Christmas Tree Skirt #2

I finished the Christmas tree skirt I told you about that I didn't know how it would quilt right because of the ripples and it not laying flat. Well, after I made the quilt sandwich and pinned it I was feeling a bit more confident about it. Here it is all pinned:


You can see how it laid a bit more flat for me after I pinned a lot. I quilted it in large meandering waves so I wouldn't get any puckers on the top from the slight ripples. It worked! I didn't have any major quilting issues! (Unless you count when I sewed over a safety pin and broke my needle. I have got to stop doing that!)

I bound it with a cute red stripe that looks like a candy cane! I think it really set the skirt off.

P.S. I had to make a short trip to my favorite sewing store because they were having another great sale. I got three rolls of 80/20 batting; two crib size and one twin. I got got one yard each of some batiks they had on clearance. I have some beginning visions of a beautiful batik quilt. I also had to grab some machine needles since I keep breaking them!

I can't wait to use this under the white Christmas tree!

More Progress

I finished my Christmas Tree Skirt top. I love the design and the fabrics, but somewhere along the line I messed up and I'm afraid the quilting won't go smooth at all.

See how it doesn't lay flat? Well, I got the tutorial here. It wasn't very detailed and didn't give measurements on many pieces. I shouldn't have attempted it, I guess. I'm not advanced enough to understand why it didn't lay flat. Maybe one of my readers can tell me. If you know, do you also have any advice for quilting the wavy top? Or am I going to have to scrap it?

In other quilting progress news, I basted the QAL Simple Sampler Quilt. I used a vintage 100% cotton batting. It will be my first experience with cotton batting. I didn't pre-soak it so it should look nice and antiqued when I pull it out of the dryer. I won't start quilting it until next week so don't look for it to be finished soon!

Project in the Works

I've been working on this:

Mind you, not at my normal full speed ahead pace. I've really been having a hard time getting to my sewing room lately. Other things have been calling my attention. It will be a Christmas tree skirt for our white tree when I finish. I started it last week and hope to finish the top by the end of this week. I will most likely hold off on quilting it for a little bit. I want to get my sampler quilt top quilted before this tree skirt.

We sat out on the porch yesterday at dusk and I captured a few photos of the hummingbirds. They were fighting and really getting mad at each other! I counted five of them at the most.

Christmas Tree Skirt

I finished my tree skirt today! I was worried about the amount of dark fabrics compared to light and the high pattern content but it turned out great, don't you think? I'm excited to use it this Christmas under our green tree. I plan to make another one for our white tree that is more modern.


I got a quilting idea from one of the blogs I read. I quilted it free motion style with stars and loops. It wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated and I am pleased with the result.

It has little ties in the back to secure it around the tree.

Quilting this skirt wasn't without incident, unfortunately. I broke my needle because I sewed over one of the safety pins by mistake. I'm glad I wear glasses because that thing popped right in my face and could have taken out my eye! It went better after I replaced that needle and began again.

This project definitely got me in the Christmas mood already!

Progress

I've been working on sewing some Christmas presents and have successfully completed one project. I can't show you yet because I don't want to spoil the surprise! I have a few others to work on but I need to get some materials before I begin those.

I have started a Christmas tree skirt using this tutorial. It is pretty simple and I will share pictures after I take a few. It has been very hot here and we are under excessive heat warnings. Needless to say, I am staying inside!

Since every post needs a picture, here are two pretty flowers from my flower beds. One is a Knockout Rose in white and the other is called Naked Lady.