Late for Christmas, or just really early?

Last August, I heard about a quilt along put together by some of my fellow participants in the 2017 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop.  It was a Christmas themed quilt.  I decided to join in on a whim.  One of my goals for 2017 was to not join everything, but this seemed like a lot of fun.  My deal with myself is that I would do it, but all materials (fabric, backing, batting) had to come from stash--no buying new for this project.

I finally finished it!  I used all twelve of the original blocks (kind of, I struggled with the original present) and added four bonus blocks so I would have a 4 x 4 layout.  This quilt along was awesome!  There was a pretty large facebook group with about 200 people finishing each block.  There were lots of ideas for modifying blocks, both minor and not-so-minor, and creativity was heavily encouraged.

I did the quilt-as-you-go method which allowed me to focus on each block as it was released.  You can kind of see the quilting on the dove block here.  Quilt as you go also meant that I used up a lot of batting scraps!

Since all fabric had to come from my stash, I used two different prints for the back.  I felt it was more important to like the layout on the front, so the arrangement of fabrics on the back is more haphazard.  This is not something that bothers me.

I was a little worried that since it all came from stash and is essentially a scrap quilt, it wouldn't look cohesive.  Some other participants used limited colors schemes or just a few different fabrics and their quilts were beautiful.  But I also like the charm in this one.  There actually is a fair amount of repetition in the blocks, but it's not super obvious.  For those who know I am a bit of a Kona addict: the sashing & binding is Kona Willow and I intentionally did not use Willow in any of the blocks.  Other Kona solids making an appearance are: Black, Snow, Red, Cabbage, Leaf, Clover, Lagoon, Morning Glory, and Sunny.

Completing the I Wish You a Merry Quilt Along quilt was my January OMG (one monthly goal) in the motivational link up hosted by Patty of Elm Street Quilts.

This was #9 on my list of Q1 goals for the globally-hosted Finish Along.












This was also on my list of UFOs for UFO busing with Tish and a needed finish as I work toward my PhD (projects half-done) with Quilting Gail. And since this was essentially a scrap quilt (I used lots of bits and pieces!), I'm linking up with Cynthia from Quilting is More Fun Than Housework and Oh Scrap!


These same designers plan another quilt along this year that is fall themed.  I don't know when it starts, but I'm looking forward to it!