What a gorgeous day here in New Hampshire! It’s so sunny and blissfully warm that Christmas seems a long way off, but I suppose it’s never too early to at least start thinking about your Christmas quilting projects.
If you’re looking for a fun and easy project (or an excuse to buy some Christmas fabrics!), try my Christmas Baubles quilt! It’s my latest recipe for the Moda Bake Shop and the free tutorial is featured at the Bake Shop today.
I have to say, I really love this sweet little project! The combination of miniature Christmas ornament blocks and Kate Spain’s colorful and cheerful “Jingle” fabrics just makes me happy.
Christmas Baubles is a very easy project. It’s perfect for a beginner and definitely doable in a weekend. To make the quilt, you’ll only need a single mini charm pack of Christmas fabric — and Moda has some really gorgeous Christmas fabrics coming out this summer — 2/3 yard of a background fabric, a scrap of gray fabric, and a yard of backing/binding fabric. Once you have all of your ornament blocks made, the quilt comes together very quickly.
I wanted this project to be fast and something that any quilter could finish at home, from soup to nuts, so I decided to try to quilt it on my regular old sewing machine. I used a ruler and a vanishing marking pen to mark a tree shape that outlines the ornament blocks. After stitching the tree, I then marked and stitched vertical lines in the background of the quilt. The quilting went pretty quickly and I couldn’t be happier with the results! Just don’t forget to be sure that the marking pen you choose comes out of your background fabric before you mark your quilt!!
So there you have it, a little taste of Christmas in June. I hope Christmas Baubles fills you with inspiration, not anxiety. And just in case you’re wondering, there are 196 days until Christmas. Plenty of time!!
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Could this be made with regular sized charm squares? Do you think that if I did that….would I just double the other measurements?
Thanks for such a cute pattern… I want to do mine in the joyeux Noel fabric line! Cannot wait,
Hey Jen,
Just looking at your last few posts. I absolutely love the checker board, the fish quilt, little squares and christmas baubles. Just amazing – I want them all and the pie of course!
Thanks for your comment, Lauren. I played around with the math a bit and it won't work to just double the other measurements. If you used regular charm squares, you could make ornament blocks that would measure 4 1/2" x 5" finished. I'd cut the squares for the corners of the snowball block at 2" x 2". For the ornament tops, I'd cut the background rectangles 1" x 2" and the gray rectangles 1" x 2". I'd suggest using 1" finished strips between the blocks both horizontally and vertically (with a larger rectangle above the top ornament block). If you sketch the tree out on graph paper using these dimensions, I think you'll be able to make it work, but if you run into trouble let me know! Thanks, Jen
I saw a completed little quilt like this displayed in a quilt shop in Sioux Falls, SD. I wanted to purchase the pattern or perhaps a kit but they didn't have either. They directed me to modabakeshop.com for a free download of the patter. I've tried to find it but have had no luck. Is it possible to have the pattern mailed or emailed to me? It is so darn cute; I would really enjoy assembeling this small quilt. Thanks for your time.
Helen
corrismom@verizon.net
Hi Helen – Thanks for your comment! To find the tutorial for my Christmas Baubles quilt, click on the blue/green "I was featured in Moda Bake Shop" button on the right side of my blog. Good luck and have fun!
Hi Jen – I've saved this pattern in my e-mail for months! Now I'm making it as a gift for my new daughter-in-law. I'm curious about the quilting. Did you do any quilting in the body of the tree at all or just the tree outline and background?
This really has been a fun pattern! Thanks for sharing your talent.
Hi Vanessa – Thank you so much for your comment! I didn't do any quilting in the body of the tree, just the outline and background. But if you wanted to add quilting to the body of the tree, I think it might look nice to do a straight or wavy line in the center of each of the white horizontal "bands" — but I would do the interior quilting after I did the outline so you know where to stop and start. I'm glad you're enjoying the pattern and I hope your new daughter-in-law loves it! What a great gift! Happy Holidays, Jen
Hi Jen – I've saved this pattern in my e-mail for months! Now I'm making it as a gift for my new daughter-in-law. I'm curious about the quilting. Did you do any quilting in the body of the tree at all or just the tree outline and background?
This really has been a fun pattern! Thanks for sharing your talent.