Are you team holiday quilts? As in, you bust out your favourite Christmas themed quilts this time of year? 

I’ve always thought they were cute, but never actually wanted one in my house. Is that bad? 

I just didn’t get the appeal. But then that all changed when I designed the Irish Vortex quilt pattern, for which I was entirely inspired by the holidays. 

I didn’t recognize myself!

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I had visions of red, green and white when I was designing the pattern and then, as I was surfing Michael Miller Fabrics site, I stumbled upon their Home for the Holidays collection and I was immediately smitten. I caught a glimmer of what everyone on team holiday quilts was seeing and, more importantly, feeling! 

GRAB THE IRISH VORTEX QUILT PATTERN TO MAKE YOUR OWN!

Those reindeers in cars, the bright happy colours and the general holiday feel of the collection totally made me stop scrolling. 

It was a full-on heat wave and I was excited about the holidays. Cold wintery days, with huge snow banks outside and a new fresh dusting of snow settling on top. Lots of happy music and pretty lights with enticing smells coming from the kitchen (well, except for that one year when my dad forgot to turn the oven on!). Gosh, I have some pretty strong Christmas memories. No wonder it’s one of my favourite times of year. 

And with split parents, I got to celebrate TWO Christmases every year – that’s double the turkey and stuffing, my friend! 

Looking back, having a fun holiday quilt to snuggle up with in front of the fire (and no doubt, thankful to have my jammies on after over doing it on the stuffing 😉) would have been pretty perfect. 

Good thing I know how to makes quilts now! 

I think all that I love about Christmas – time with family, good food, pretty decorations and fun conversations – got infused into the Home for the Holidays quilt. 

Plus, I got to play with stripes. You know how much I love those! 

Which reminds me – did you catch the discussion about whether there is such a thing as too many stripes? I’m squarely of the mindset there is no such thing and hope I’ve proved it with this particularly fun set of candy cane stripes. Those colours are just so spot on for the holidays – I especially like the pink one! 

Paired with these fun reindeers and santas in cars (which I totally fussy cut), it’s just a hoot! And instantly makes me happy! 

That is what you want from a Christmas quilt right? Fun happy feelings! 

To enhance all those holiday feelings, I opted for wavy quilting. I’ve been meaning to give organic wavy line quilting a go for so long now. It’s crazy how long I’ve been wanting to try it out. But I think it all worked out as it was meant to be, because this project is the perfect use for organic wavy lines. Not only is it a great contrast to the geometric design of the Irish Vortex pattern, but also makes me think of snowy windy days, which is just so fitting for the wintery theme of the quilt. I was going to go with red but opted for white thread to stick with that blustery wintery feeling. 

I used the throw quilt sizing which gives a generous 60”x60” quilt to really snuggle up with on the couch, but there are 7 other quilt sizes to choose from in the pattern. 

MATERIALS USED 

In case you want to make your very own, here’s what I used to make the Christmas Irish Vortex Quilt:

• Irish Vortex quilt pattern
• The Home for the Holidays collection by Michael Miller Fabrics – available in 2019:  
  • Home for the Holidays
  • Holiday Shopping in Candy
  • Holiday Shopping in Sky
  • Frosty Friends in Winter
  • Sugar Stripe in Pink
  • Sugar Stripe in Evergreen
  • Sugar Stripe in Red
• Bright White 
• *White batting
• 50wt white thread – piecing and quilting 

It’s definitely a modern take on a Christmas quilt, but what do you think? Have I convinced you that a holiday quilt with lots of stripes and cute reindeer might be right for you too?! 

I’m amazed at how excited I am to use this quilt. I’ve gone from thinking “that’s really cute, but not for me” to “let’s start planning our 2019 Christmas quilt” – ha! This is why I’ve long said “Never say never”. Even if you would prefer this in all solids (which is what my initial plan was until I was all smitten by those Santas in cars!), just don’t entirely discount a themed quilt. Because it’s one of those things that once you get it, you get it and wonder “why didn’t I join team holiday quilts sooner?”! 😉 

So, grab your pattern and get started on your very own holiday quilt – themed or not – today! 

This pretty is our first Christmas quilt and I look forward to allll the quilty snuggles over the holidays. We’ve already planned a few Christmas movies to watch while we’re off, so my Home for the Holidays quilt is going to come in handy 😊 Overall, I’m just looking forward to slowing down and enjoying a quieter pace. 

I hope you too have the chance to take some time off, slow down and spend some quality time with the ones you love. We’ve got lots of family time scheduled in and of course Pips is all excited to have us both home during the day! 

For more quilty holiday project inspiration, check out these posts:

• Blossom Double Windmill Wall Hanging
• Holiday Modern Aztec Table Runner
• Quilted Mint Block
• Winter Star Quilt
• Forest Talk Winter Star Quilt

Happy holidays!

xo

Shannon

PS Thrilled to be crossing this one off my Q4 FAL list 😉

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