I was delighted to have the opportunity to take part in Nancy Scott’s blog hop for her Christmas Collection book. The book is well-written with clear instructions, lots of photos and a range of quick (or quick-ish) projects, almost all of which would be suitable for beginners. I loved the sophisticated ‘O Christmas Tree!’ wall hanging, as soon as I saw it, I knew that was what I wanted to make.
Fabric Choices
Rather than a traditional green tree, I wanted to make a frosty, snow covered tree on a winter’s evening. (If you follow this blog regularly you will know that my obsession with all things teal is continuing unabated. . . .) I hunted out some delicate silvery Christmas prints to intersperse with whites and soft greys.
The Quilt Top
The quilt top came together quicker than I expected as all those eensy little squares could be cut in bulk. This is a clever but simple pattern that would be suitable for a confident beginner.
Quilting
As for the quilting, I was, I have to confess, a little stuck. I loved Nancy’s matchstick quilting and the way she had quilted around the blocks so they appeared to be on point but I wanted to show you something different. After much deliberation I settled for irregular, wavy lines in the background but I’m still not sure I love it. I think if I was making this project again, I would just shamelessly duplicate Nancy’s matchstick quilting!
For the individual blocks, I quilted lines in silver thread criss-crossing the block as I wanted to break up the squares of fabric, but then I wasn’t sure I liked that quilting either. Is it just me who thinks they look a little like Star Wars tie fighters?
You can check out all the different versions of this quilt on the links below. It’s so fun to see how many ways the same pattern can be interpreted. The following talented bloggers have made the ‘O Christmas Tree’ Wall Hanging too:
Quilting niggles asides, I am happy with the finished quilt and I have sneaked a little bit more teal into our Christmas festivities and that brings me much joy!
What’s your favourite colour scheme for Christmas? Do you like the traditional red and green or do you prefer something different?
Blog Hop Itinerary
This blog hop is nearly over but here is a list of the other stops so you can check out all the great projects in the book.
MONDAY, JULY 22, 2019 – LET’S GATHER TABLE RUNNER
TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2019 – WREATH RUNNER & WALL HANGING
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2019 – HOLLY TABLE TOPPER
THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019 – MUG RUGS & COASTER
FRIDAY, JULY 26, 2019 – POINSETTIA BED RUNNER + PILLOW
MONDAY, JULY 29, 2019 – JINGLE BELLS QUILT + WALL HANGING
TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2019 – MISTLETOE MAGIC THROW & PILLOW
- Kissed Quilts
- Rohn Strong
- Sweet Little Stitches
- True Blue Quilts
- Tamarinis
- Rebecca Mae Designs
- Powered by Quilting (YOU ARE HERE!!!)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2019 – TREE OF PRESENTS
- Fearless Quilter
- Lizard Creek Quilting
- Laura Tulloch
What an elegant tree!
Thank you! I very much enjoyed making it!
Love your tree!!! I adore teal too!!! As a LA quilter, I would have loved to have seen what the quilt in the book looks like…matchstick quilting is easy to do, just really time consuming!!
Thanks Farm Quilter! Nancy’s tree was a variety of greens with an ivory background and red binding. It’s fun to see all the different colour interpretations!
Love your version of this pattern!
Thank you, Teri, I am delighted you like it!
Hi Sandra! I love your version of O Christmas Tree. Your fabric choices are truly elegant. I especially love the sparkily silver hearts on a string fabric, what is the manufacturer?
Your quilting is perfect, wavy compliments the straight and your Star Wars comment makes the quilting even more fun to view. 😊
Thank you, Abbie, for your kind comments! The silver hearts on a string was a Stoff fabric which I picked up in Sligo when I was there last week. I absolutely love it too! Quilting is my least favourite part of every project and I always have at least one little quilting anxiety moment before the project is finally finished!! Hope you’re having a great summer. xx