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27 January 2017

Holly & Berries - Have A Jolly Little Christmas quilt


It's beginning to look a lot like... Christmas!

This is my second finish using the blocks in the free Have A Jolly Little Christmas quilt along. You can read all about this free quilt along here.


This block is Holly & Berries.



It really is a simple block. In the above setting, the blocks were joined without using sashing. Giving it a more abstract look. But I am really excited about how they would also look WITH sashing! This setting would allow more of a definition of the Holly & Berries block.




For these projects I'm making for the Have A Jolly Little Christmas quilt along, I am making from my stash. The first thing I did to prepare, was to do a bit of sorting. I wanted to find out just what did I have in a white/offwhite solid. And I measured all those pieces of yardage and planned accordingly.

My Sampler quilt shown last week in this post, was made with an off white background. Whereas, this Holly & Berries quilt was made using a true white background. It's not noticeable on their own, but you can see when they are side by side that the sampler quilt has more of a yellowish hue.




All the other fabrics are also from my stash. You really only need small pieces for the sampler blocks. And I am determined to start using my fabrics this year and to resist making purchases if I can. It is difficult to resist shopping for new fabrics, but I found some perfectly suitable pieces already on hand.





When it came time for quilting, I went with my usual organic wavy lines. I used Ghost White Magnifico thread by Superior Threads on top and plain white Guetermann in the bobbin. I used to do A LOT of quilting in white. And the beginning of this year will have a lot again.




The backing is Winter Garden by Susan Winget for Steele Creek Studio, which I found two years ago at Fabric.com. I fell in love with this print and bought it when it was on sale. I bought A LOT. So you'll be seeing more of this too.




The binding and the berries were made using a long time stash favourite of mine from Robert Kaufman. It is almost gone now. (Insert sad face emoji here.) But I love how festive it looks paired up with the green plaid print. It's not such a true red, but a little more orangish, like a tomato. And those wee flowers? So cute!

But apparently the binding fabric was not as wide as standard yardage. My four lengths were not enough and I was short by only a few inches. I rummaged through my scraps from this project, and could find none of the red. I thought about cutting into the wee bit of yardage that I have left....





But instead grabbed a piece of the green plaid out of those scraps and finished off my ends. Don't know that I care much for the red thread on the green bit when I machine finished the binding though.




The "Holly & Berries" nine block quilt finished at 40" x 40"
and was the 16th use of my 2nd edition of 100 labels
ordered from Ikaprint.





This is the second project I have made using the blocks designed
for the "Have a Jolly Little Christmasquilt along.

The free colouring page has been downloaded over 1900 times already!
And tomorrow the "Winter Mittens" block instructions will be posted.


Are you quilting along?





My first finished project made for the Have A Jolly Little Christmas quilt along can be seen here.



It is NOT necessary to purchase the pattern in order to participate in the quilt along, but if you would prefer the convenience of using a printable pdf pattern, the Have a Jolly Little Christmas Collection includes all 15 designs and is available for purchase in my pattern store here.








Linking up to Finish it up Friday with 

Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts







Keep On Quilting On!





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11 comments:

  1. Love how you designed this block. Your quilt totally reminds me of a holly bush.

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  2. Another great quilt from the blocks. Well done.

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  3. Very nice and I love the backing fabric! So fun to add that little bit of green in the binding too. I am looking forward to the second block tomorrow!

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  4. What a cute finish, Lorna! I love your early preparations for the holiday season. :)

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  5. I simply love this design! It is one I will be making for a holiday quilt for myself! Sew clever !
    Susie

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  6. This is so cute! You are an inspiration. I really like how the block looks with the sashing as well. I think the green in the binding was a fun finishing touch.

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  7. What a GREAT quilt!! Christmas without being Christmas-y. LOVE it!!

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  8. Great finish. I finally got some background fabric. It's a little bold, but I'm going with it anyway. Now to get it washed and start playing catch up with the blocks.

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  9. What a cute block, but I must be missing something. Did you include directions for this one?

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  10. Hello Charlene Boniscavage! Thank you so much for your sweet compliments on the Holly & Berries block. If you are following the Have A Jolly Little Christmas quilt along, you are not missing anything. I have not yet shared the instructions for making this block. It is scheduled for May 27th. However, as I have made all the blocks for the quilt along in order to ensure the directions are accurate, for this post I am sharing the quilt I made using the block. Glad to have you quilting along!

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Your kind comments certainly make my day!