for a finish!
I started these festive blocks in February of 2017. Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts was hosting a Jolly Christmas quilt along. I couldn't keep up with it last year but I didn't give up and I'm happy to have it finished now - only one year late!
I've been following Lorna since the Elephant Parade. I'm always blown away by her darling patterns. I've made several now. (Here, here, and here!) Her instructions are always easy to follow and, while some of the blocks challenge me, I'm always pleased with the results.
All the prints are from my Cotton and Steel stash. Some were just bits from my scrap bin and some pieces were cut from full fat quarters. These prints are so fun to play with. The background is Essex yarn dyed in flax - a staple in my sewing room.
I framed each of my blocks and made my borders larger than Lorna suggested. I'm always so afraid to challenge myself with quilting, especially when I've spent so much time on piecing blocks, but Angela Walters has been hosting a series on dot-to-dot quilting and I wanted to give it a try.
I made my borders to finish at 3" wide. I spent lots of time with my washable blue pen marking my quilt with dots and got much more comfortable using a ruler while free-motion quilting. (Is it still called free-motion if you use a ruler?)
The backing is a map of London. I needed more than one width of fabric so added this fun, colorful print to each side. I like the colors and houses and think it looks like neighborhoods and life around the city.
Can you pick a favorite block?
Personally, I love the mittens! They were the first block I made. We live in Michigan, the mitten state, so I'm a little obsessed with them!
The sweater was especially fun to make. It's from a prior year's QAL that I didn't participate in. But again, I live in Michigan and my Christmas quilt had to include a ski sweater!
This poor little guy landed in the top corner so often gets out shown by those blocks on the bottom but I absolutely adore him.
I hope you're enjoying your holiday prep and that your projects are finishes soon!
Thank you so much for stopping by.
I'll be linking up with:
and, of course, with
This one is for Piper's little brother. If you know a Peppa Pig 🐷fan you'll understand the title. 😜
A simple rail fence block made with Riley Blake's Fossil Rim prints and Essex yarn-dyed cotton/linen blend.
I cut my fabric in strips both horizontally and vertically so all the dinosaurs would be oriented the same way. I think because there's only one directional print here it would have really bothered me to have the dinosaurs going every which way.
The dinosaurs on the back are from the same line - I just love them.
I used Lynn Harris' single fold 1/2" binding method from her book Every Last Piece. I really do love how soft the binding finishes with this method.
So glad I took these photos when I finished it last summer, and not this month when it was finally gifted, because...sunshine!
I hope the sun shines on you this week. Thanks for stopping by.
