Saturday 19 November 2016

Oh Christmas Tree

I'm very happy to say that I've finished one of my 2016 goals - the "Oh Christmas Tree" quilt designed by Wendy Williams. I've spent the last two months hand quilting it and I just love the soft texture it has, due the hand quilting and wool batting.





I do love Wendy's designs, and I really enjoyed using the wool felt again in this quilt. I decided to make my quilt bright and summery, because Christmas is in summer time in New Zealand.

Here's some close ups of the flowers on the tree.








When it came to the wonky star border I knew I wanted to go bright, so I chose a selection of bright prints from my stash.




Here's some close ups of the hand quilting.  I used Aurifil 12wt for the stars on the background fabric because I love how soft and silky it is. I always use a hoop when I'm hand quilting.






If you're looking for this pattern you can buy it from Material Obsession in Sydney, Australia here, or you can find it in QuiltMania's Simply Moderne magazine, issue 3.  However, if you're going to to use QuiltMania's pattern, please be aware that there's a mistake with their triangle template.  It says the seam allowances are included in the template, but they are not. You can read more about the impact of that error here on Elizabeth's blog.

In fact I strongly recommend you read through all the relevant posts on Elizabeth's blog, because she ran a quilt a long for this quilt during 2016, and provided a huge amount of background information.

The finished size of this quilt is 55" x 62", and I will use it as a wall hanging at Christmas time.

29 comments:

Julie said...

This is just beautiful Wendy, I love the hand quilting details on the background fabric, and all the colours. So very you. Well done another fabulous finish.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Gorgeous! I love your quilted background fabric and all the added details on the birds & flowers! It will look very festive, perfect for our NZ Xmas!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

beautiful - I love it.

Carol Q said...

Hasn't it turned out just stunning Wendy. You must be so pleased.

Susan said...

It looks fabulous Wendy! I love how you have hand quilted your snowflakes! I hope you have a special place to hang it for the Christmas season?!

Sandi said...

Lovely finish Wendy, congratulations on being able to enjoy it this Christmas. I think it will be on my 2017 list to do. I've been collecting background fabrics and wools to do this special piece.

margaret said...

what a beauty loving your summer feel to it and the quilting is super good.

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

It's beautiful and the hand quilting has added such a wonderful soft texture. I'm definitely going to look for the pattern, thanks for the links!

Kunzfrau said...

Wow!!! Ich bin total begeistert! Was für eine tolles Pattern und so wunderschön von dir umgesetzt! Ganz großes Kompliment!

Gruß Marion

Tilly said...

Beautiful Wendy, love ythe used colors and your embroidery.

Heide said...

So beautiful and amazing, loving the colors and your wonderful embroidery.

Jennifer said...

Wow! I can't stop looking at the pictures of your work! Thank you for showing the 'in process" pictures so close up!
Just lovely!

Anonymous said...

It is lovely! I love the tree just can't take my eyes from it! The background fabric is beautiful and I love the bright fabrics you have chosen for the stars, and the stitches with those threads, I suppose they are from Sue Spargo, everything is just so beautiful!

Annie said...

I love, love, love the Christmas Tree, beautiful!

Unknown said...

This quilt is exquisite! I am blown away by your workmanship--it is just perfect. I love the colors and the applique and beading and quilting--I can't say enough about this--just LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

QuilterinMotion said...

Oh Christmas Tree is amazing Wendy. I have my tree all done, and I was just starting to do the wonky stars when I got called to my daughter's for an emergency. I came away without my fabrics for the wonky stars so I'm at a standstill.
I love your handquilting on the background fabric you chose. It really adds so much to the overall finish. This was a fun wool project for me as I do love working with wool.

Julie Fukuda said...

Thank you for the link on Facebook. I love your selection of fabrics. It is so bright and cheerful. It is nice to see all the detail and read your journey to the finish. I have never tried wool batting. I don't even know if they sell it here in Tokyo ... or even if it could survive the attack of moths that drive me nuts all summer. I have recently noticed that a banner I made for our church using felt for the lettering has had damage due to those critters.

Kris said...

What a fabulous, yummy project, Wendy!! And you did such a wonderful job!! I love the hand quilting and thank you for alllll the fun, fun pictures!!

Bernapatch said...

Magnifique ! J'ai bien envie d'en faire un .....

Linda said...

Beautiful quilt, Wendy. I agree with your comments moment that the light fresh look to your Christmas tree 🎄 suits an NZ Christmas so well. Your hand stitching is gorgeous, perfectly drawing attention to the stars. How are you faring in Wellington? House and work building OK?

Jenny said...

Another beautiful finish, Wendy. I love how you have used the subtle patterned background fabric then quilted around the designs. What a great idea.

Raewyn said...

A beautiful finish Wendy, and just perfect for our summery Christmas! I love the hand quilting you did on the background, just lovely!

Granny Maud's Girl said...

This looks great! I particularly like how you quilted the background fabric to pick up the star/snowflake details in the fabric.

Schulz Family said...

absolutely amazingly gorgeous

Kiwiquilter said...

So nice to see something made to suit our Kiwi Christmas, rather than snowmen or reindeer in snow. This is beautiful.

karenbbsnow said...

Gorgeous quilt. So cheery and bright, I just love everything about it!

diane said...

Hi I am waiting for my pattern is it a download or is it a pattern coming through the mail???? Thank you Diane

Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore said...

Hi Diane. I don't sell the patterns - that's Wendy Williams at Material Obsession or Flying Fish Kits. You need to email them about that. kind regards, Wendy.

debbie said...

This is Stunning!