Monday, July 25, 2016

Twelve Days of Christmas in July, and the Final Day of the Quilt-along!

Hi, all!

Can you believe it - it's finally here!  The last day of the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop!  For the past twelve days, you've been shown some great gift ideas, quilting projects, decorations, recipes, a little bit of everything to get you in the Christmas crafting mood! I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.  But it's not over yet - we've got three more great quilt bloggers joining us today for their turn!

First up is Susan, who blogs at Quilt Fabrication.  Susan has been doing a fabulous job recapping what's happening each day of the hop, plus she showed a sneak peek of her project for today - I can't wait to see the final reveal!

Then you can hop over to see Beth from Cooking Up Quilts.  Beth's blog is new to me, and she's got some really cool things going on over there.  I love her Monday linky party - Main Crush Monday - and I bet you will too!  She has an original design to share with us today - how exciting!

And then to wrap it all up, Linda over at One Quilting Circle has a fun Christmas-themed wall hanging to share with us.  Linda stays busy as an Island Batik Ambassador but I'm so glad she managed to squeeze out some time for the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop!

So go check out all the posts today, then come back here.  Not only do we have the final steps for the quilt-along quilt, but you'll have an opportunity to link up and share any Christmas projects you've been inspired to do as a result of the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop!  I do hope you'll show off your efforts - it's always fun to see what others do with your designs.  That linky party will stay open until next Sunday, July 31st at midnight just to round out the month.

And if you've missed a stop or two, here's a list of all the blogs involved so you can catch up!

July 14th:     Sharon Vrooman @ Vrooman’s Quilts
                    Carole Carter @ From My Carolina Home

July 15th:    Yanicka Hachez @ Finding Myself As An Artist
                   Chris Dodsley @ Made by ChrissieD

July 16th:     Marsha Hodgkins @ Quilter in Motion
                    Leanne Parsons  @ Devoted Quilter

July 17th:     Tonia Conner @ All Thingz Sewn
                    Selina @ Selina Quilts

July 18th:     Lara Buccella @ Buzzin Bumble
                    Soma Acharya @ Whims and Fancies

July 19th:     Joanne Harris@ Quilts by Joanne
                    Suzy Webster @ Adventurous Applique and Quilting

July 20th:     Vicki in MN @ Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting
                    Jennifer Fulton @ The Inquiring Quilter

July 21st:     Michele Kuhns @ Crayon Box Quilt Studio
                    Jan Ochterbeck @ The Colorful Fabriholic

July 22nd:     Alla Blanca @ Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes.
                     Zenia Rene Lewis @ A Quilted Passion

July 23rd:     Joanne Hubbard @ Everyone Deserves a Quilt
                    Paige Alexander @ Quilted Blooms

July 24th:     Carolyn Jones @ …by CJ
                    Tisha Nagel @ Quilty Therapy

July 25th:     Susan Arnold @ Quilt Fabrication
                    Beth Sellers @ Cooking Up Quilts
                    Linda Pearl @ One Quilting Circle


See you in a few for the last step in the quilt-along!

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Welcome to the last day of the quilt-along!  Have you kept up?  If not, I'm sure you're close, and will have your very own Christmas quilt to show off this year!  Let's get those borders on!

Gather up the 4.5" x 41.5" background strips and the 4.5" x 28.5" background strips.  Pairing one of each, sew the short edges together so that you have a 4.5" x 69.5" strip.  Repeat until you have the four border strips.  Press the seams to one side.

Pinning at both ends and easing the fabric as needed, sew the borders to the right and left sides of your center piece.  Press the seams toward the borders.

Take a border piece and sew a 4.5" cornerstone to each end of the strip.  Press the seams in toward the background piece.  Make two.

Pin one of these longer strips to the top of your quilt, matching the seams where the cornerstones and borders meet and easing the center as needed to make it fit.  Repeat for the bottom of the quilt.  Press the seams toward the borders.


Hang your finished quilt up on the design wall and stand back.  Take in that beautiful quilt top you just created, and say to yourself, "I WILL get this quilted in time for Christmas!"

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And if you've been on the fence about joining in the quilt-along, here's a little inspiration from me - a slightly different version of this quilt that I made last year.  This was the prototype for the quilt we've been working on for the past twelve days.



