Snowbird Snowman

As we were putting away Christmas decorations, my wife remarked that we did not have a suitable wall hanging for January (we have one for just about any other season).  She likes snowmen, so I found this pattern from Laundry Basket Quilts.  I adapted the pattern by squaring the background and adding a border of 2-inch squares.

I used a couple of charm packs from the Snowbird collection (one prints and one batiks), and a little bit of yardage.  I liked this fabric from the time it was released, and this seemed a suitable project for it.

Is it possible to strip piece with charm squares?  I cut a bunch of squares in half, then stitched groups of 8 rectangles together to form six 5" x 16.5" strips.  I cut these in half lengthwise, then stitched some in a loop to rotate them scrappy-trip style.  With the addition of a few squares for the corners, I used these to make the borders, going for a random placement.

I couldn't quilt any two snowflakes alike.  I think they might have shown up better if I had used a tighter and more regular background quilting design.

I used a trapunto technique to add a second layer of batting under the snowman.  This involved using water-soluble thread, so I knew I would need to wash this piece.  I didn't really want to quilt the snowman pieces, but I was afraid his body would puff up too much after washing.  A friend suggested quilting along the snowflake designs in the batik fabric.

I used a polka dot fabric for the binding.  I didn't want the dots to line up too much, which ruled out straight cuts.  A true bias-cut binding would have had the dots lined up too, so I cut it at just a slight angle.

I finished this in time to surprise my wife for Valentines Day; it is hanging on our wall now, although I'm ready for warmer weather to arrive.

I'm linking up with crazy mom quilts for Finish It Up Friday.