I thought it would be fun to put together a post of Thanksgiving Quilts past and present. I love a good fall-feeling-quilt. Fall color palettes are some of my consistent favorites. Not to mention the Fall season itself. As with all things seasonal November - January, Christmas seams to hog a lot of the limelight. But let's linger for just a minute longer with a spotlight on the Thanksgiving Holiday + some Thanksgiving-themed quilts, shall we? Give them a minute in the sun before we start decking the halls?*
A couple of weeks ago I finished my little Flying Geese mini quilt and it's been hanging in my kitchen - perfect for this season. It makes me happy every time I see it.
These cute little 4" x 4" Dutchman's Puzzle blocks were perfectly pieced with the October Perfectly Pieced box from M.E. Time Delivered. Including most of the fabric and color palette. It was such a fun little project to work on this fall.
And I used the digital Fall Leaves quilting design included in the Perfectly Pieced subscription as well. I wanted a little bit of contrast for the leaves, but not too dark to distract from the pieced blocks. So I went with a thread color only slightly darker and warmer than the background print. Turned out perfect!
I love the Dutchman's Puzzle quilt block - you don't need to foundation piece it (although it did help keep points and triangles perfect in the smaller scale blocks). You can find a tutorial for the Dutchman's Puzzle quilt block here. (Or as I now like to call it, "the Flying Dutchman" since it's made from Flying Geese blocks. 😉 )
To make the smaller scale 4" x 4" finished blocks, make two sets of four 2" x 1" finished Flying Geese blocks. (The tutorial mentioned above also includes a free printable chart for making that size Flying Geese block.)
This quilt is the new version of my Gratitude Quilt - one of my favorite quilts I made last year. Over the summer we spent a couple of days at Capitol Reef National Park. So naturally, I took quilts with me to photograph in a stunning setting. (You may remember the same setting for the Patchwork US Flag Tutorial.)
These pictures are taken near Fruita - a former small town within what is now the National Park. Fruita is named because of the hundred-year-old orchards that are still growing and producing fruit. The orchards are maintained by the Park Service.
As other Utah National Parks have grown more and more crowded I've grown to love Capitol Reef NP even more. So please no one come visit. 😉
You can read all about this Gratitude Quilt version and find the pattern here.
And here is the original Gratitude Quilt that I made in 2011. How has it been over 10 years?! The great news is that I still love this quilt. It's a sweet time capsule of people, places, and things that I still feel grateful for.
And finally, a Thanksgiving mini quilt that predates the one above:
I made this little 23" x 23" mini quilt in 2002. I mostly used fabric scraps from my mom's sewing room and tea-dyed some inexpensive muslin for the embroidered blocks. And I hand quilted the whole thing.
This quilt is another time capsule as I made it when I only had two little-bitty girls. Here is our personalized family. (Not perfect likenesses, but captures the time frame.) Now those girls are great-big grown-up girls making their way in the world. (Cue, Sunrise, Sunset... and pass the tissues.)
The fun thing is this mini quilt pattern is still available from Bare Roots.
It also makes me happy to see mountains on the list. I've always loved my nearby mountains, but I've come to rely on them so much more in recent years as one of my best and favorite forms of therapy and rejuvenation.
So, I'm thankful for these quilty-time-capsules that remind me of the different ages and stages of life. I guess I've officially hit the "Where did the time go?!" stage of life.
Whether you’re celebrating here in the US, already celebrated in Canada this year, or not celebrating an official holiday, take minute for gratitude. I’m trying to make gratitude more of a daily practice and it's brought a lot of peace of mind and perspective when world or personal events feel out of whack. (Which seems to be happening on a more regular basis lately.)
But I do still love that there’s a day set aside to gather with people and celebrate gratitude together. And eating good food together is pretty fun too. 😉
And then good luck with all of the Christmas Prep!
*Not to dismiss the wonderfulness of Christmas! I'm even finding myself turning into one of those "Christmas music before Thanksgiving" kinds of people - which I'm both kind of surprised by and okay with. (2020 did something to me - changed me in a lot of ways...)
Julie
You are so right about 2020's effects. I have already watched a Christmas movie & I always refused to do that before December 1st. Hmm, was it 2020 or is it my age? Sunrise, sunset!
Adriana
In August I watched a British movie “This is Christmas “ 2022. It was heartwarming and a truly original story. Timothy Spall and Ben Miller star. Give your heart a new favorite
Joan Sheppard
Love the handwork. I seldom do that any more - but when I worked I took the train into the City and there were a good number of women doing handwork! I kind of miss that. Thanks
Rebecca
GORGEOUS
Rebecca
Love it. Fabulous job.
Jeannie
Beautiful. Love your stories and sharing your talents. Happy Thanksgiving to you as well
Amy
Thank you, Jeannie. ❤
buddhajames777
When there are two competing projects I really want to make, I always ask myself "If I were to die tomorrow, which is the project I would be most grateful I left behind, and why?" Your Gratitude Quilt has been competing with quilts for my 8 grandchildren for the past year, but I only have two left to finish. So, by this time next year, Gratitude should also be done! I thought I might be able to tackle the mini Bare Roots quilt without having to wait until the babies' quilts are complete; but, unfortunately, it's sold out now. Heavy sigh.
Amy
Quilts for all 8 grandchildren sounds like the best of projects. Way to go! Also, I just checked and the Bare Roots pattern looks like it's back in stock!
Janet Sinclair
I totally agree Amy. I've always thought that Thanksgiving doesn't get near enough attention as it should! Halloween is such a big deal and then it seems to just right to Christmas and barely skims over Thanksgiving. I love to embrace Thanksgiving and fall and then when time, celebrate Christmas. We tend to forget all the things we should be thankful for and how much we are blessed!