Yuletide Mini Quilt + Your Free December 2016 Calendar

I love this time of the year. The shops are brimming with decorations and gifts, Santa is making appearances in shopping centres and Christmas Carols are playing over the loud speakers. You can almost feel that frantic rush of Christmas building and I love seeing the look of awe on children's faces as this season steamrolls into our lives. Its also time for my new Monthly Mini and this months quilt is sweet, simple, scrappy and sentimental. Introducing Yuletide:

Every year I want to buy one of those big, full, perfectly decorated with matching ornaments, Christmas trees that you see in the shops but our little old tree has a story and has been part of our festivities for 32 years. Our tree is indicative of the average family tree: an eclectic mix of handmade/store brought/ gifted decorations collected over time or made with love.

My inlaws didn't do the Christmas Tree thing when I first met them, and me being me just couldn't have that :) so Les and I brought a tree for our very first Christmas together and put it in his parents lounge room. It spent four Christmas's there and then came to our house where it has been part of every family Christmas since.

Its branches have hidden special secret presents, notes to Santa and the reindeer, snacks my kids didn't want to eat and decided to hide and the occasional cat looking for a good hiding place. Every year it seems lose a little fullness and I'm amazed it still holds the weight of all the decorations that we have collected but for the month of December, its the centrepiece of our living room and our festivities.

Yuletide is a paper pieced mini quilt and its a simple representation of the humble Christmas tree. Its a great use of scraps from your stash which I think adds to the charm of this mini quilt. I chose a lovely aqua and pink palette for my tree but it would look stunning in bold Christmas colours. It finishes at around 14" square so its also perfect for a cushion or table topper. I quilted my mini with a loopy stipple to give it that lovely texture and I finished it off a beautiful gold binding which really frames the tree.

The Yuletide PDF pattern comes complete with full step by step instructions and diagrams,  paper piecing templates and a colouring sheet to help you plan your colours/fabrics prior to starting your mini quilt. There are also optional instructions to add a hanging sleeve or corner hangers.
If you would like to make your own Yuletide mini quilt, from today until the end of December, PDF patterns are available at the introductory price of $4.95 (AU) in my Big Cartel shop, HERE.
Or if you prefer an instant download, PDF patterns are also available in my Etsy shop, HERE.
I also have your free December 2016 Calendar, featuring the gorgeous Yuletide

You can download and print your free calendar HERE.
When our tree goes up on Thursday, I wont be thinking of those decorator style trees I'm tempted to buy, I will be remembering Christmas's past and all the wonderful years we have spent making irreplaceable memories around our sweet, simple, scrappy and sentimental tree.
Happy sewing :)