I decided this year I wanted to find a fun way to teach my son about gratitude. I remembered seeing a countdown calendar with activity cards a few years ago and thought that would be perfect. And then I saw this pattern with patchwork pockets and I fell in love. Patchwork has my heart, it's my favorite.
I had to enlarge the pockets a bit to get the cards to fit and I also made the rows have 5 pockets each (that was a boo boo on my part, but I went with it). Of course I changed the embroidery to reflect the holiday and I also added a rod pocket on the back for hanging. The muslin I used ended up having a more open weave so I backed it with interfacing to help stabilize it better.
Now that I've made one I think I got all the kinks worked out. I plan on making a Christmas version for both my son and my niece, so you will be seeing more of this cute pattern.
Pattern:
Quilted Advent Calendar by Sew Sweet Violet
Activity Cards:
Thanksgiving Countdown Cards by Everyday Celebrations
Fabric:
- Cream cherries: Unknown designer (found in my local quilt shop's scrap bin)
- Taupe pumpkins: Home for the Harvest by Heather Mulder Peterson for Henry Glass
- All others: Welcome Fall by Deb Strain for Moda
- Background: muslin found at Hobby Lobby
- Stabilizer: Shape-Flex SF101 by Pellon
- Backing + binding: Postcards from the Lodge by Pela Studios for Windham Fabrics
Embroidery Floss: DMC 498, 729, 367, 920, and 898
1/2" wide cotton twill tape found
here (color: natural)
Stamp set and fabric ink: found at Hobby Lobby (use a coupon!)
