Pinetree Village - Finally Finished!

Pinetree Village is Finally Finished and residing on a bed this Christmas season next this Christmas.

I got a wild hair earlier this year early last year almost four years ago to make a Christmas quilt for every bed in our home--this is not my first Christmas quilt, but it's the first one for a bed. I love Jan Patek's designs and this one is from Up on the Rooftop.

I started this quilt during my Winter Retreat for One in February 2015. My version is an adaptation; the blocks are designed to finish at 8". I didn't realize that I had a die to cut 8-1/2" squares, but I knew I had one for 9-1/2" squares. I modified the quilt to have the blocks finish at 9". I reduced the total number of blocks needed from 72 to 56, but kept the same number of applique blocks (21). After the quilt was a flimsy, I found the 8-1/2" die...

That's the only way I could get all of it on the design wall!

Once I had the top pieced, I decided there was too much negative space and added a bunch of snowflakes in a random pattern.

I wanted to quilt...imagine this...swirls of snow! LOL

I ordered the label from Spoonflower and this time chose the Kona cotton; I love it!

Don't you love the optimism--Christmas 2015! LOL

I had hoped to have it finished in January 2016; I loaded it onto the longarm a couple of weeks after Christmas 2015 and started the swirls of snow, but then I decided the houses needed something extra, and that really slowed me down. I took it off the frame in March 2016 (I think) and it stayed folded up until  ... November 2018! When I put it on the cutting table to square it up for the binding, I realized I still had to attach all the buttons for the snowmen's mouths! And just for good measure, I decided to place a few snowflake buttons on the trees. It still needs a few more buttons, but I hurt my arm while getting all of the buttons in place and I'm thinking it may stay the way that it is, at least for a while.

One of the best things about this quilt is that all of the fabrics came from my stash!

I had a ton of fun with my embroidery module -- the companion to The Beast (the module needs a name...). I purchased some software earlier this year (Embrilliance Essentials) and this was my first time to get to know it. I stitched these designs out and made pillows with them and I think they look pretty good. They're stitched on some osnaburg, which I love! Eventually I'll have pillow shams and a bed skirt to complete the look, and I'll post a photo when it's complete.

Playing in Embrilliance Essentials

One Christmas bed quilt down; one to go--because while the original intent was for 3 Christmas bed quilts, we've re-purposed one of the bedrooms as an office to get used to the idea of having less room. Who knows when I'll get the next one done?

Quilt Stats - 

Name: Pinetree Village

Designer: Jan Patek

Size: Approximately 72" x 90"

Thread: I don't even know any longer, but probably So Fine 401

Batting: 80/20 blend (I think?)

Go sew, quilt and decorate!