Strippy Improv Holiday QAL - week 4

 It's week 4 of the Strippy Improv Holiday QAL!

This week we're talking assembly and quilting. How is your project coming along? 

I'll share a few of my finishes here:

Deciding how to machine quilt these projects can be tricky - at least for me! My default choice is straight line quilting, but there's a lot of contrast in the fabric colors I've used, so picking a thread color feels challenging. For this candy cane and tree version, I opted to free motion quilt instead so I could change thread colors. 

I started this version last year and finally finished it! 

I decided to mimic the stripes in the navy background fabric with my quilting for this one. I used a gray-blue thread, similar to the border color, which blended on most of the fabric colors. By doing straight line quilting, the lines show up as texture, so the blue-gray thread on the white snowman isn't distracting - it's just texture. 

Here's a look at the only runner I've completed so far - the blocks for my next one are on my design wall, so you'll be seeing it soon. I chose to alternate the direction of the ornament blocks so there's no "right side up" with the runner - it looks good from all sides of a table! 

Last week I stitched up two blocks and turned them into mini quilts for our guild gift exchange. If you add in a layer of heat-resistant batting, these could be used as hot pads as well! I also shared a tutorial for Strippy Improv Halloween for turning a block into a throw pillow - find brief instructions here.

I hope you enjoyed being part of the quilt along and I can't wait to see how your project turns out! Be sure to tag me on social media - @quiltyzest or #strippyimprovholiday so I can see! 

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Join the Strippy Improv Holiday Quilt Along!

QAL Details: 

Sew along with me to create a holiday wall quilt or table runner before Christmas! I'll post once a week with tips and advice (plus that all-important accountability!) to keep us on track. These blocks are addicting...just wait and see! 

Purchase the pattern here.

Week 1: November 23rd - Fabric selection

Week 2: November 30th -  Making 2 blocks

Week 3: December 7th - Making 2 blocks

Week 4: December 14th - Assembly and Finishing

Purchase the pattern here.

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