'Tis the Season: Toyland Tree

We're back with more fabulous Christmas quilts. "Toyland Tree" is a charming new design by Lynn Wilder of Sew'n Wild Oaks.  Lynn incorporated toys from her youth ("toys that are now considered vintage and in antique shops!")  Here you will see a rocking horse, teddy bear, a toy train, and more.  The toys remind us of the famous song:  "Childhood's joyland, Mystic, merry Toyland"...

Toyland Tree, 64 x 76", by Lynn Wilder at Sew'n Wild Oaks; pattern and BOM at In Between Stitches

Lynn Wilder has been quilting seriously for the last 15 years and teaching quilting classes for the last five years at In Between Stitches in Livermore, California. She enjoys designing and making traditional quilts, combining her love of appliqué with pieced blocks. In this quilt, Lynn has arranged the toys in the shape of a tree made with swags, decorated with yo-yo's and topped by a star which is echoed in the four corners of the quilt. The black polka dot fabric provides a perfect backdrop for the colorful toys.

Detail, Toyland Tree by Lynn Wilder

Lynn Wilder says:  "I loved to listen to Gene Autry sing 'Frosty the Snowman' on my old 45 rpm record player. I was always sad when Frosty melted.  My snowman will never melt away."

Detail,  Toyland Tree by Lynn Wilder

This looks like a real teddy bear in so many ways.  We love the plaid vest and muffler; look at the way the muffler is flying behind the bear, showing the fabric on the back side.

Detail,  Toyland Tree by Lynn Wilder

Here is a smiling giraffe hitching a ride on a toy train. To add to this playful scene, there are balloons/bubbles coming out of the smokestack! For more photos of Toyland Tree blocks, see the slide show at Sew'n Wild Oaks. The BOM, which will begin January 15, 2013 and run for 12 months, is available at In Between Stitches.

The House on Edgewood Lane, 70 x 82", by Lynn Wilder at Sew'n Wild Oaks; pattern at In Between Stitches

We couldn't resist showing one more of Lynn Wilder's designs:  The House on Edgewood Lane.  The description reads:  "Step back to simpler times and make a quilt with fond memories of your first home. This quilt contains only one block."  Lynn says:  "This is the first quilt I designed and it holds a very special place in my heart."  You can read the story and see more photos of this quilt at Sew'n Wild Oaks.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Lynn Wilder, who says:  "At a very young age, my maternal Grandmother taught me how to make a very simple quilt block on her treadle sewing machine. I was instantly smitten with quilting. I now have the machine in my home, and I still have my first quilt blocks! I started to design at the same time that I bought a long-arm quilting machine. I wanted to create my own designs with open areas, and fill them with custom quilting. Four years ago I started my own pattern company called Sew’n Wild Oaks. I was the featured artist at the 2012 Georgetown Outdoor Quilt Show. My background is Geography. Prior to my retirement, I was a Geographic Information Systems Analyst at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This is a fancy way to say I was a cartographer with a twist. I mapped, then analyzed data that was collected by scientists around the world. My knowledge and use of color transferred directly to the quilting world....and I've never looked back."