The Advent of Christmas : Day 1

An Advent calendar is a special calendar used to count the days in anticipation of Christmas. We're celebrating the Advent with a collection of Christmas quilts we've admired.  Without further ado... let's begin with Day 1!

A Little of Them and a Whole Lot of Me by Ruth Hoglund

The Twelve Days of Christmas (a popular Christmas carol) are depicted here  in Scherenschnitte rows made in red felt on white. For the melody and lyrics to this song, please click here.   The tree is topped by a partridge in a pear tree as shown below.

Close-up, A Little of Them and a Whole Lot of Me by Ruth Hoglund

In describing her quilt, Ruth writes, "A life long enchantment with paper cuts and felt has brought me to this project. I found a pattern twenty odd years ago in The Family Circle Christmas Treasury 1989  for 'The Twelve Days of Christmas in Paper Cuts'. When I retired, I wanted to see if I could translate them by cutting felt fabric instead of paper."
In this close up photo you can also see the five rings, four calling birds, three French hens, and two turtle doves.

Close-up, A Little of Them and a Whole Lot of Me by Ruth Hoglund

This scalloped border is embellished with stacked circles of felt; each raw edge is beautifully blanket stitched with white thread.

Close-up, A Little of Them and a Whole Lot of Me by Ruth Hoglund

Last but not least,  can you see the clever way in which Ruth created a fanciful papercut of her name (Ruth Hoglund)?  She concludes, "The creative force took over, and I knew that I had to design many new patterns that better fit my vision. The quilt that hangs before you is....A little of them and a whole lot of me."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2013 Diablo Valley Quilters' Guild Show.