Christmas in July

Merry Christmas - in July!

I'm so excited to share the quilt I made for Benartex's Christmas in July project hop! 

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If you're new here, hello! I'm Laura! I design quilt patterns, and I'm a self-proclaimed deal hunter! Be sure to join the popular Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group where I post sales, deals, and coupon codes from all around the web!

The Christmas in July project hop features eleven new Christmas fabric collections from Benartex and eleven pattern designers too!

I was thrilled to receive the First Frost collection designed by Amanda Murphy! I always love everything Amanda designs, and this was no exception! (I made several things from her Free Motion Fantasy collection! See those HERE!) I picked Superior Solids Mint for the background. It's a perfect complement!

I wanted to make sure the beautiful fabrics were the star of the show, so I chose my Rockslide pattern. It's perfect for showing off prints that you don't want to cut up into tiny pieces!

Another bonus of this pattern is that it works great with the AccuQuilt GO! I have all the needed dies in my 8" Qube set.

The AccuQuilt made such quick work of the cutting! I actually cut enough pieces for TWO throw sized quilts at the same time! (I'm giving away the second set! Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post to enter to win!)

I pieced the whole quilt using Aurifil 50wt #2605 Grey. I always have a cone of it on hand.

I used my very expensive design wall flannel-backed vinyl table cloth to lay out all the pieces. It works great!

Another thing I use is numbered pins. They are perfect for helping me keep rows in order!

With the top done, it was time for quilting. I had such a hard time deciding how to quilt it! A pantograph over the whole thing? Simple straight line quilting? A combination of the two?

And then what thread color? Go bold with Aurifil's 50wt Red #2250? Or play it safe with Aurifil's 50wt Shining Green #5017?

In the end, I chose straight line quilting with red thread.

It worked like an outline to the fabrics without taking any attention away.

However, I'm not so sure that's the final answer.

After machine binding the quilt (tutorial here) with Superior Solids Tomato Red, which is normally the cue for celebration, I was still questioning my quilting decision!

I'm letting it simmer so I don't do anything rash. But I'm really leaning towards adding some swirls or loops or meandering into the mint sections with the green thread now!

Have you ever added quilting once a quilt was "finished"? 

The backing fabric is so gorgeous! It's one of the main prints from the collection!

I love that I have a new Christmas quilt to use this winter!

Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see if I add more quilting!

Check out all the other amazing fabric collections and designers being featured during the hop too!

Monday, July 20^th – Nancy Scott, Winterberry Masterpiece Quilting

Tuesday, July 21^st – Heidi Pridemore, Rejoice The Whimsical Workshop

Wednesday, July 22^nd – Laura Piland, First Frost Slice of Pi Quilts <--- That's me!

Thursday, July 23^rd – Lisa Ruble, Camp Joy Love to Color My World

Friday, July 24^th – Debby Kratovil, Festive Chickadees Debby Kratovil Quilts

Saturday, July 25^th – Wendy Sheppard, Ode to Joy Ivory Spring

Sunday, July 26^th – Debby Brown, River’s End Debby Brown Quilts

Monday, July 27^th – Charisma Horton, Deer Festival Charisma's Corner

Tuesday, July 28^th – Sandra Walker, Better Not Pout Mmm Quilts

Wednesday, July 29^th – Kate Colleran, Joy Seams Like a Dream

Thursday, July 30^th – Tammy Silvers, Snow Village & Rustic Village Christmas Tamarinis

Now for the giveaway! Giveaway closed. Congratulations, Cecilia!

Want to win that extra set of pieces I cut with my AccuQuilt? You'll get the Rockslide pattern and all the pieces you need to make the throw size quilt top! I'll include enough red fabric for binding too! 

To enter: Comment on this post telling me if I should add more quilting or call it done! 

For a bonus entry: Join the Quilting & Sewing Deals group! Then leave another comment telling me you joined!

Every comment is an entry in the giveaway!

(And PLEASE leave your email address in your comment if you are a no-reply commenter. Otherwise I won't be able to contact you if you win!) (Giveaway is US only and ends 8/1/2020.)

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If you liked this post, you may also like these:

Rockslide

Sliced

Lemon Linens

Disclaimer: Giveaway is in no way sponsored, administered, or associated with Blogger. By entering, entrants confirm they are 18+ years of age, release Blogger of responsibility, and agree to Blogger's terms of use. No purchase necessary to win. Open to legal residents in the contiguous US only that are 18+ years of age. Giveaway starts at 12:00am CST July 22, 2020 and ends at 11:59pm CST on August 1, 2020. One winner will receive a Rockslide pattern and precut kit of First Frost and Superior Solids fabrics with a retail value of approximately $30. Odds of winning determined by number of eligible entries received. How to enter: leave a comment on this blog post. One comment per person. Duplicate comments will be deleted. Winner will be chosen by random.org on August 1, 2020 from all eligible entries and notified by email. If winner can not be reached via email or prize is unclaimed after three days, a new winner will be chosen by random.org. Winner is responsible for paying any taxes related to the prize. By entering this giveaway, you release Slice of Pi Quilts from any liability whatsoever. Void where prohibited by law.