12 Days of Christmas Quilt - DONE!

I'm so excited that I finished this quilt, you really have no idea!  One of my goals for the year was to make a Christmas quilt, but as the months passed, I told myself it just wasn't going to happen.  Until I saw the 12 Days of Christmas Sampler QAL, then I had renewed hope!  Now it's done, and I couldn't be happier with it!

First, I guess I should show the last two blocks of it.  Here's Block 11

And here's Block 12

I was able to add the sashing Saturday and Sunday...

And I finished it all up yesterday!  Here's the finished product...

Every week, as I would finish blocks, I wondered how I would eventually quilt it.  These blocks were all so different!  Paper piecing, applique, selvedges, decorative stitching...I really just didn't know what to do with it all. 

I've mentioned it before, but I have two little girls, and a baby due in Februrary, so right now the quicker I can get something done, the better.  I thought that free motion quilting all over it would go really quick.  I didn't know how it would look with the variety of blocks, but I felt like it was my best option.

I have to say, I'm really, really happy with how it looks!  And it did go really quickly!  I haven't had much FMQ experience, so it's by no means perfect, but I think it was a good choice, and it doesn't interfere with the look of any of the blocks.

In case you're wondering what I used for the sashing, it's a green linen blend I found at Joann's.  I love the way it looks with the blocks, and I like that it's linen, since I incorporated Essex linen in natural into all the blocks.  I had quite a bit left over, so I just pieced the rest of the green linen with the natural linen for the back.  I had a small space left to fill, and I had just the right amount of what's probably my favorite Christmas fabric (that I own, at least) - Michael Miller's Holiday Stripe. 

My awesome husband helped me baste the quilt yesterday (I spray baste), so when the kids were taking their naps, I was able to quilt just about all of it.  I finished it while they had their afternoon snack.

For the binding, I had intended to use this Caleb Gray for Robert Kaufman Groove Dots.  But once it came time to do the binding, it just did.not.look right.  I really didn't have anything else that was speaking to me, and I really, really wanted to finish it last night. 

I have a LQS literally 2 minutes away from me, and I was able to get there last night right before they closed.  I found this Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater stripe fabric, that looked just about perfect!  Once the kids were in bed, I went to work doing the binding, and finished up before 10:00! 

I immediately put it in the wash (because I told my oldest that it would be ready when she got up in the morning), and stayed up late watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and then Watch What Happens Live.  Once those were over, the quilt was done, in all of it's crinkly goodness!

As you can see, it's already being broken in.

I don't know if there's such a style as "Country Modern," but that's what I keep saying to myself when I think about this quilt.  I think it's the mix of the natural and green linen.  It gives it a very homey, country feel, but the fabrics and some of the blocks are modern.  So, Country Modern it is!

12 Days of Christmas - Revamped

The last time I checked in with the QAL, we were up to 6. Now we're up to 8 being done, and I changed Block 3 (the background fabric), and added to Block 1 to make it the right size.

Here's the new and improved Block 3

While I really liked the herringbone fabric as the original background, once I saw the blocks together, it just didn't seem right for the quilt as a whole.  And I'm pretty proud of myself, because I didn't redo the block completely - I kept the entire fireplace intact and just moved the wreath over.

And here's block 7

And Block 8

And here's all 8 together.  What do you think - did I make the right choice by changing the background fabric for Block 3 (you can see it here)?

12 Days of Christmas QAL - Halfway There!

I know I haven't mentioned it in a while, but I have been keeping up with the 12 Days of Christmas QAL.  Two blocks are introduced each week, and I usually get around to doing them on the weekends.  It just works best for me that way. 

Anyways, here's my progress so far...

Block 2

Block 3

Block 4

Block 5

Block 6

And here they are all together.  I just have to go back and make the first block 12.5", but that's an easy fix.

My oldest absolutely loves looking at these, and can't wait until they're all put together. 

My Amazingly Productive Day!

Yesterday, I got so much done!  I can't even believe it!  After months of just doing things here and there yesterday was a day of progress.

I started out, before my girls got up, finishing that Far Far Away II Scraptastic Tote that I talked about yesterday.

Then I went on to work on and finish two trick or treat bags that I had started a year and a half ago.  Leave it to me to leave something to the last minute, but at least they're finished now, before Halloween, and my girls love them!

For these bags, I started out using the tutorial I found on Sew4Home, but I changed mine up a bit.  I haven't made a lot of bags, and I'm no expert, but having just finished the other bag that morning, these went pretty quickly.

And then.  Oh man.  Paper piecing.

Let me back up.

I saw this super cute Christmas block on Sew Sweetness, and then looked into more details about it.  Sew Sweetness is hosting a "12 Days of Christmas" Sampler QAL, and this cute block was the first one in the series.  I have a lot on my plate right now, but I really, really want a Christmas quilt, and in fact, that's on my To Do List for 2011, but it's something I thought I wasn't going to get to.  So I convinced myself to follow this QAL, and then I'll have my Christmas quilt!

Then I found out this block involved paper piecing.  But I've been wanting to try paper piecing lately, because there's just some amazing stuff out there using this method. 

Then I started.  And I wanted to cry (and I may have actually shed a few tears...give me a break, though, I'm pregnant!).

Then I got stubborn and told myself not to give up, that this block would.not.defeat me!

So I finished it!  And by the time I got towards the end of it, the paper piecing did start making more sense.

As you can see, I didn't have quite enough of the one red with white polka dot fabric, so I decided to mix it up with another one to make the truck.  I think it turned out pretty cute!  And I actually learned something out of the process!

So there you have it.  Four things finished in one day.  I think that's a new record for me.