Holly Jolly Christmas and FREE Pattern

 It's never too early to think about Christmas, especially if you're a quilter. We need time to cut and sew and quilt and bind. This new collection by Windham Fabrics - Jolly Christmas - has been a fun way to get ready. Not sure where I'm going, so I invited some of my quilting buddies to join me.

Here are the fabrics that Windham supplied. Yes, Santa is there in red and green - of course!

Jolly Christmas by Windham Fabrics

I first made this Christmas Star using an old pattern from 2006. Those four green Santa print squares are cut 6-1/2". The link for the FREE pattern is below the quilt (Windham Fabrics web site).

Jolly Christmas Star: 30" x 30"

Then I asked my Calendar Girls to stitch ANY 12" block from my new Quilter's Perpetual Block a Day Calendar they wished. I gave each of them 2-3 fat quarters of this collection. Their deadline was October 1. I'll put the blocks together and it may become a charity quilt for some little kid.

Let's see the blocks we made. I can never stop with just one, so you'll see I made six . . .

I used the August 18 Four Seasons block. Captured more of those red trees on white. I had to make sure I cut the trees print so they would be upright!

Making sure the trees are cut upright!

Here's my block. Yes, these red tree units also appear in the quilt top above!

August 18 Four Seasons block: 12"

Then one more from August, the Coverlet. I like being able to capture an awesome print in the center!

August 22 Coverlet Block: 12"

Let's see some of the blocks from my Calendar Girls:

Diann C. stitched the Underground Railroad, the January 22 calendar block.

Underground Railroad: 12"

She also made the September 19 block, Lost Goslin:

Lost Goslin: 12"

She also made Ozark Maple Leaf!

Ozark Maple Leaf: October 7 block

Ozark Maple Leaf was also make by by Kathy M.

Ozark Maple Leaves from October 7

Julia R. made Clay's Choice (the March 5 block):

Clay's Choice: March 5 block

Karen B also made a block: December 16, Centennial. And look how she got all the trees upright!

Centennial: December 16 block

Linda D. made the December 18 block, Berkley:

Berkley by Linda D

Kathy G. decided to add a black to the mix and she gave us a lovely rendition of Shoofly and Four Patch (the December 11 block). Yes! I misspelled it on Kathy's block - no "e", just two "os".

Shoofly and Four Patch by Kathy G.

Hold on! I have just a few more!

I made the Ocean Waves block from October 9. Yes, Santa wants to do some surfing!

Ocean Waves: October 9 block

And another with that awesome Santa print in green this time:

November 28 Building Blocks

And Washington Square from February 22:

Washington Square: February 22 block

And my last one is Town Center Star:

Town Center Star: January 26 block

Many thanks to the 6 Calendar Girls who participated in this challenge. It just goes to show that you can make any Christmas themed quilt using just about any block pattern.

I'll be back with the quilt top that I'm going to assemble from these 14 blocks. I have a good bit of the Jolly Christmas fabrics still in my studio and it will be a challenge to put them all together. Remember, I cut all my half yard cuts into fat quarters! But you can do a lot of creative things with fat quarters. Just like that FREE PATTERN of Jolly Christmas Star at the top of this page!

Do you have your calendar yet? Is it on your Christmas list? Check out my calendar in quilt shops or these big retailers:

on Amazon

at C&T Publishing

and in Barnes & Noble stores