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Just for Fun!
Santa's Little Deer
Christmas toile added to the required bundle of fat quarters set the tone for Sharon McKnight's entry in the 2004 Moda Challenge. The Sullivan, Wisconsin, quiltmaker struggled with the border design until she came upon a scrap of reindeer-motif novelty fabric she'd used to make a jumper for her granddaughter in 1997.
Sharon sent the 81" x 81" quilt top to Sue Volbrecht of Monona, Wisconsin, for machine quilting and, with permission from Robert Kaufman Fabrics, constructed the cartoon reindeer individually as the challenge deadline approached. Using Moda wools, Sharon found she could vary the facial expressions by altering the mouths and changing the position of the silly double-eyeball buttons. "When I got the quilt back from Sue I was very pleased with the swirling feeling of the quilting. It felt like the wind blowing," Sharon said. She adds, "I used a wool batt called Matilda's Own, 80-percent wool and 20-percent polyester, and it gave the quilt a wonderful soft, warm feel." The reindeer were appliqued to the borders after the quilting was completed. "The border is all about what reindeer do when it's not Christmas Eve," she says. "Their creation became a labor of love and laughs."
See the December 2006 issue of QNM for a peek at Sharon's quilt and closeups of her reindeer characters. If that issue is no longer available in your local quilt shop, order copies online at www.VillageQuiltShoppe.com.
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