Merry Gift Christmas {Quilted Pillows}

"Gifts of time and love are surely the best ingredients of a truly Merry Christmas!"

It seems to be my luck that I can’t seem to find time to work on Christmas projects for our home in time for the big day.  This year, I finally had all my Christmas "to-dos" complete a few days beforehand.  I thought I had a reasonable amount of time to at least finish some pillows for our family room chairs, but our guests arrived while I was still doing the matchstick quilting.

Since I was busy entertaining during their visit, I wasn’t able to see the confines of my studio until Saturday...and finished these pillows right before the New Year.  I don't want to sound like I'm upset.  The gift of time with family is worth more than two cute Christmas pillows on my chair!

I will confess that this pattern is from a book, but I managed to work out the math by looking at others completed blocks, and I was able to adjust it for my own use.  Matchstick quilting is my favorite for where these pillows live for vacuuming/cleaning reasons.  I stuck to a white, green, and red thread.

I used a fun and festive red gingham for the hidden zipper backings.

 I finished the bindings with a red and white stripe.

Quilt Stats:
Measures: 14x26"
Pattern: Adaptation of Merry Gift Pattern
Fabrics: Joanns red dot, red gingham, red stripe and green fat eight bundle
Quilted: Matchstick quilting in Gutermann Red, Green, and White on Babylock Symphony

I’m hoping that I can start earlier this year on Christmas projects for our family this year...but am content to pack these away with the other quilts until next year.