Christmas in July

A couple of weeks ago I finished up the binding on two more samples that were made during the testing process for my Angles With Ease 2 book.  They are both samples of the “Let It Snow” pattern.  It may seem weird to be talking about Christmas quilts in July – But all the Christmas fabric lines have been hitting the shops over the last month (so get them while you can) AND I have been working on binding stockings and making Christmas ornaments, so it seems fitting to me.  You may not have Christmas on the brain like I do, but I am going to share the quilts anyways!

 

Here is the original from the book, made with the fabric line “Evergreen” by Basic Grey for Moda fabrics.

 

My second sample was made by my Mother and uses the fabric line “Holly’s Tree Farm” by Sweetwater (again for Moda fabrics).

 

 

Here is a close-up of the fabrics – I love the vintage car print, complete with Christmas tree strapped to the top of the car.

 

I think these are such happy little trees – (Who does that remind you of?  Isn’t there a guy that paints landscapes on PBS that always talks about “Happy Little Trees”?  The one with the big hair?)

 

 

The next one that I have to share is made from my first thoughts on the design and the trees were pieced a few years ago.  I struggled with coming up with a layout, so I scrapped it.

 

For some reason I decided it wasn’t good enough, quite right, or something.  I picked up the project again this summer and decided I needed to finish it.  Now, I wish it was the one shown in the book.

 

Funny how that happens sometimes – Where several months after the fact (or years) it becomes clear to you that you made the right or wrong decision, though for the life or you, you couldn’t figure it out at the time.  (Good thing it was just a quilt!)

 

The reason that I like this one best is this little checkerboard border.

 

If you would like to make the checkerboard border too, you just need to cut a 8 Fat Quarters into 2″ strips (actually, if I remember right, 5-6 strips of each should do it).  Sew the strips together and cut into 2″ sections.  The original pattern calls for 1 Layer Cake (27 -10″ squares to be exact).  For this version, you would need about 20 – 10″ squares and 8 Fat Quarters or if you don’t mind it being less scrappy – 12 Fat Quarters should do it.

 

Merry Christmas or Happy Summer!  Or maybe I should just say happy stitching, whatever your project may be 🙂