Dressing the tree

What a nice weekend! Filled with just enough activity to be festive but with enough time to get some things done. This weekend's big finish is the Christmas tree skirt for my daughter's new nest. I followed this tutorial over at Sew Crafty Jess and it came together really well. I used the smaller set of measurements and it turned out perfectly. One thing I learned with the other tree skirt I made is that trying to lay the top out evenly and flat is challenging when you have an open seam between two segments. This time, I sewed up that last seam and it was much easier to work with the top. After I had it all basted, I cut it apart to create the opening and cut out the batting and backing from the centre opening; this made it easier for me to manipulate through my machine for the quilting. I used a walking foot and quilted 1/4" away from each seam on every segment - super simple but it works. The fabrics are all from my stash, including the backing. I had to purchase batting for this one because I didn't have enough batting scraps to piece together - good thing for Michael's coupons! Jess' tutorial describes this tree skirt as "large and in charge" and I have to agree, it is a wonderful size! I had thought about making it smaller but I was second-guessing my math and decided to leave it be; it finished at about 54" in diameter.

I am not generally a fan of lighter-value colours as binding - I prefer a darker binding to frame the quilt - but in this case, the green, red, and blue print on white from Bliss is just perfect. It looks like the edges of the tree skirt have been dipped in a bit of snow; I think it works on this one.

Yay for sunshine-y days like today!!

Got the blocks cut for another quilt tonight. I'm hoping to be able to work on it during the evenings this week - yay for time in the workshop!

Wishing everyone a good week.

e.