Holly Jolly...

Do you know there are only 111 days until Christmas?  With our weather turning a little cooler here and the days getting shorter, it's not hard for me to believe.  Although I have lots and lots of Christmas themed quilts still planned for this year, I finished my first today.  I'm calling this little quilt Holly Jolly.

Holly Jolly

This one is intended as a gift for someone.  I figure they can hang it on a wall or use it as a table topper.  It's a good size for either at 31" square.  The bright colors don't match my house, but I still find it very bright and cheerful.  The fabric is Ready Set Snow by Me and My Sisters Designs.

I did a lot of different quilting on this one.  First, I spray basted it using 505 Temporary Spray Adhesive and quilted in the ditch around all of the octagons and in the borders.  I then embroidered snowflakes in each of the octagons using my embroidery machine.  What a quick way to fill in those blank spaces!

Embroidered Snow Flakes

I made loops in the outer border and filled in some of the other empty spaces with your basic stippling. 

Loop de loops and Stppling

Finally, I did some straight line stitching in the inner border and through the middle of the bow ties.  I used the blue painter's tape as a guideline for stitching.

Painter's tape marks the stitching lines

I find this tape is a must have in my sewing room.  In fact, I'm almost out and need to put it on my grocery list.  As with most of my quilts nowadays, I made a custom label for the back out of scraps of fabric...

Label for Holly Jolly

In case you're wondering, those are David's belly and feet in that picture.  I just finished up the quilting tonight and he tried to help me as much as possible.  In fact, he decided to take a bath on top of my sewing machine while I was sewing on the binding.

David taking a bath on top of my sewing machine

He also attempted to help me with the picture taking...

David helping again

So, the stats for this quilt are:

• Size: 31" square
• Fabrics: Ready Set Snow yardage and charm pack, Kona Cotton White for background
• Batting: Warm &White
• Thread: Aurifil 50 wt
• Pattern: Charlotte from 3 Times the Charm by Barbara Groves and Mary Jacobson
• Quilting: Straight line, Free Motion and Embroidery
• Completed: September 4, 2011
• Recipient: My sister and her children

Three final notes on this quilt:

• I spray basted it before I got sick.  I didn't get around to quilting it for about 3 weeks, but the spray held.  I was pleasantly surprised and it didn't gum up my needle at all.
• I spent extra time on quilting this one and I'm so glad I did.  I think the quilting really makes it pop and was definitely worth it.  I need to keep that in mind for the next project.
• I highly recommend the book this pattern came from.  3 Times the Charm has 7 different patterns and shows each of them made up in 3 different fabric combinations.  Also, each quilt only requires a single charm pack and a small amount of yardage to make!

Until later...

Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful. 

Proverbs 16:20 (NLT)