There's always so much to do before Christmas but I'm still temped to add just one more project and come November I can't resist starting a new Christmas quilt. If you're just the same let's think about a quick, colourful one: Day Out.
Both PDF and Paper Day Out Patterns are £5 all this month. You can try out colour schemes with a free downloadable colouring sheet here and share your colour schemes - and fabric pulls - on Instagram using the hashtag #colouringquilts
Just changing the order of the pattern’s colour scheme gives the quilt an entirely different feel. Swapping the aqua with the neutral to make it the dominant background colour immediately makes it feel more wintery and would suit the softer colours of contemporary Christmas fabric, like Amy Sinibaldi's Little Town for Art Gallery Fabric.
Photo from Amy's blog
As the design was inspired by check shirts, I thought it would be fun to recolour it based on traditional tartans for the festive season. If you’re looking for inspiration The Scottish Register of Tartans has a wonderful data base and includes a brilliant colour-finder feature on it's search page. You really could waste hours (ask me how I know...)
Makower's Scandi range - in shades of grey and red - would lend itself to the elegant Balmoral tartan, which Prince Albert designed for his wife, Queen Victoria, thoughtful chap.
Makower also have a lovely printed Linen Texture (that is, cotton printed to look like linen, so no pesky fraying) which co-ordinates with Scandi and would provide the rich claret red.
Rothesay tartan pairs the traditional reds and greens of Christmas with a dash of white. Lots of festive fabrics have reds and greens, but Janet Clare's latest collection Wintertide has some lovely soft and faded shades which would work perfectly and wouldn’t have to be put away after Christmas. Just add a grey Linen Texture, oh and a roaring fire and a tot of Whiskey.
Photo from Janet's Instagram
Whatever you make for your 'clan' this Christmas, I hope you finish it in time to put it to good use in those wonderful days between Boxing Day and New Year, when time seems to stand still and we can put our feet up and live off leftovers. Just a few things to do first...
Nicola xx