2014 Aurifil December block

My last 2014 Aurifil block is completed, with just a couple of days left of the year. The designer this month is Carrie Nelson.

I chose to make the flying geese using the Companion Angle and the Easy Angle ruler. The colors I chose reminds me of summer much more than winter, and I just felt better about these golden tones and the butterflies when I searched my stash.

Modern Maple In The Snow

My Modern Maple quilt is now quilted and the binding is stitched on. My December goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes (ALYoF) 2014 is thereby completed. The finished size of the quilt is 59" x 70".

One of my college sons accompanied me for the photo shoot in the snow, and there is a lot of snow! My fingers got real cold operating the camera, it was freezing!

The playground was a perfect setting for the photo session, and the color of the house in the background is a perfect match with the quilt.

My son was the perfect quilt holder, and with a few breaks in-between to rest wide-stretched arms and to heat fingers, the photo session was a success. .

All my maple leaves look like they have fallen down on a snow covered ground, literally! I am happy I used pure white background fabric for the quilt.

As you can see, we have LOTS of snow! Fortunately the snow was really dry, and it was easy to brush it off afterwards.

I did an all over woodgrain quilting with my walking foot, and used approximately 10 bobbins in the quilting process. I like the density of the quilting, and after a wash-and-dry cycle the quilt is nice and soft. As you can see in the picture above, I added a little interesting detail; a negative mini leaf.

Here is more of the quilting . I am very pleased with the quilting texture and the amount of negative space in the quilt.

I used only fabrics from my stash for the maple leaves; how is it possible to acquire so many fall-colored fabrics in such a relatively short time?

The backing for the quilt is a text fabric from IKEA, and the binding is a striped fabric I bought at Hancock's a while ago. It may be difficult to see, but the binding has got quite a lot of golden color in it. It goes very well together with the quilt, and it gives a perfect golden frame to one of my best-looking quilts so far.

Merry Christmas! (+ a little sneak peek)

I wish all my fellow quilting bloggers a Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a great time together with your family during this Holiday Season!

The last few days I have been busy quilting my Modern Maple quilt; I have to finish it by the end of the year. Yesterday I started to put the binding on, and this will be a nice hand-stitching job during the Christmas days.

Here is a sneak peak of the quilt how it looks in the start of the binding process. I bought a very nice striped fabric at Hancock's a couple of years ago, and that is perfect as the binding on this multi-colored maple quilt.

I quilted it with a quite dense woodgrain design in a parchment color cotton thread, and the backing fabric is the Britten Nummer fabric from IKEA.

When I am completely done with the quilt, I will take it out for a photo shoot in the snow.

Once again: Merry Christmas from a picture-perfect snow covered landscape.

The second Little Birdie

I needed a small and quick gift for a colleague of mine, and what better than making a Little Birdie? My previous Birdie turned out as a pincushion, but it is also perfect as a Christmas Ornament when a string is added.

The winter is dark, and it is difficult to get good lighting for the pictures. My blue-eyed bird is a fast project, and it was good to get a little break from the extensive quilting of my Modern Maple.

WIP Wednesday

The quilting of my Modern Maple has started. Here is a sneak peek of how it is going to look. My aim is to give the quilt a woodgrain structure. I am using the walking foot, but it takes time! It will take a few days to complete all the quilting, but it will be worth it.

I have also completed another quilt top this fall, the Hip-Hopscotch quilt featured in the QuiltyPleasures blog.:

A lot of people have made their own versions of this quilt, and it is amazing how different the quilts look using different colors and values. My version gives a spring feeling, and that seems appropriate for me even though Christmas has not come, yet. (I long for warmer weather...)

Linked up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced, and Let's Bee Social.

ALYoF: December Goal

My goal for December is to quilt and bind my Modern Maple before the year is over. It is not going to be a Christmas present, it will be staying home with me, because it is way too pretty to give away!