Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Starry-Eyed Christmas Quilt

I finished a Christmas quilt in time to actually use it for Christmas! I think I started it early this year, abandoned it and finally dug out the almost finished blocks a few weeks ago to get 'er done.
 
Fabric: Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics.  I was lucky enough to pick up a bundle of this fabric after Christmas last year.  And even luckier that another shop had some yardage still left for me to bind it.
 

Here's my favorite part: the quilting.  I free-motion quilted a paisley pattern all over the quilt.  Technique found in Angela Walter's book Free-Motion Quilting. It was a bit tricky to figure out where to go next and how to get there.  You have to plan ahead a little bit, but once I got the rhythm down, it was pretty simple.  I could see how this would be very easy on a long arm quilting machine, but it's a little tricky on a domestic machine because you can't always see where you've been and where you're going.  I got myself into corners frequently, but eventually figured out how to get out of those easily too.


I love the texture the quilting created.


I'm playing roulette a bit with the backing.  I bought flannel sheets at Target when they were on sale for $20 a set . . . that's two quilt backs for $20! This one was a red flannel set and I washed it 5 times, using salt and vinegar to set the dye.  I would throw in a piece of my background fabric in each load.  The first time around it was very pink. By the 5th wash, it didn't look too pink anymore . . . I'm hoping that it was just fuzz from the flannel making it look pink at all.  Cross your fingers for me.  The flannel will make a nice cozy, cuddly quilt, but I hope I don't regret the red.


Bound in the red and white stripe from the Countdown to Christmas line.

 
Finished size: 64" x 80"
Finished Date: November, 2012

12 comments:

Kelsey said...

Beautiful!!!!

Joanne said...

Your quilt looks beautiful! And I love your quilting. Hope the red dye has finished running, I'd throw a colour catcher in just incase!

Anjeanette said...

Your FMQ is awesome! I have the book and my FMQ does not look like this. LOVELY!!! I had to giggle because I purchased a sheet set at Target recently when they were $20 too. My plan to back my Poo quilt with it;) But I didn't choose a read sheet set, you are living on the edge!

Your quilt is awesome!! Happy Thanksgiving!

News from the Nest said...

I love the paisley! What a fun Christmas treasure!

Chris said...

Oh my goodness I love this quilt! So, so pretty.

Kathy@KayakQuilting said...

A beautiful quilt! Your FMQ'ing is gorgeous!

Shauna said...

Love you beautiful Christmas quilt and your quilting is fantastic!

MellieWo said...

The quilting looks fantastic and what a beautiful Christmas quilt!!

Gemini Jen NZ said...

What a beautiful quilt! I love the colour scheme and the way you managed to fmq it on your machine yourself. Good job, all the best for Christmas!

kelly o! said...

Beautiful quilt, and your paisleys are fantastic! The texture is amazing -- your pics do a great job of capturing it!

Caryn said...

I just adore all your FMQing. I'm always inspired when I see your projects. Hope your having a good week!

Kati said...

Love this! I bookmarked this pattern long ago and loved it then. This is one of my favorite Christmas fabric lines ever. Plus, the quilting is amazing! You are my FMQ idol!! I can't believe what you do on a domestic machine!