Welcome to the 2017 Row Along – Christmas Caroling Blog Hop!  

Thank you Marian Pena of Seams to be Sew for all the work that you do to organize and host this hop.  Also, a huge thank you to  Vanda Chittenden for taking the time to post my row on her blog.

This is my second year doing the hop and has been a great experience in doing something a bit different with my Electric Quilt program.  My row this year is Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.  I immediately thought about the verse…

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Had a very shiny nose,

And if you ever saw it,

You would even say it glows.

All of the other reindeer

Used to laugh and call him names;

They never let poor Rudolph

Join in any reindeer games.

Hence, Rudolph is up on the hill looking down on the other reindeer playing ball.

My background is pieced with raw edge appliques on top.  I have not done much work with raw edge applique, it was challenging and fun.  I got to try out a lot of different stitches on my machine to embellish the edges.  I then used an assortment of beads, bells, trim and markers to get the effect that I wanted to achieve.  Hope you have fun with this one!

DIRECTIONS/TIPS:

Background – The long triangle for the sky (top) and snow (bottom) are the same as is the  shorter triangle for the 2 sides.  You will need to reverse 3 of the long triangles on one side as well as reverse 2 of the side triangles on one side.  Be careful not to stretch the bias.  The 2 single deer, rabbit and snowman also need to be reversed.  After printing, turn your paper over and trace the shape on the reverse side…write “reverse” on this side so you remember what side you need to use for the fusible.

Make sure you use double sided fusible, don’t remove the paper until you are ready to stick them on your background or if you are *pre-assembling.  Before peeling the paper off the fusible, place it on the back of the fabric and turn it over to ensure the pieces are facing the proper way before actually sticking the fusible on.  This will help you determine which side of the paper to pull off first.  Don’t peel off the 2nd side until you are ready to put the pieces together.

I found it easier to carefully mark ¼” all the way around without stretching the fabric.  You can place a piece of sandpaper under it, before marking, if you are afraid of stretching the fabric.  I then placed the snowman/tree on the right and the large tree on the left first. Place them just to the inside of your ¼” side seam marking in order to get all your pieces to fit.  You don’t want to get them stuck in the seam when you stitch your backing on.

*I found it easier to build the snowman, rabbit and deer on an applique pressing sheet or shiny side of freezer paper before place them on the background.  Check your paper for proper placement.

After all the pieces are on your background, place an applique pressing sheet or the shiny side of the freezer down over the top and gently press with no steam.

I also suggest using a stabilizer on the back of your row while machine appliqueing your pieces on.  This will stop your background fabric from puckering so much.

Stitch down using your favorite applique stitch and have fun embellishing!

Prizes

Northcott 1 FQ Bundles 2yds total

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Value $20.00

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Value $90.00

Restriction: Must Own An Sewing Machine With an Embroidery Arm.

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Cheryl Laplante