Christmas in February?

I knew with some sewing projects making their way onto my gift-giving Christmas list, I wouldn't be making much Christmas quilty fun for myself this year.  And then it hit 2018, and I decided that this year, I'm going to make the big beautiful holiday/seasonal quilts I've always loved (and obsessively stalked on Instagram) for myself.  I'll still make baby quilts (yes, another coworker is pregnant) and quilts as gifts, but I'm going to take time to make quilts for me too.

And it begins with the Christmas quilt!  I stole borrowed this pattern from Maker Valley, and it just screamed out to me.  I love the candy cane border, the various low-volume background, and the fun motif without being a complicated block pattern.  Most of my quilts are comprised of a single block pattern repeated, and this one just seemed so fun without being cheesy.

It's HUGE.  70" x 78" and it fits across the top of my queen-sized bed (just the top, no hanging over the sides).  It'll make a perfect lap quilt.

I wanted the backing to be snuggly.  Being so large, I was going to need either wide backing fabric or 4.5 yards, and all the Christmas fabric was on sale - I got this plaid flannel for $2.80 per yard!  I tried out a new batting too - 80/20 Pellon.  If this was going to be the quilt everyone fought over, it needed to be fluffy, and between the batting and flannel backing, it delivers.  

I gave serious consideration to sending this quilt to a long-arm quilter.  I didn't think my machine could handle it.  But at about $100 for simple quilting, I was at least willing to try and do it myself (and save $100 in the process!).  I cross-hatched each block, and the grid turned out just right - not too much quilting to make it stiff, not so little that the batting shifts.  

I had originally thought I'd go with a green and red striped binding, but it seemed too distracting. Instead, I went with Kona Ice Frappe, a light robin's egg blue, and it was the right choice.

Britton claimed first snuggle

But wait, there's more!  I can always use a Christmas throw pillow!  I spied this one on Instagram too, and got out my Bonnie and Camille fabrics to make it.  Once the dresden plate and backing were complete, I grabbed my embroidery thread and got to work on the words.  I've still got one more Christmas pillow to finish (I started the hand-embroidery in October and will maybe have it completed by next December).