The Quilts of Christmas Past

There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes Christmas-quilt-surprise finishing going on around here. Mostly I’m down to doing the binding – which is perfect for doing in front of chestnuts roasting on an open fire 😉 and watching a good Christmas movie, but it also means I can’t share those quilts just yet. So I thought I’d share some pictures of the Quilts of Christmas Past – quilts made over the past decade that continue to get lots of love and attention around here each Christmas.

One of my all-time favorite Christmas quilts is this retro-inspired isosceles triangle quilt.

I’d been collecting vintage-inspired prints for a few years and loved putting them to use in this quilt. I’d seen the triangle quilt idea with different shades of solid green in an Anthropologie catalog and loved the way it turned out. I think this quilt was made from all fabric on hand too, which is always a great feeling. 🙂

I still hang this quilt on my wall above my couch. Most of my Christmas accents are red and white, so I love the pop of green that this quilt gives. You can read more about the quilt here. And more about the star pillow here and the snowflake pillows in this post.

The original use for my collection of vintage-inspired fabrics was this Retro Christmas Quilt. I love the way the clean white makes the fabrics shine.

I also love these fun prints. (I bought them 8-9 years ago, so most of them are probably not available anymore, but there are always cute new retro-inspired Christmas fabrics every year.) I gave this quilt to my mother-in-law as many of the prints reminded her of her childhood.

I remade this same pattern the next year using an Ann Kelle collection from Robert Kaufman. Once again, love the cheerful, bright fabrics and it’s a fun pattern for showing off big prints.

More images and details on this quilt here.

Another favorite that still gets lots of snuggling is this Countdown to Christmas quilt. This quilt evolved out of trying to decide what to do with a fat quarter bundle. I wanted something that showed off the collection. This turned into a bit of an improv project until I liked the final look.

I love the addition of black in this collection and color scheme. Fun fact: this quilt inspired a pattern that is now found in Fabulously Fast Quilts. 🙂

This is one of first Christmas quilts I ever made right after I started working at a local quilt shop 12 years ago. (I can’t believe it’s been that long.) This may be the first ever quilt where I used an entire fabric collection too – and it was a big one, so it makes the quilt extra fun and scrappy. The collection was called Mistletoe Manor by Three Sisters for Moda fabrics. This pattern also became the inspiration for another quilt in Fabulously Fast Quilts – only I turned the blocks on point (Quick Puss-in-the-Corner).

I love that this quilt has just got softer and more snuggly over the years.

And now I guess my tree obsession count for my quilts of Christmas present and future. I’m looking forward to having them become soft and snuggly and used too.

 Update: here’s the finished Holiday Patchwork Forest quilt!

Follow Amy Smart’s board Christmas Quilts on Pinterest.

I’ve been saving a bunch of favorite Christmas quilts on Pinterest if you’re looking for more inspiration for your own quilts of Christmas future.

Enjoy this last week of Christmas festivities and preparation! I *think* I’m almost ready here. A lot of running around on final errands before school got out Friday as well as Christmas sings and class parties. Hopefully this week is lots of wrapping up presents and loose ends (and quilt binding) and Christmas movies and enjoying family before it all goes too quickly. xo

Want some other Christmas quilt ideas? Check out some of my favorite Christmas quilt patterns and tutorials here.