My first official finish for 2013 is this Christmas tree skirt I made using less than two charm packs of Reindeer Games and a little bit of yardage for border and binding and a piece of Merry Medley for the backing.

I'm going with 50 weeks ahead of schedule with this one, folks.  I so very much wanted to have it finished for this Christmas (did have it pieced).  That didn't happen as there were other more important things to tend, but as I still felt like working with Christmas fabric, I went ahead and finished it over Christmas break.  I'm so very glad I did.  Making this little tree skirt was a lot of fun and without a doubt next Christmas season I'll be very happy to pull it out and have it ready.  (Whoohoo! I've never been ahead with any project. : )

This tutorial by Jenny at Missouri Star Quilt Co. was my inspiration. Her tutorials are among the best.  Added button loop closure and some wooden buttons I had on hand. I thought all the little corners would be a challenge, but really they weren't (maybe even a little easier than a true corner, to be honest).  It wasn't until I had my binding made and was getting ready to put it on that I realized, "Oh, yes, I have a tight little circle to bind. Hmm, guess I should have made bias binding." Too late. I went ahead with my straight binding, did the circle first thing and took it slow. I think it turned out fairly well. Oldest daughter A assures that no one is going to crawling up under the tree to inspect so I needn't worry. One of my biggest cheerleaders that girl is.



With this project I tried a new way of basting my quilt layers - no tape, no spray, no boards. I had my doubts, worried I would have a lot of puckers, but not a single pucker. Can hardly believe it. It quilted up beautifully. (I love how the quilting turned out!)  I simply placed the backing fabric face down, smoothed my flannel piece over that (didn't use batting), and then smoothed my quilt top face up on the flannel. Starting in the middle I pin basted out from middle to edge smoothing with almost every pin. It was so simple, seemed almost too simple but I couldn't be happier with the results. I used this same basting technique on a lap size quilt next in line to quilted. It is quite a bit bigger so we shall see how it turns it (fingers crossed : ).

Have I said how happy I am with how the quilting turned out?  Here is a shot of a few of my favorite prints - poinsettias, holly, and the little wreaths & candy canes. Yup, I made sure when I laid it out and before I cut up the back that my favorites were in front.

PS: Must say it did take some courage to cut into this little quilt after it was quilted. It was so nice. Would have made a very nice table topper.  Daughter R didn't want me to cut it at all. In her opinion we could just set the tree on top of it and it would look perfect. Almost did this, almost...then decided, no, I can do it. Cut it and bound it late one evening and had it under the tree to surprise everyone the next morning. They all love it and are happy I made something quilted for us to keep.

Blessings, everyone.
Anna

In an effort to increase my odds of getting this top finished, I kept the pattern simple and was able to completely piece it before Thanksgiving. I really like how it  turned out even though a couple strips are out of place from their originally assigned location. Now my goal is to get it quilted over this coming weekend so that we can enjoy it during this Advent/Christmas season into late winter.  I have a red flannel all ready to go as the backing.  My final dilemma decision is which batting to use - cotton for a little extra weight (is it heavy enough with the brushed top and flannel back?) or wool for fluffiness and potentially more cuddliness??? Decisions, decisions...

Thanks for stopping by.

Anna

PS:  Liking up with Megan's jelly roll party at Crooked Seams.

Oh dear! I am potentially the most unobservant person around.  Just recently I have been poking around in Blogger trying to figure out how to change some things with this ole blog. Well, among the many things I have learned I discovered that I can view any and all comments left by lovely visitors. Oh my goodness! I didn't even realize some very kind comments had been left! (think I have it set so that now I should receive notification when a comment is left - I think : }  Thank you to one and all for being kind enough to comment.

Fast forward, back in May (yes, May) the lovely Marion of My Quilt Diet nominated me for  the Liebster Award.  Thank you, Marion, thank you for the kindness and the honor. I am still a little amazed that anyone has actually come across let alone noticed my blog enough to nominate it for an award. (an award - doesn't that sound so prestigious : )