Christmas in May? Well, a Christmas quilt anyway! Oh that rhymes, cool. Anyways.....I started this quilt back in September 2010. It was the first "real" quilt that I have done in years, and once I saw the pattern I knew that it would be perfect for my son to learn to count down to Christmas, at least give him an idea of how many days are left!
This project took way longer than I originally expected, since I planned to use it Christmas 2010. Sewing on all those numbers took quite some time (more than I thought it would.) I used a blanket machine stitch to sew them on, I pieced it, and had it finished around November. I started quilting (like a tiny bit,) and then it sat there, and sat there and stared at me until I had the idea, send it off to be quilted! Woo-hoo, best decision EVER (too bad I figured this out after Christmas!) So In March 2011, I packaged it up and shipped it off to be machine quilted. A little over a month later, it was back in my hot hands and ready for binding, which I did basically the next day! I love it and yet I hate it. I love the fabric, quilt, backing and the quilting. Why do I hate it? I'm sick of looking at it, and honestly so ready to pick it up until Christmas, which is exactly what I will do! Do you ever have projects like that? The ones you work on for so long, that by the time you are finished you are just sick to death of it. Well this was that project. But, I am happy to say that it is complete and ready to fill use this upcoming Christmas!
What did I learn from this project? First time using Fusible Webbing, that stuff is cool and really easy to work with. I also learned that sometimes you have to give up control and just let someone else quilt it, rather than have it sit there for months. Giving up control is a hard one for me, but I am really glad that I trusted someone else to add their creative talents to it, otherwise it would still be unfinished. Now, I get to fold it up and bring it out this Christmas for my son and family to enjoy, hopefully for years to come!
This project took way longer than I originally expected, since I planned to use it Christmas 2010. Sewing on all those numbers took quite some time (more than I thought it would.) I used a blanket machine stitch to sew them on, I pieced it, and had it finished around November. I started quilting (like a tiny bit,) and then it sat there, and sat there and stared at me until I had the idea, send it off to be quilted! Woo-hoo, best decision EVER (too bad I figured this out after Christmas!) So In March 2011, I packaged it up and shipped it off to be machine quilted. A little over a month later, it was back in my hot hands and ready for binding, which I did basically the next day! I love it and yet I hate it. I love the fabric, quilt, backing and the quilting. Why do I hate it? I'm sick of looking at it, and honestly so ready to pick it up until Christmas, which is exactly what I will do! Do you ever have projects like that? The ones you work on for so long, that by the time you are finished you are just sick to death of it. Well this was that project. But, I am happy to say that it is complete and ready to fill use this upcoming Christmas!
What did I learn from this project? First time using Fusible Webbing, that stuff is cool and really easy to work with. I also learned that sometimes you have to give up control and just let someone else quilt it, rather than have it sit there for months. Giving up control is a hard one for me, but I am really glad that I trusted someone else to add their creative talents to it, otherwise it would still be unfinished. Now, I get to fold it up and bring it out this Christmas for my son and family to enjoy, hopefully for years to come!
Specifications of this Advent Calender Quilt:
Pattern Design - by Elizabeth at Oh, Fransson! for Sew, Mama, Sew!
You can find this free tutorial HERE, if you want to make one yourself.
Pattern Changes - I kept everything the same, except I pretty much doubled it in size, or maybe not double, but 1.5x, honestly I don't remember now, but it is a lot bigger, and bigger pockets (around 7" square) make it easier to stuff with goodies! I used a blanket stitch around the numbers, which was also different from the pattern, the pattern called for either a zig-zag or a satin stitch. I like the blanket stitch look!
Fabric: Michael Miller's Funky Christmas plus a few solids and prints from my stash. The white sashing is a white on white leaf/holly like print from Hobby Lobby.
Batting: High loft polyester. It is super puffy and I love it!
Backing: Same fabrics as the front, with several pieced sections. I love my little row of Christmas trees, though my trunks got a little wonky in spots!
Quilting: Free motion quilting done with white thread by the super talented Natalia at Piece N Quilt. She did a beautiful job with her long arm machine.
Binding: Michael Miller's Funky Christmas
Timeline: September 2010 - April 2011 (7 long months!)
You can find this free tutorial HERE, if you want to make one yourself.
Pattern Changes - I kept everything the same, except I pretty much doubled it in size, or maybe not double, but 1.5x, honestly I don't remember now, but it is a lot bigger, and bigger pockets (around 7" square) make it easier to stuff with goodies! I used a blanket stitch around the numbers, which was also different from the pattern, the pattern called for either a zig-zag or a satin stitch. I like the blanket stitch look!
Fabric: Michael Miller's Funky Christmas plus a few solids and prints from my stash. The white sashing is a white on white leaf/holly like print from Hobby Lobby.
Batting: High loft polyester. It is super puffy and I love it!
Backing: Same fabrics as the front, with several pieced sections. I love my little row of Christmas trees, though my trunks got a little wonky in spots!
Quilting: Free motion quilting done with white thread by the super talented Natalia at Piece N Quilt. She did a beautiful job with her long arm machine.
Binding: Michael Miller's Funky Christmas
Timeline: September 2010 - April 2011 (7 long months!)
Head on over to Amy's Creative Side to visit all the other Blogger's Quilt Festival entries.
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