Christmas in the Keys

This is another one I pushed myself to finish up before we leave.  When it became obvious I wasn't going to finish my Bats table topper in time for the holiday I started thinking about Christmas.  I fell in love with this Christmas in the City collection and immediately started dreaming of all the things I could make with it.  

To get warmed up I decided to start with another version of the Christmas Baubles.  For those keeping count this will be my 3rd go at this pattern.  I'm not sure why I keep making it, it's fairly tedious with lots of small pieces.  Rather than marking all those 1 1/2" squares I used the diagonal seam tape method.  It's not as accurate as drawing all those lines but it's much speedier. 

But there's still all that trimming and pressing.  Eventually I finished the blocks and got them together but by then that holiday had also passed.  

I was on a roll after quilting my Bats quilt so I quickly basted this and got quilting.  It felt a bit silly to be quilting snowflakes in Florida but you've got to go with what works.  At least it'll be all ready when Christmas rolls around again.

The local quilt guild here hosts a weekly sew-in at the library so I took this with me to bind while I made new quilt friends.  They're a lovely group and I hope to get more involved when we come back in the fall.  

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 20" x 26"
Pattern: Christmas Baubles by Jen Daley for Moda Bake Shop.
Fabrics: Christmas in the City and Pure Solids in White Linen by Art Gallery Fabrics.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in SilverWhite (2309).

Something Spooktacular

Now that we're getting ready to head back up north I've been making a push to finish up all my WIPs.

I've slowly been getting my Sewjo back and as Halloween approached I realized I didn't have any of my Ghastlies to put out.  I'd picked up this cute little bundle of Art Gallery fabrics at Portsmouth Fabric Co. and thought it would be perfect to whip up something spooky for the holiday and when I saw Prairie Quilt Co.'s Nocturna block for the Soul-a-long hosted by Mija Handmade it sealed the deal.  

It was an ambitious choice given that I'd barely set up my quilt space and I have almost none of my quilting tools.  If I did it again I'd definitely get a log cabin ruler, this is a bit wonkier than I'd hoped.  The blocks are basically just a courthouse steps block with some pieced logs.  I found it easiest to piece all my logs and then assemble the blocks.

It also was a mental challenge to cut and piece the inverse blocks where I swapped the colors.  Having these block buddies definitely helped me keep my sanity!  Thank you Aimee!!!

I originally planned this as a table runner but after playing with a few different layouts I decided to make it a square.  For the quilting I started by just doing a stitch in the ditch around the bats but then I went a little wild and did these FMQ bats.  Some are definitely better than others and it helps that they're very subtle on the busy background but I love the effect!

I just love to relax and hand tack my bindings.  It's such a nice way to slow down and appreciate all the little details.  I can't wait for Halloween to roll around again so I can put it in action!

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 24" x 24"
Pattern: Nocturna by Prairie Quilt Co. for the for the Soul-a-long hosted by Mija Handmade.
Fabrics: Assorted prints from Spooky n' Witchy and Sweet n' Spookier by Art Gallery Fabrics
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo
Thread: Aurifil 50wt in Blossom Pink (2530) and Pale Pink (2410)