Hi Quilty Friends!  I’m Shelley from Cora’s Quilts.  Hubby and I make our home in the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, near Sacramento, CA.  We have two hysterical, imaginative boys, ages 1 and 2.75, so you can imagine how hard it is for me to sneak in a little sewing time in between all that dirt, plank-walking, quilt-fort-building and endless stacks of laundry!

When Connecting Threads asked me to design a pattern to share as part of this year’s Gifty Galore series, I knew that I needed something that, no matter how much crafting time you’ll have this holiday season, you can still walk away with a beautiful, handmade gift!

So … I’m excited to introduce: Cold Hands, Warm Hearts, by Cora’s Quilts, featuring fabric from Snowed Inn by Mary Jo Tuttle for Connecting Threads.

The quilt top finishes at a generous 47″ square – it’s the perfect size for a wall-hanging, a table topper, a baby quilt, or even a tree skirt!  I added fun little mitten, heart, and pine tree appliques to match the pictures found in the Cozy Mittens and Holiday Hearts prints.

Rather than using a classic needle-turn applique method for attaching the applique pieces, I backed them with my favorite fusible backing (Pellon #906F) and used a small zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine to attach them to the background fabric.

When using matching thread, the stitching practically disappears against the fabric and the fusible backing minimizes the fraying that usually happens over time with raw-edge applique.  It’s a great way to save several hours of hand stitching!!

If you’re running short on crafting time, simply replace the applique blocks with plain squares – they’re the perfect size for showcasing your favorite large-scale holiday prints.  Or, if you only have a few hours, use the applique templates and some fat quarters in your favorite prints to whip together some 10″ mug rugs!

Pair them with a holiday coffee mug, and a small mason jar full of hot cocoa mix or your favorite loose leaf tea, and presto!  A speedy, handmade holiday gift!

Our Cold Hands, Warm Hearts pattern is available exclusively through Connecting Threads this holiday season.  The pattern includes full color, step-by-step instructions for making the quilt, plus full size applique templates for both needle-turn and fusible-backed applique methods.  We’ve also included a bonus pattern for the 10″ mug rugs too!

Drop by our blog any time to share photos of your own projects or to see what’s cooking at Casa de CQ.  Today, I’m sharing my favorite hot cocoa mix recipe, as well as photos of the Cold Hands quilts made by my fabulous pattern testers!  Hope you’ll stop by and say hello!  Thanks again to the awesome team at Connecting Threads for the chance to share this fun pattern and happy holiday sewing!

We would LOVE to see how your projects turn out. Join the Gifty Galore group on Quilt With Us (QWU) and post your pictures there for everyone to enjoy. If you’re on Pinterest, upload your picture and tag it with #GG14. Of course, we would also love to see your pictures on our Facebook wall! Please post any questions about this project below in comments and we will respond.