Vintage Holiday Quilt

Last year, I joined a quilt along that Chrissy at Sew Lux hosted on Instagram for the Vintage Holiday pattern. I think I was one of the only ones to jump in, but I'm glad I did! The pattern goes together really quickly, which was just what I needed with two babies!

I knew I wouldn't have it ready for Christmas because I do NOT quilt my own quilts unless they're mini quilts. So I wasn't really stressed about it, and it was a fun pattern to put together. I pulled out my cherished Sweetwater Christmas stash (I even have a few pieces left from the first line, Countdown to Christmas!) and mixed in a few scraps from Kate Spain's Christmas lines and a Cotton and Steel print, and I had a great time picking fabrics for individual ornaments. 

I thought about using a low volume snowflake print for the background, but was concerned it would be too busy and opted instead to use just white. And I luckily had enough yardage from the first Sweetwater line for sashing and the outside border. I wasn't trying to use it up, per se, but, in some ways I regret buying so much (even though I was glad to have it available for this project!). I tend to buy just half yards now which are just perfect for most of my needs, except for sashing/borders. I was glad to be able to use my stash, and I was glad to have a purpose for the yardage I have. So, I didn't have to buy any fabric for this project. I even managed to get the backing out of my yardage. I had a piece of brushed cotton that I had purchased years ago for a Christmas quilt I had started but had never finished. I didn't purchase much because I didn't know how much you needed for backings, but I was able to get it to work with a whopping 12"x2" piece left. Yay!

I'm also glad to have gotten it bound (FINALLY) at our neighborhood quilt retreat last weekend. Hooray for friends who sew!

Shimmer Quilt

The twins (and just having 4 kids in general...) have really taken a toll on my sewing time. I still get time, of course, but not nearly as often and not nearly as much. And finding a chunk of an hour or more at a time? Forget about it!

So, since I don't get large chunks of time...I tend to do quicker things. Single blocks for samplers, bags that can be easily broken down into small chunks, etc. Binding did not make the list.

Also, I dislike binding.

So, there you go. :-)

However, I do like completing projects...so when our neighborhood sewing retreat rolled around, I planned to finish up two quilts that had been waiting for bindings since early spring.

MONTHS.

Yikes.

But, I got both of them done and it feels great! I'd hesitated because I really like to get a binding done in one go. It's no fun to drag it out over days. So the retreat was the perfect opportunity.

The first one is this Shimmer quilt (pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew). I used this photo that I took a few years ago up Provo Canyon for color inspiration, and it's really unlike any color scheme I've done before. It's my "autumn quilt." And I think I'll pull it out to rest on my couch during the fall.

Lately, I've sewn my quilts entirely from my stash, and while I still fabric shop a lot (who doesn't love fabric shopping?!), I really love quilting from my stash. Even the background fabric is Hometown by Sweetwater and I had *just* enough. I was worried it would be too busy, but I actually really like it. I even pulled the backing and the binding from my stash, wahoo! The backing was actually a piece of fabric I got from a friend when she moved. She had a closet FULL of fabric (mostly apparel stuff) and didn't want to take it so she put it all out for all of us neighborhood sewists to go through. The backing was pretty thick and tightly woven, and I think it probably had some polyester in it, but it was free and a great color, and if anything, it'll be durable! :-)

Shimmer
quilted by Abby Latimer
completed (finally) August 2017