I'm going to create a Page on the blog where you'll be able to find the links for the quilt-along and for all the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop posts so they will be easily available for reference.  

And now I'm hoping that those of you who have been quilting along will share your own quilts - and those of you who have made projects inspired by the 12 Days of Christmas blog hop can share your creations too!  So link up below and let's all do a little happy dance together for getting a jump on Christmas!


The linky party will stay open until next Sunday 7/31 at midnight, so there's plenty of time to work on your projects and share your progress!  Be sure to check out what everyone else has done, too - it's always fun to see the variations inspired by the originals!!

Hugs!

Sarah

23 comments:

  1. Sarah, thank you for making this such an enjoyable Hop and QAL. Everyone did such a wonderful presentation and I am so happy to see a tab will be added as I would love to revisit so many of these projects.

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  2. This has been a super hop, and although I haven't joined in the quilting, have found so many new bloggers, and fun things to add to my list to make.

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  3. I too am sending my sincere thank yous for a great hop and QAL. There are so many wonderful projects that have been shared. Now I just need more time to make some of them.

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  4. Sarah, this has been a fantastic hop! Everyone had so many great ideas for Christmas! A tab with links to all of the the projects will be a tremendous resource! Thank you again!

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  5. Thank you for putting all the time and effort to organize this Hop and QAL. I am excited to try a few if the projects shared by the bloggers.

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  6. Thank you for putting all the time and effort to organize this Hop and QAL. I am excited to try a few if the projects shared by the bloggers.

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  7. Thanks so much for the QAL, I'm loving my quilt.

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  8. Hi Sarah - I started late on your Christmas quilt, but I'm almost caught up. I must tell you that your pattern is the work of a genius! How you were able to get all those seams to nest together is beyond me! It's been a blast to put together. Thank you!

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  9. I've enjoyed hopping along with blog hop! A huge thankyou to you for coordinating the whole thing and to those who hosted! I'm still trying to catch up on my QAL and will post when I finish! Thanks again

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  10. Thank you, Sarah, and all the hop participants for making such a fun Twelve Days of Christmas event. I decided to make just one block and use it as a table topper. My block is done and I'm trying to decide whether or not to add a border and cornerstones. I think I need that so the block will float.
    Now if I can master setting up an Instagram account, I might even be able to post a picture of it.
    Thanks again Sarah.

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  11. Thanks for hosting the blog hop, Sarah! It has been so much fun and there have been so many amazing projects!

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  12. That was such a great hop - full of inspiration for Christmas makings. Thank you.

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  13. Great Hop. Hopefully the last quilter will put up her post (not showing up as of this time). Thanks.

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  14. Ok, I am behind. I've been away for 2 1/2 weeks, so I missed the entire blog. It will take me a few days, but I'll be going through all the posts.

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  15. Thanks again for hosting a great hop!

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  16. Thank you, Sarah, and all the hop participants for making such a fun Twelve Days of Christmas event. I decided to make just one block and use it as a table topper. My block is done and I'm trying to decide whether or not to add a border and cornerstones. I think I need that so the block will float.
    Now if I can master setting up an Instagram account, I might even be able to post a picture of it.
    Thanks again Sarah.

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  17. Sarah it has been a fun 12 days. So many cool ideas to try over the next few months. Thanks so much for all of your hard work and the time you put in to make this such a success.

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  18. Thank you so much for the 12 Days of Christmas blog hop - I have enjoyed it so much! I am inspired to start on Christmas gifts, just as soon as I finish another project....

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  19. A great hop-thank you-and so many ideas for Christmas!

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  20. Thank you so much for the 12 days of fun! It was great that it was just a hour a day. I have finish my quilt now to see if I want boards or not. Thanks again for all of your hard work!!

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  21. I didn't get a chance to quilt along, but look forward to making many of the Blog Hop projects once my schedule clears. Thank you for the time and energy you invested in this event!!

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  22. You were the most wonderful blog hop hostess Sarah and it has been a really fun 12 days!

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  23. What a fantastic hop and you are an amazing hostess. The quilt is beautiful, Sarah!! Thank you for everything :)

    -Soma

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Comments make me smile!! If you want a PDF of a pattern, PLEASE leave your email address in your comment, or email me directly at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com!