Friday, December 9, 2011

My Instant Tree Skirt

I'm keeping it real today. Some of you have noticed that I've been absent a bit lately. (Thanks for checking on me.)  Honestly, between my still weak hand that is now in one of those lovely black Velcro wraps after getting my cast off last week, having the crud that's been going around, and concern for a dear friend that is in a coma, my quilting mojo has been in a funk. But, after being inspired by my modern quilting friends at last night's KCMQG, I think I can feel the flames beginning to be fanned again! Whew! I was getting worried about myself!!
Anyway, during my quilting hiatus, I made a pale attempt last weekend at making, what I call, my Instant Tree Skirt. Here's what I needed to cover........
 Ya. It's a huge piece of heavy plywood that my dear hubby screwed our equally huge tree stand into. You see, we sure don't want the tree to fall on top of any of our darling grandchildren when they come to visit and yank on look at the Christmas ornaments! Last year I just threw a table cloth over it, I think. But this year, I had one of those "Ah Ha!" moments when I spied an "oldie but goodie" Christmas quilt in the cupboard....this Thimbleberries Gameboard quilt. Being the perfect size to cover the plywood, I simply cut into the center with my scissors and then cut a hole out of the middle....
 The quilt is large enough to be pulled around the tree stand and still camouflage the board. In the past, I used this quilt as a tablecloth, and one year a candle dripped a big puddle that left a stain even after I got all the wax out. Cutting the quilt actually solves that little problem too.
 Because I needed it right away, I didn't even bother to  bind off the cut edges. Yet. Do you think any one will notice? My tree is full-to-overflowing with ornaments. I put soft and unbreakable ones on the bottom so that the kids can pull on finger them without getting in trouble like they might at their own house.
I'm sure not worried about the tree falling over anymore... even if the cat climbs it.
Just keeping it real here!!

12 comments:

  1. What a great idea! Glad you are on the mend and almost sewing again!

    ReplyDelete
  2. How sensible! We grandparents have to be so careful all the time, don't we? LOL

    Glad to hear your hand is on the mend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I found your blog through my friend, Deb's blog. I love your tree skirt - genius! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad to hear you got your quilting spirit back. Aren't guilds great for that? You have the perfect tree skirt! And I had to laugh - I put the touchable ornaments at the bottom too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the tree skirt! Aren't you clever! How big is the quilt/tree skirt? It looks fantastic under your tree....waiting for Santa to arrive :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. No one will notice that it is bound!! What a clever idea!! Glad to know you are on the mend!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great idea, Carla!

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's nice to see you in the blogosphere again. While I'm glad to know you don't have your cast anymore, I'm sorry that you're not back to 100 percent yet. I'm also very sorry to know about your friend. What a strain on her family too.

    Your tree skirt idea is very clever, but it wouldn't work for me since I don't even have a Christmas quilt! How nice for you to have a tree and pretty ornaments for the grandies to touch. Our kids haven't been back home for five years now, and that's how long we haven't been decorating for Christmas. Kinda sad, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  9. You are so smart! And I'm happy you're feeling better, too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great idea! Especially if you have a few lying around....too bad I have ZERO Christmas quilts!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Brilliant! Awesome! Amazing! (IN case you had a doubt, I love this idea!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great idea. It's always such a deja vu moment when I see Thimbleberries--When I bought my first Thimbleberries book (WAY back in the day...) I remember thinking: "This book is so awesome I will never need to buy another quilting book. Ever." Haha!!

    ReplyDelete