Christmas Up North Quilt [Plus Wreath & Holiday Lights Tutorial!]

Thanks to one of my favorite longarmers, Julie Hirt, I was able to finish my Christmas Up North Quilt literally 2 days before Christmas. I was SO happy to be able to enjoy it in time for this year's festivities! And then, after enjoying it for approximately 36 hours 😁, I changed my mind about keeping the quilt and decided to gift it to my in-laws instead. And I'm so glad I did! They are two of the most amazing people I know, they really enjoy camping, hunting, etc., they own a little RV and are huge fans of Christmas! Oh, and minor detail, I've yet to make them a single quilt (daughter-in-law of the year 🏆🙈) It just felt destined to be theirs and the odds of making another quilt more perfect for them was not going to happen anytime soon. Anyways, suffice it to say, they loved it and it made parting with it completely and 100% worth it 😊

I gave myself 5 minutes to take this photo, so apologies for the graininess and overall quality of it...

I did a tutorial for the snow-capped trees that you can find HERE, but keep reading below if you want to Christmas-fy (that's a real word, right??) your camper too!

The printable templates for the wreath are at the very end of this post!

To make the wreath you'll need a 4 1/2" square of both Heat N' Bond Lite (my favorite interfacing for applique) and green fabric.

Print the template below at 100% or "Do Not Scale" and trace the wreath shape with a pen or marker onto the paper side of the Heat N' Bond Lite. I find I'm able to see the shape of wreath perfectly through the Heat N' Bond without using a light source, but if you're struggling to see the wreath shape through the Heat N' Bond I recommend holding them up to a light source instead (a well-lit window is perfect!) and then tracing it.

Following the directions on the Heat N' Bond package, adhere the interfacing to the wrong side of the green fabric.

Cut out the wreath shape from the interfaced green fabric and then, with a hot, dry iron, adhere it to your camper block. I used a blanket stitch to applique my wreath to the block, but a zig-zag or straight stitch works too! Embellish your wreath as desired. I kept mine plain and only added a little red bow after it was quilted, but you could have so much fun adding details to yours!

 To embroider the lights onto the camper window, you'll want to position the template underneath the camper block window (this time you'll definitely want to use a light source to trace it) and with a water soluble pen, trace the lights onto the window. I did not use any stabilizer when I embroidered mine, but you might find it necessary when you are doing yours.

Using a straight stitch, I first embroidered the strand and did a quick satin stitch for the top of the lights as I got to them (hope that makes sense!). I used a satin stitch for the bulbs as well in a red and green embroidery floss. Oh and speaking of embroidery floss, I just used 3 strands of a DMC thread for all parts of the holiday lights.

Hope all of that ☝ makes sense! Comment below or email me at PenAndPaperPatterns@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Santa Ornament Tutorial

When Love Patchwork & Quilting approached me about contributing to their Quilty Advent Calendar series I immediately knew what holiday-themed project I wanted to do and if you've been following me for awhile it might look familiar...A few years ago, when I was working at a local craft/fabric store (RIP Scrapbooks Etc 😢), I was asked to make some projects for their holiday display and the Santa Ornament was one of them! Still one of my favorite Christmas projects that I've made and one I've been meaning to put online for a while now. This was the perfect opportunity to finally do it!

I've written step-by-step instructions below that include visuals AND if you scroll to the very, very bottom you'll find a condensed printable version of the pattern with the templates too! (There might be a fun surprise down there also 😉) And make sure to check out the other projects and giveaways happening during the Quilty Advent Calendar series on Love Patchwork and Quilting's blog! So many great projects and prizes have been shared so far!

To make the Santa Ornament you'll need:

- 4” x 5” piece of fabric for Santa’s Hat

- 1” x 5” piece of white felt for trim on Santa’s hat

- 3” x 5” piece of white felt for Santa’s beard

- 10” square piece of linen for Santa’s face and backing

- 2 small (approx. 1/8” in diameter) black beads for eyes (French knots in 

black embroidery thread or drawing the eyes on with a fabric marker 

would work too)

- Large white pom-pom (approx. 1 1/4” in diameter) for top of Santa’s hat

- Small red ball (approx. 1/2” in diameter) for Santa’s nose (I used an artificial berry that you would 

find in the floral dept of the craft store, but you can substitute it with a red button or small red pom-pom too)

- 6” piece of ribbon for hanging the ornament

- Batting

1. Using the Santa’s Beard Quilting Template printed at 100% or "Do Not Scale", a water-soluble pen (I am using a Frixion pen) and a light source, trace the quilting design onto the 3” x 5” piece of white felt. Hand or machine sew the design onto the felt.

2. With a 1/4” seam allowance, piece the front of the ornament together in this order (from top to bottom): 4" x 5” piece of fabric, 1” x 5” piece of white felt, 1 1/8” x 5” strip of linen and 3” x 5” rectangle of white felt. After it is pieced the front of the ornament should measure 5” x 6 1/2”. 

3. With a water soluable pen and the Santa Ornament Template, trace the outline of the Santa ornament onto the pieced ornament front. Make sure to mark the placement of the eyes too. Cut out along the marked edge. 

4. Hand sew the eyes on with black thread. I recommend sewing the bead on with two strands of thread and loop it through several times. The beads can become loose when you're turning the ornament right side out, so it is important to make the beads as secure as possible. Loop the two raw ends of the ricrac together, and with a basting stitch, attach the raw ends to the top of the ornament.

5. With the front of the ornament and backing right sides together, stitch around the perimeter of the ornament using a 1/4“ seam allowance. Make sure the ricrac is tucked in between the backing and front of the ornament, but out of the way when you're sewing these two pieces together. Leave a 2-3” gap along one side of Santa’s hat for turning right side out later. Trim off the point on Santa's hat to reduce bulk making sure not to cut through the stitches.

6. Turn the ornament right side out, stuff with batting, and hand stitch the opening closed. Using hot glue, attach the white pom-pom at the top of Santa’s hat and the red nose centered just below his eyes. 

Hope you enjoy making this ornament! Please tag me (@penandpaperpatterns on IG) if you post about it! I'd love to see it! 

(Download the files below to your computer and then print them at 100% or "Do Not Scale" )