Cozy Christmas Postage Stamp Mini

Last week I was able to add another important addition to my sewing studio...a design wall! I've been wanting and needing one of these for ages, but haven't had a free wall to put it on.

I still don't...so I had to come up with another solution. This is just a large MDF board which I undercoated with white paint, and then glued a piece of batting onto. I felt it was important to have a bright white base, and none of the brown from the board showing through. The plus for making it on a board like this is it's truly portable. The downside is that it doesn't really belong anywhere, and is frequently in the way. One day it might get its own spot!Then super inspired, I started cutting into my newly acquired birthday stash...last week I had my birthday, and all week my black Friday sales fabric has been arriving. It was a very exciting week!As you can see from the jumble in the pic above, a design wall is just that...it lets you stand back and rearrange from a good distance, and see what looks good together. This collection is Cozy Christmas by Riley Blake, and is the perfect mix for a bright and fun Christmas quilt.

This is my first Christmas quilt, and first postage stamp quilt...and was so quick and easy to make!I've used two charm packs, and cut each piece into quarters, so each unfinished square is 2.5".If you'd like to make one similiar, you need a total of [54] 5" squares, cut into [216] pieces. I arranged these into a 13 x 16 grid, which seemed to make the nicest rectangle layout. The finished size is 26" x 32".Now a word about accuracy...charm squares are not actually square. Huh. So if you want nice squares that nest together, you'll need to square up the charm squares before you start cutting them up. I didn't do this for all of them...this is what happens when you're being interrupted by your dear children! So my quilt is far from perfect. But I'm ok with that, and love how it's turned out. But I know (hopefully!) for next time, and it will make life easier.

I quilted in the ditch along all the seams with a 3.5 stitch length, and then in between each square. I used a white 40wt aurifil thread and I'm just smitten with the heavier weight.

I had planned in the beginning to bind with a simple red spot fabric, but last minute I spied this sparkly white in my stash, and decided it was just what this mini needed! Sparkle can be really hard to capture on camera, so I was tickled this showed up so nicely!

The finished quilt has been a hit with my family, and the younger kids love making fun of the cut off words in the squares. Especially the red square above!

And to top off this really budget friendly project, I found this fun backing in Spotlight. Last minute shopping can sometimes pay off...I needed less than a metre, and it was 50% off, so only cost a few dollars!

And I added these hanging pockets on the top two corners, so I can put it on a batten and hang on the wall.

I hope you've been able to finish some special projects this Christmas and I hope your holiday time is safe and relaxing.