Cherry Christmas Quilt

Woohoo - I finally have a finished quilt to share with you!  I started this quilt all the way back in July 2013 (in this post) - can you believe it?

 

It's not even that this was a massively time consuming project - it just kept getting pushed aside in favour of other things.  I used Aneela Hooey's Cherry Christmas line, with a couple of other random fat quarters thrown in to make up the numbers, and the scrappy trip along design that went viral a couple of years ago.

 

I had this quilt thread basted by Sue Burnett, a local long-arm quilter.  Seriously, if you have access to a long-arm quilter, ask them about this.  After trying it myself, I don't think I'd baste a large quilt again and many of my friends are converts now too.  It's generally not very expensive and such a time and hassle saver.  I then quilted the quilt myself on my Juki (for those who are curious, I didn't use the frame - this quilt was a bit big for it unless I added the extension).  I love the simple loops design - it's the one I start off with when teaching free motion quilting and I like to show that it's something I actually use on my quilts as well.

 

I like hand stitching my bindings and I usually do so in the normal way - with a simple ladder stitch that's nearly invisible.  On this quilt, I decided to do something different and stitch the binding down with Aurifil 12 weight thread using a running stitch.  It's probably not quite as secure (and it certainly took a lot longer) but it's oh so cute.  I will put together a little video tutorial on how to do this when I get back from QuiltCon (and I'm sure I've seen someone else use this on their quilt but I have no idea who - if you know, let me know!).

So now I have a Christmas quilt!  It's hanging out on my couch even though it's nowhere near Christmas time.  Luckily, Ivy approves.

Anyone else working on something completely out-of-season?

This is the first item I've finished off my Q1 Finish-Along list.  I'm afraid my number of finishes for Q1 is going to be fairly unimpressive!  How is everyone else going?  

WIP Wednesday

Wayyyy back last year, I started a scrappy trip-along quilt using Aneela Hoey's Christmas collection, Cherry Christmas.

My plans to have it done for last Christmas didn't come off, but I finished the top early this year.  A couple of months ago, I made the back and then had the quilt thread basted by Sue Burnett - it's so much easier to handle a big quilt like this without the weight of all those pins in it!

After quilting my Christmas Leftovers quilt (made from the leftovers from making this quilt, and, ironically, finished over a year before...), I knew I wanted to free motion loops on this quilt as well.

This weekend I made a start and I love the way the quilting is looking so far.  Hopefully I'll have a finish to share with you soon!

Are you working on any Christmas makes at the moment?

I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

A Christmas Quilt in February

I'm going to claim that I am really really organised for Christmas 2014.  Let's ignore the fact that I was originally aiming to get this quilt done for Christmas 2013.

 

Anyway, the top is done now, and I'm loving the fabric (mostly Aneela Hoey's Cherry Christmas line) as much as I was when I hunted it down in the middle of last year.

 

I know how I want to quilt this top, it's just a matter of when.  There's kind of no rush now, but I don't want to forget about it and end up being really organised for Christmas 2015…

So, how is your Christmas sewing going?  Any tips for me to make sure I don't forget about quilting this quilt?

Christmas Leftovers quilt - finished

Almost exactly a month after I posted about the quilt top, my Christmas Leftovers quilt is finished.

 

I'm really really pleased with how this quilt turned out.  It's a good omen for my Cherry Christmas scrappy trip along quilt, particularly since I'm planning to quilt it in the same way.  The quilt top is mainly made up of Aneela Hoey's Cherry Christmas collection, with a couple of other fabrics in similar colours thrown in to make up the numbers.

 

On the back I used a few half yards that had been hanging around  in my stash for a while - I'm not sure what the grey is but both red fabrics are older DS Quilts.  Now that I've used the bottom red fabric I wish I had more - isn't that always the way?

 I used a loop the loop quilting pattern - following the grid of the quilt top helped keep it nice and even. Of course, I used my new go to thread - Aurifil 2021 50 weight - for the quilting.  These photos were taken after the quilt was washed and run through the dryer, and I really really love the texture of the quilting.  Quilting this way was pretty quick and it has left the quilt soft and not stiff at all, so I'll definitely be using it on other quilts.

For some reason it looks extra Christmassy with all the colours showing through the batting and backing like stained glass.

Quilt Stats
Pattern: 2" finished postage stamp squares

Finished Size: approx 36" by 48"

Fabric: mainly Aneela Hoey's Cherry Christmas fabric

Backing: various

Binding: Free Spirit Designer Solid in Carribean

Pieced and quilted by: me

Linking up with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts and Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts.

This quilt is the third of my fourth quarter finishes. I'll be linking up with Leanne at she can quilt as part of the 2013 Finish Along in due course.

Christmas Leftovers quilt top finished

Aaaages ago, I started another scrappy trip along quilt with Aneela Hoey's adorable Cherry Christmas line.  Several months later, and I still have only 4 completed blocks (although I have made progress on the next 32!).  However, because I used fat quarters to make my blocks, I had two strips left over from each block, and I thought I'd use these leftovers to make a wee baby quilt.

 

This quilt is just pretty randomly pieced together, although I did try to get a somewhat even colour distribution.  I'm very happy with how this quilt top turned out.  So happy, in fact, that even though I made it with the intention of donating it to the neo-natal unit at Wellington Hospital, I am tempted to keep it for myself.  I won't, of course, but I want to!  I do think that this is a particularly good quilt to donate - it's totally gender neutral, and it's Christmassy but not so much that you couldn't leave it out all year round.

 

This little guy is all basted up ready for quilting.  I think I'll use the same design I'm planning to use on my scrappy trip along quilt - that will give me a good chance to see how it looks with these fabrics.  Now, to work on my scrappy trip along version.  Here's hoping I can get it done by Christmas.

Linking up with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

WIP Wednesday

These are the first four blocks for my Cherry Christmas Scrappy Trip Along quilt.  I made a beginner's error for one block and put green fabric at either end, so I was left with a double stripe of green.  I'm going to see how it looks once all the other blocks are made - if it's still bugging me then, I'll unpick it.

I have to say, I am not regretting the decision to hunt these fabrics out - I love working with them and I can't wait to make more blocks.  I'm going to try and finish up a few long-standing WIPs first, but then it's straight back to these lovelies.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

 

P.S. My giveaway to celebrate my first year of blogging is still open, so don't miss out!