Thursday's Threads: Christmas Zig a Zag Quilt Ready for the Longarm!!

 My Christmas Zig A Zag Quilt is ready for the longarm!  This is an Eleanor Burns, Quilt in a Day pattern. Although it looks complex, It is easy to piece from 2 1/2" strips. It is pieced in diagonal rows which contributes to its simplicity. Below is a photo of my completed top. I pieced it from the Merry Minis fabric from Connecting Threads. I have had the material for a while so it probably isn't still available. However, it is easy to find a coordinated jelly roll of fabric to make the quilt. If you want to have a complete zag a zag out of one fabric, then you will need a jelly roll that has two of each fabrics included in the roll. Read you package carefully! You can also just cut your own strips. That is what I did. Here is a photo of the completed top and a close-up photo.

Christmas Zig A Zag Quilt Top, Eleanor Burns pattern, Quilt in a Day

Close Up of Christmas Zig A Zag Quilt Top

I had hoped to get the quilt on the longarm yesterday, but I ran into a bit of difficulty. I chose a snowman backing from another line of fabric. I thought it would fit the winter/Christmas fabric in the top. I had just finished cutting the fabric to piece the back of the quilt. However, as I was getting ready to sew the two halves of the backing together, I found two small holes in the middle of one of the fabric pieces. I had already used all of the fabric that I had. I couldn't buy more fabric because it had been aging awhile in my stash.

Then, I remembered that I had some 2 1/2" strips of fabric leftover from piecing the quilt top. I cut a 14" strip of fabric off the backing fabric to eliminate the hole. Then, I pieced 7- 2 1/2" strips of fabric length-to-length to make a 14" wide rectangle the same width as the backing fabric. I sewed them together rather randomly, only varying fabric colors and taking the time to make sure that the directional fabrics were all right-side up. The I substituted the pieced strip for the fabric I had cut off. Here is a photo of the result. I am pretty happy with it. 

I hope to get the top on the longarm tomorrow. I am excited about quilting it because I am going to try some more free-motion quilting. I think that I will follow the zigs and zags using a meandering loop across the width of the quilt. I am trying to learn free-motion quilting. It is a bit scary, but as my Dad used to say, "No guts, no glory." Wish me luck!

By the way, if you are interested, I can teach a Workshop on the Zig A Zag pattern. Please contact me if you are interested. I live in Oklahoma, but I do travel!

Finally, don't forget our free I Wish you a Merry Quilt-A-Long. It starts on August 1st with the first block and tutorial by Vanda at Quilt in Piece. See the link below for more information.

A free Christmas Quilt Along is beginning August 1st. There will be 12 blocks designed by our blogger/designers, giveaways, and lots of quilty fun! I will be hosting here to provide tips and hints. Each designer will provide a tutorial as well. Come join us! (My block comes out August 15.) Read all about it here.

Happy Quilting!

This post was originally published at JANDA Bend Quilts.