Christmas Quilt Show: Winter Wonderland

This is a quilt I'm most proud to have finished.  I first saw it made up in a quilt shop, and I fell in love with it.  It was all done in red and white.  It was so tempting, and I really wanted to make it, but all that embroidery!  In my heart of hearts, I was sure it would sit for years, without ever being started.  Even if I started it, I was sure that it would never be finished.  Later, I saw it again in the same quilt shop and mentioned to the owner how much I loved the quilt.  She said she had seen it made up in blue and that it was beautiful.  Thinking of it in blue really tempted me, but I continued to resist.  Finally, I saw it made up again in yet another quilt shop and by then, resistance was futile.  I purchased the pattern and took it home.

After that, I gathered up all the fabric, floss, muslin, and other supplies I would need and set out to work on the first stitchery  . . . the snow family.

I was going great guns on it for a few weeks, and then put it down and didn't work on it again for months.  This was just what I had been afraid would happen.  But then I got involved in a UFO Challenge.  I committed to making one stitchery and two star blocks per month with the goal of finishing it in one year.  Once I got started, I stitched and stitched and stitched. 

Lo and behold, I discovered I actually enjoyed starting my day with some hand-stitching.  After that, it was simply a race to the finish.  All the stitcheries and stars were finished in September.  It was assembled by mid-October and off to the quilter.  The quilting was finished by November, and by mid-November, it was bound and embellished with hot fix crystals.  It's a project to be proud of, if for no other reason than the fact that I persevered and finished it!

My talented quilter, Tammi, quilted snowflakes all over it using a sparkly thread.  She did such a beautiful job . . . exactly what I wanted. 

While they don't photograph well, I added hot fix crystals to the larger snowflakes, a few of the stars, and a couple of other places.  I wanted a little glitz, but I didn't want it to be gaudy.

Here are the rest of the stitcheries close-up. 

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Boughs of Holly

Toboggan

Snow Angel

Skier

Snowball Fight

Snow Birds

Candy Cane Clothesline (I think this one is my favorite.)

And finally,

I hope you have enjoyed this walk through my Winter Wonderland quilt.

For inspiration and some eye-popping work, click here.  Thank you, SewCalGal, for hosting this event!