vrooman’s Quilts
                    Carole Carter @ From My Caroline Home

July 15th:    Yanicka Hachez @ Finding Myself As An Artist
                   Chris Dodsley @ made by ChrissieD

July 16th:     Marsha Hodgkins @ Quilter in Motion
                    Leanne Parsons  @ Devoted Quilter

July 17th:     Tonia Conner @ All Thingz Sewn
                    Selina @ Selina Quilts

July 18th:     Lara Buccella @ Buzzin Bumble
                    Soma Acharya @ Whims and Fancies

July 19th:     Joanne Harris@ Quilts by Joanne
                    Suzy Webster @ Adventurous Applique and Quilting

July 20th:     Vicki in MN @ Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting
                    Jennifer Fulton @ The Inquiring Quilter

July 21st:     Michele Kuhns @ Crayon Box Quilt Studio
                    Jan Ochterbeck @ The Colorful Fabriholic

July 22nd:     Alla Blanca @ Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes.
                     Zenia Rene @ A Quilted Passion

July 23rd:     Joanne Hubbard @ Everyone Deserves a Quilt
                    Paige Alexander @ Quilted Blooms

July 24th:     Carolyn Jones @ …by CJ
                    Tisha Nagel @ Quilty Therapy

July 25th:     Susan Arnold @ Quilt Fabrication
                    Beth Sellers @ Cooking Up Quilts
                    Linda Pearl @ One Quilting Circle

Merry Christmas, and thanks for stopping by!

31 comments:

  1. Oh they are stinkin' cute! So many possibilities in giving each their own personality. Good luck with your pattern release - this is really cute.

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  2. I agree, they are all super cute and I'm sure the new pattern version will be a big hit.

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  3. Snowfolks are so popular and yours are so darling! How wonderful that you found a time and place to improve your already delightful snowman. It's a great wintery quilt. Thank you for sharing the day with me!
    Marsha @ Quilter in Motion

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  4. Your snow people have so much personality! I really love the variety - so cute! Thanks so much for all the time and energy you put into making this blog hop special!

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  5. How cute that they have different hats, great pattern for all winter long.

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  6. Super cute! I love snowmen too!

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  7. Lots of characters, full of personality :D #12daysofchristmasinjuly

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  8. Your Snow Friends crack me up Leanne, with their quirky smiles and different personalities. The different style hats look great too. So cute and they make a really charming quilt! I'm not sure how to quilt the faces either. I read that closely spaced quilting is less noticeable than large patterned quilting, so maybe just matchstick lines? Whatever you decide, I know it will turn out wonderful.

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  9. Adorable. I have a snowman collection so I may have to make a few of these personable snowpeople in a smaller wall hanging since I don't have room for one this big.

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  10. Adorable. I have a snowman collection so I may have to make a few of these personable snowpeople in a smaller wall hanging since I don't have room for one this big.

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  11. Those are darling and so personable!

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  12. What an awesome grouping of snow people! This would be some work, but I'm thinking of pebbles (aka snowballs?) on the faces of the snow people and a loose stipple or swirls in the background? Good luck finding the right quilting plan!

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  13. Lovely to see all the snow people in one quilt after seeing several on Instagram! They DO have great personalities with the faces and differing details added. :-)

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  14. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INSPIRATION>LOVE THE SNOWMEN!!!
    msstitcher1214@gmail.com

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  15. This is such a fun Quilt!! They each have their own personality...and it radiates from them! I think the one smack in the middle...is an ornery one...just waiting to make you laugh! :) You did an Awesome job!!

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  16. Yes I like the different personalities I can see in the snowpeople.

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  17. Very very nice snow people....ty for sharing there smiles.... happyness04431@yahoo.com

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  18. Their expressions are adorable! You did a fantastic job on them!

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  19. Your Snow Friends are adorable, love all those hats!

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  20. Your quilt is fabulous! I love how each one is different and all look so happy and inviting. Thank you for sharing and have a fantastic creative day!

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  21. This is lovely Leanne, I really like how each snowman has their own personality. I hope you are going to link it up with this month's Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew over at
    http://redletterquilts.blogspot.fr/2016/07/modern-trees-rug-herringbone-chenille.html

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  22. Love that they are all slightly different from each other...leaving room for individual creativity and experimentation.
    Hugs,
    Preeti.

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  23. Really cute! Good luck with the pattern release.

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  24. Good luck with your pattern release! I love these little guys. They are so cute and happy and each has his/her own personality. Imagine how many different snow friends there could be just by changing the fabrics. Cute!

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  25. I love your snowman quilt...it's on my bucket list. I will check back and see how you decide to quilt it.

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  26. This is absolutely adorable. I love how each one has a different personality. Fat ones, skinny ones, male, female, young and old. I can see this as door hangers or table runners and placemats too. As for quilting I can think of several possibilities. It would depend where your skill level is really. I have not yet attempted fmq so i would have to do something with a walking foot. I would probably aim for some random wavy lines to mimic wind movement. If you are good at fmq or are sending it out to someone who is, some sort of paisley design or something that looks like asterisk can look like snow. Or an edge to edge of a swirl with a hook that looks like blustery wind. Perhaps with an errant mitten or hat that appears to have been blown off by the wind. Or if it is a wall hanging, beads and plastic snowflakes could be hand quilted on effectively tying the quilt instead of actual quilting. I may have to buy this pattern when it is available. It is too cute. And clearly you have my creativity in overdrive.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for all you suggestions, Heather!

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