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Hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Christmas!!  We did!  All spent with family.  On the 23rd we traveled to my in-laws’ for the night and returned home Christmas Eve night.  My dad and my sister AND of course Sarge made the trip too! 🙂  I feel so fortunate to have such a close, loving family to spend this wonderful time with.

Since it is Christmas, what better time to share “Merry Christmas Quilt” by Heart To Hand.  This version was a BOM pieced and appliqued by Lisa Bongean for Primitive Gatherings available here.  I believe Lisa mentioned that they may run it again as a BOM.  I love this version!!!  I warn you there are 41 photos up ahead!!!  Lots of angles and shots of every block.  The reason…2 photographers…2 perspectives!!  We have a new camera and so we had to “play” with it a bit.  🙂  I have to admit, Scott did a great job.  I will let the photos do most of the “talking.”  Some details first…14 thread changes!!!  All So Fine by Superior.  2 layers of batting…Dream Green with a layer of Hobbs 80/20 in black over it.  ENJOY!

Lots of ruler work in the border.  I did pre-mark the light gray inner border to make sure my diagonal lines were pretty consistent and the number of the came out equal around the quilt.  I detest pre-marking but it was worth the work!!

 I (or Scott did :-)) took photos of each block.

I used lots of different fillers.  I blended the background fillers to just flow continuously into the next block.  Lots of feathers!!!!!  I really wanted the feathers to vine and “grow” throughout the quilt.  All different sizes and shapes of feathers.  No uniformity.  Just like they were growing across the quilt.

Santa is one of my favorite blocks.  His beard looks pretty cool!!

Tired of photos yet??  Good!  Cuz we there are lots more!! LOL!!!  I love to see tons of photos.  Especially when it comes to quilting, so that is why I show so many.  There may be others of you just like me out there. 🙂

 There is a mixture of fillers…some meandering, snowballs…swirls.  Some nice winter weather.

 A nice little feather wreath above the door.  And some smoke coming out of the chimney.  Fun details!

A feather tree.

The last, but not least…

I always receive a few questions inquiring about quilting on wool with the longarm.  I always quilt on the wool applique!!  No issues at all with needles breaking or skipped stitches.  This quilt was very thick in areas.  My advice to just take it slowly.  I was kind of scared of it at first too, but the more I quilt on wool the more I love the look, texture and character it gives the quilt.

 You can see in this photo only one leaf is quilted so far.  There is a huge difference from the non-quilted leaves.  I think it looks so much better with the quilting.

I chose to quilt the borders and outline all the appliques first.  Then once I got to the bottom of the quilt, I worked from the bottom back up quilting the background fill.  To make sure my quilt did not distort in any way, I basted the background, around the appliques if there was space larger than the size of my hand.

You can see my basting stitches in the upper area of the photo.  The background fill is all very random.  I would draw out a winding spine with chalk and then fill.  I just figured it out as I went.  Fingers crossed that it looked good.   When I finally laid the quilt out and saw the whole thing…I was like “wow” turned out okay. 🙂

The back of the quilt was pretty cool too!!

Well, I hope you enjoyed the film!!! LOL!!!  Hope this helps explain my process.  I am not saying its the right way or only way, it is just the way I did it.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our family to yours!

39 Comments

  • Kindred Quilts says:

    Are you kidding me!?! This is absolutely stunning! I was salivating with every picture! I cannot say enough… and what a difference in the wool leaf that was quilted vs. the two that were not, as you pointed out. Couldn't agree more… it looks fantastic! I have to go back and look at all the pictures again! Just beautiful Linda!!!

  • Jenny says:

    Oh my gosh!! This is gorgeous, your quilting designs are perfect for the quilt….EXCELLENT JOB!! Cute girls too!

  • carol fun says:

    WOW!! Simply breath-taking! Each and every block is wonderful. Thanks for all the pictures!

  • Melia Mae Quilting says:

    Just beautiful. So you don't have any problem with the quilt loading back up onto the bottom leaders when you go from the bottom back up again? I also love all the pictures. I think that is my favorite part of blog posts, so keep it coming!

  • Sue says:

    Absolutely gorgeous once again, Linda! Did you also piece and applique the blocks?

    Your girls are just dolls.

  • Linda says:

    I wish, Sue!!! No, I just quilted it. Lisa Bongen pieced and appliquéd it.

  • Teresa Silva says:

    Linda, this is fabulous. Your quilting is amazing as always! Love how you quilted Santa. Nice job!

  • Sue Daurio says:

    That is seriously amazing!! Wow, just loved all the different ideas and amazing quilting.

  • jeri says:

    Absolutely stunning. I love the border treatment. and Santa…..Wow!

  • herky907 says:

    Do you keep track of how long it takes to do a quilt like this? It is just amazing.

  • Kathy Schwartz says:

    That is such a cute quilt! Love all the textures from the quilting designs and agree the 'after' is a definite WOW!!! Great job!
    Oh and I'm glad you set the precedence for a post with 41 pictures, I might not limit myself so much now on my blog 😉

  • WoolenSails says:

    I just love that quilt and I love the variety of stitching that you did, to make it come alive and it makes the appliqués pop.

    Debbie

  • Me and My Stitches says:

    This is such a great quilt and your quilting is wonderful, as always.

  • Unknown says:

    Beautiful quilt!! Thanks for sharing. :0)

    Happy New Year to you and yours!

    God bless and keep you,
    Sonia

  • Melanie says:

    Beautiful work— you do have a gift….. what quilting.

  • Phyllis says:

    It is a lovely quilt, but once again I am in awe of your quilting! Wow! I agree with Melanie above, you have a gift. Thank you for sharing so much of it, it is wonderful to see and every time I look at the pictures again I see something new. Such a sweet picture of your girls and dog. Best wishes for a healthy, happy and inspiring 2013!

  • Anonymous says:

    Beyond gorgeous, you are amazing! I love the pattern but your quilting on it is simply stunning.

  • Borderline Quilter says:

    Fantastic quilt…..I wouldn't want to give it back ….so much to see and follow….just one problem…not enough photos….lol….seriously, I love taking quilt photos too, it's just another addiction….fabulous quilting!

  • Rouge Cerise says:

    I'm totally in love just behind all your pictures!! Your work, colors of the quilt, quilting… etc absolutly all are amazing!! Congratulations really !
    Happy Holidays!

  • Jocelyn says:

    Wow Linda, it's gorgeous! Great job!

  • Abby and Stephanie says:

    Totally spectacular! Words could never do it justice. Your attention to every little detail is true perfection. And may I conclude by just saying WOWZER!

    Wishing you a creative new year.

  • Betsy says:

    Your quilt is stunning!

  • Karen says:

    Holy smacks the quilting on this quilt is absolutely stunning and beautiful. You made this quilt pop in so many wonderful ways. I might be a convert now to quilting the wool on my projects. As always a true inspiration.
    Happy New Year – Karen

  • cornelia pradel says:

    Magnifique, Bravo! Wunderbahr!
    Cornélia de Monde de Baïka

  • Abby says:

    Amazing! So you used 3 layers of batting in total? Is that hard? how does the quilt lay and roll? How long did this take you to quilt? Amazing work!

  • Cindy says:

    OH my word – WOW does not describe this beauty! The back is a masterpiece of the front. KUDOS!!!

  • Damenana says:

    Je rêve devant toutes ces photos…. Bravo!!! Et merci de nous faire rêver. Longtemps…
    Bonnes fêtes
    Nana

  • The Quilted Finish says:

    Gorgeous quilting as always! You really do have a gift for transforming a quilt top into a beautiful, heirloom quilt.
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family!

  • Unknown says:

    WONDERFULL…

  • Sinta Renee says:

    I hope your Christmas was amazingly blessed. I just have to say… Wow! That is one sweet little Christmas quilt! I can't believe all the time you put into it… and turned it into a masterpiece! I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year!

  • Mary says:

    Linda, this is absolutely stunning! I love both the quilt and your fantastic quilting. Thanks for ALL the pictures!!

  • paront1222@comcast.net says:

    Linda,
    Happy New Year to you too…..
    When I looked at this quilt last week I was awestruck….your work is wonderful! I loved Santa! He is so cute!

    I just ordered the snowman wallhanging and hope to do it this year…..what an awesome designer!
    Peggy in NJ

  • Mama Pea says:

    Speechless. You amaze me. Truly.

    Hope you guys had a great Christmas. Happy new year to you also.

  • CARMEN S. says:

    Linda, es absolutamente hermoso tu quilt! Tanto los apliques como el acolchado, el color de base que has seleccionado, todo me encanta! Gracias por compartir tantas fotos, es toda una clase de una maestra para las alumnas como yo que apenas damos los primeros pasos con el acolchado.
    Feliz 2013!
    Abrazos
    CARELI

  • CARMEN S. says:

    Linda, es absolutamente hermoso tu quilt! Tanto los apliques como el acolchado, el color de base que has seleccionado, todo me encanta! Gracias por compartir tantas fotos, es toda una clase de una maestra para las alumnas como yo que apenas damos los primeros pasos con el acolchado.
    Feliz 2013!
    Abrazos
    CARELI

  • Minipatch says:

    Bravo pour ce travail magnifique, j'ai le même quilt à matelasser, ! les photos sont superbes !

  • Minipatch says:

    Félicitations pour ce duo magnifique : superbe quilt et magnifique matelassage !!! waouhhhh !

  • Vlijtige Handjes says:

    Wow it's a wonderful quilt. I'm making it too. Thank you for your inspiration.
    Greetings from Holland,
    Anita