Sew Seasonal Blog Hop- Christmas Tree

You know those times that you commit to do something and then the world goes crazy? 

...When you hardly have time to breathe, let alone sit down behind your sewing machine and sew. That is the situation that I found myself in the last few weeks- not one, but two bloggy commitments to fulfil and virtually no time to do it.

BUT, I hate letting people down, so I pushed on and have successfully met both deadlines- Yay!

 For the Sew Seasonal Blog Hop, I realised pretty early on that I was going to have to scrap my initial elaborate plan to make an advent calendar for the kids, but then I got stuck. I had no time and no inspiration! To be honest I was getting a bit desperate when I finally remembered that I still had a scrap of insulbrite left- so a pot holder it was!

Its not my neatest most perfect sewing and the quilting is a bit wonky in places, but I love the finished result and I ain't unpicking it!

I love the combination of Kristy's Christmas tree pattern (I chose to use the 5" version of her design) and Aneela Hoey's Cherry Christmas Charm Pack. Aren't those robins just the cutest?!?

The Tree was really quick and easy to piece. The only thing was that the top and bottom strips were slightly too long for a charm pack- I fudged it (see those extra little seams in the centre?) It wasn't a problem at all and now you probably only know about it because I told you!

I used a few bits and pieces from the charm pack to sew the border round the Christmas Tree and to do the back.

I wasn't sure about my choice to use a vintage sheet for binding, and almost unpicked it when it was initially attached, but now that its finished I actually quite like it!

See, I told you the quilting was wonky!

Now, why not pop over to Fiona at Celtic Thistle and see what gorgeousness she has made with Alyce's pattern.

And if you are at a loose end, why not give one of Kristy or Alyce's Patterns a go (they're free at the moment) and link up to the linky party at the end of the hop- there are some awesome prizes to win...