Christmas Quilt finish – ALYoF

Yes you read that right and it’s not even December yet!

So at the beginning of November I set my goal for the month to piece a Christmas Swoon quilt top.

Despite having a fairly stressful month with a child’s birthday and a brief hospital stay with a child with a head injury I managed to get in some sewing time.  It was helped by a dedicated morning of sewing with a couple of friends and soon the top was pieced:

My goal was to make the top but I’ve realised that often I like to get on and finish a project once I’ve started.  I’d already bought the backing fabric and had it washed and ready.

I basted the quilt and started quilting; then I discovered after about 6 lines of quilting that the backing had moved and so the unpicking began (it takes far longer to unpick that you ever imagine).  I had basted with approx 300 pins but they didn’t seem to do the trick.

So I started all over again, believe it or not I had the same problem.  To say I was frustrated was an understatement!

I did some research and asked the lovely folks of IG.  After all the unpicking I started a 3rd time.  This time I spray starched the backing and use a bit of spray baste as well as all the pins.

I opted to quilt in straight lines approx 4″ apart and only in one direction.  I originally had plans to quilt in a grid but after the first 2 attempts I was desperate to have it finished and the thought of what problems I might encounter if I tried more quilting put me right off!  You can see from this photo that the back isn’t perfect but it is finished and not a disaster:

Compared to the quilting the binding was a piece of cake!

I earmarked this print for the binding when I pulled the fabric for the quilt and it works wonderfully:

I am delighted with the quilt top, the backing is soft and snuggly and the finished quilt is already on the sofa ready for the cold weather. We are unlikely to have sufficient snow to ever have a really wintery photo so this more autumnal one will have to do:

Quilt Stats:

Pattern – Traditionally know as a Carpenters Star block, more commonly known as Swoon.
Fabrics – all from my stash, including from a Christmas charm swap and low volume swap.
Binding – Red Sugar Stripe from Sugar and Spice by Quilted Fish for Riley Blake
Backing – Stars on red from the Sasparilla by October Afternoon for Riley Blake
Wadding – Super-Soft 70/30 Eco-Blend by Sew Simple
Quilting – straight lines 4″ from top to bottom
Size – Approx 72″ x 72″

Thanks to Tobit for the photographs.  I’m linking up with: