I finished it! In plenty of time before Christmas. (Of course, I did start it in July!) I love love love actually finishing a quilt! Especially this one because it was a “sew slow” project.

I must have checked the back of the quilt ten times before I glue-basted it. Wanted to make sure I pulled out all those little hexie papers!

I love the Minky backing that I used. I bought it on clearance at Fabric.com. It is so soft and pretty. Gray with little white dots.

I originally thought I might hand-quilt this piece. But then decided 1) I handstitched all those hexies. Will they stay together? and 2) I wanted to use Minky for the backing. I like using Minky on “winter” quilts because it is so warm and cozy. I thought it might be very difficult to hand-stitch through since it is so thick.

The FA LA LA fabric is from Riley Blake. All the other fabric is from Art Gallery.

I had bought DMC Diamont thread in three shiny colors for the hand-quilting before I changed my mind about the quilting method. But I did use the gold for doing the “big stitch” on the binding. I just started noticing that term popping up on social media. Big Stitch. I’ve always referred to it as my Frankenstein stitch. Mostly large and possibly crooked.

I doubled the thread so it would really stand out. I have used metallic thread in other projects and KNOW that it tends to be difficult. I found the easiest way to use it was with shorter pieces than typical. Usually I will do about an arm length for my thread. This stuff shredded midway during stitching at that length. I ended up doing about an elbow length. I tried using thread wax but that just made my needle slippery and I couldn’t grasp it to push it through the binding. Even with a thimble. Anyhow…. I really like how it turned out. Sometimes a little extra effort is worth it!

so…..I machine quilted with my walking foot. Simple straight lines across all the straight horizontal sides of the hexies. Happy with the results.

I was feeling a little lazy so I made the label with the embroidery module on my sewing machine. It’s a bit off-center. Kinda like me.

I have said many times that I ALWAYS pre-wash my fabrics. As soon as they arrive whether through the mail or a local shop. But I was using “pre-cuts” for this quilt. I had a bad experience with pre-washing a jelly roll. What a mess! The edges frayed and there was thread everywhere in my sewing room. That’s when a lint roller became a permanent tool! I started out with fat eighths and I didn’t want to lose any of the precious material. I really expected the worse when I threw that quilt in the washer and then the dryer. I did put a Shout Color Catcher in with it.

It washed and dried beautifully!!!!!!

I will probably continue washing “yardage” because I do not want any of the colors to run plus I don’t like sewing with the coating that’s on the fabric. But I will not wash “pre-cuts” in the future.

I love all the fabrics that I used on this quilt. It doesn’t scream CHRISTMAS. It’s subtle. It whispers _christmas

I might just leave this quilt out all winter rather then banishing it to a holiday storage box in the closet.

Now I want to make some Christmas projects with the remaining fabric. How many more weeks until Christmas?

EIGHT!