Christmas Week ~ Day 1

Things have been a little quiet around here.  It is not because I haven't been sewing, but rather that I have sewn so much and spent so much wonderful time with family that I haven't had computer time.  I have decided to make the time to share at least the seasonal items I have made in the last month.  I hope to share one project a day this week.  :)

This first is a very special quilt because my sister-in-law JoAnn pieced it many years ago.  She was very new to quilting  and had just joined the local quilt guild.  She made a Christmas block and entered it into their monthly drawing and won all the blocks.  They challenged her to sew them together quickly and share it at their next meeting and she did.  One of the blocks is dated 1991, so I think she pieced this 26 years ago. 

Back then she and my mom hand quilted everything (very slowly) so she never quilted this.  After she passed away it sat hidden in my mom's closet.  I saw it earlier this year and decided to finish it up.  Now, the only challenge is that my mom and I both want the quilt.  We have decided that we will rotate years who gets to host JoAnn's Christmas Tree quilt. 

I loaded this on the Bernina Q24 and debated what thread to use and how to quilt it.  I wavered back and forth between an all over quilting design and custom quilting.  Knowing that this will really only be used one month of the year, the all over quilting won out.  Call me crazy, but I actually decided to use a metallic gold thread for the quilting. 

I tested the thread out on a small practice then moved to the big, queen size quilt. (About 90 inches square.)  I thought I was going to go crazy after the fifth time the thread snapped, but then noticed that it was twisting at the beginning of the threading path.  I simply skipped the second hook at the top.  Having the thread go up and then down rather than up, across and down helped so much!  It solved my thread tangling and breaking problem.  (The bobbin thread is a golden tan thin cotton which blends with the metallic gold color.)

Needless to say I was relieved when it came off my frames. 

I raided my mom's stash for the perfect binding.  I found a dark green with tiny metallic gold flecks. 

Most of the backing came from my mom's stash as well.  It is a cute Hoffman Christmas Village print. 

It wasn't wide enough so I added a strip of dark green left over from the backing of my Autumn Race quilt.  I love how the quilt turned out and all the sweet memories it brings. 

My boys love looking at all of the different blocks.  I love the glitter from the metallic thread. 

I put it on my bed to see how it would look and couldn't bear to move it.  So it has stayed on my bed since I finished it last month. 

I'll be back tomorrow with another finished Christmas quilt. 

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the fun parties on my sidebar.  Check them out for more quilty inspiration.