My Tomte Quilt, Gifted.

I'm so happy to have gifted this quilt yesterday. I've sooooo wanted to show you what I have been doing with my Covid Lockdown holiday in between garage sorting, floor painting, chores and walking. I took a few photos as I went along and it was so frustrating not to be able to blog about the progress, especially with my blog being so boring of late! You MUST have noticed that?
Here we go.... My Scandinavian Tomte Quilt.  My pattern was in a Simply Moderne Quilting magazine but you could purchase it from the link.

If you have ever followed an Elizabeth Hartman pattern you will find this method very similar and quite simple. Not difficult at all, just do as you are told! I recommend that you carefully label every piece as you cut it, that's great advice for free!

I like to use "Pigs" when I piece, that's just an optional tip.

I sent this picture to Lilly as a teaser! I suggested it could be a Sorting Hat?

 Hello Tomte!!

Isn't he smashing? I was so please with him...

I didn't have enough of any one white fabric so I used a few throughout... Each tree has a different white fabric. I know some of you wouldn't do that but this quilt will not stay white for long once it's gifted, ha ha ha

The Trees are really quick to complete as they are big pieces.

There you go, all four blocks complete, they each measure 20" wide x 28" long.

Ahhh... these triangles were left over from making the trees and you know me, I will not waste fabric! I also don't want a load of red and white Half Square Triangles. I decided I might try to use them to make up a border...

OK, it would look lovely, decision made BUT... 

I warn you politely, it was not as easy as it might look. First of all, the long edges are Bias (stretchy) not a problem for me but some folk? oh my, they stretch 'em very easily. (I'm wondering now, how Norma's is getting on?) Then I had to calculate the sashing width and the edge strip widths (Coping Strips) to be exactly the right size for the triangle border to fit 

Mathemisms!!! lot's of mathemisms but I did it!!

I don't really have a space for making quilt sandwiches so I had to make do with half rug and half floor. It worked out ok. I was lovely and warm in that fabulous sunshine, not to mention that the under floor heating was on!!! I was flushing well.

I decided to Stitch In The ditch... more like Ditch Hopping, as usual. I went round all three trees and Tomte himself. All the lovely size pieces to stitch around, I take the pins out as I go as it's a great way to see the progress.

It was soon done. I quilt on my Juki TL 98 so I had loads of throat space. I pushed the table up to another table to give a good deep work space and put a table at the side to help with the weight drape (of the quilt not mine!!) Looks very professional doesn't it.

I changed to the darning foot

Free motion quilting is such fun but it does use a lot of thread. 4 bobbins in total for this quilt and about 12 hours of free motion sewing. I did Holly and Berries and curly-whirly-squircles!

Tomte's beard was done with free motion too, a fabulous, if not rather scruffy, little Gnome beard!

The trees and the red border triangles had round-ish baubles stitched, in red thread as circles are tricksy!

Binding. Sewn on very carefully! Remember all those Bias edges? I got my ruler out and made sure the triangles were 45 degrees and not stretched. Some were a little bit out so I eased the extra with a gentle tug on the binding as I stitched on my Juki. Very successful. Hand stitching the binding took exactly 4 hours.

There you go, one finished Tomte quilt.

I made up a bit of a ditty for the label, I do like a little ditty, Ha!

And off to Macclesfield he went.
Gifted from a socially safe distance to live with the other one...
Do you remember last years gifting project? Click here for a re-view.

There's not only one toddler in the house now, there's a boy child added to the mix to help wear this one out, ha ha ha.