Christmas in July

I was planning on getting a start to my julekulers for the year today, but oh well! I found another project that grabbed my attention even more. There's always the rest of July to get those going. This one I got started last week after finishing up yet another quilt top (photos to come) and still wanting more fabric play. I have been really enjoying the Missouri Star Quilt Company's tutorials on YouTube lately, and this is something I saw there. It will end up being a tree skirt made of hexagons done in a unique quilt as you go fashion.

I purchased the pattern and templates from MSQC, but everything else I had in my stash already. The batting is scraps from other projects, and those holiday prints I bought at least a couple of years ago meaning to make myself a patchwork tree skirt out of them. I guess it's finally time! That gray looks familiar because it's another chunk off of the four yards I bought the other week when I needed background for my brother's quilt. That extra yardage is handy, like I said. Cutting these out didn't actually take very much time despite the extra complexity of cutting around templates. Strategic folding of fabric strips made quick work of it.

Once I had the stacks ready to go they got popped into my big fabric basket that I've been using for "active project stuff". Mom and I try to have a call every week to chat and craft together over video - which is super cool - and so I had these out this week while we talked. I got almost a third of them pinned up with the pins I have and they are ready for pressing and sewing. I'm really interested in seeing how they start to shape up as I get going. Right now they're looking a little rough! A good press should do the trick, I hope. I thought about hand stitching them together like English paper piecing, but if I want it done by this holiday season I think I'd better use the machine.