12 Days of Christmas in July - Snow Friends

Remember all those snowmen I was making back in May? Well, today is my day for the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop, so I finally get to share them with you. First, though, I want to say a huge thank you to Sarah for all her work organizing this blog hop! Also, I'm sharing today with Marsha at Quilter in Motion, so be sure to pop over to see what she has to show you :)

And now, meet my Snow Friends!

This quilt came about because I wanted to re-do the first pattern I ever offered for sale. Portrait of a Snowman was my design for one 12" block and I was so excited when I first offered it for sale.

Almost immediately after posting it for sale, though, I realized it could have been constructed differently, which would have eliminated the seams across his face. It has kind of nagged at me ever since, but I never really made time for it until Sarah, at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, asked if anyone would be interested in a Christmas in July blog hop. I signed up right away, figuring it would be the perfect opportunity to get this pattern redone.

And it was! This is my new version of that first snowman. I like him so much better without those seams in his face. I like the shape of his hat better too.

Since I was re-doing the pattern, I also wanted to make it into a full quilt, rather than just a single block, so that meant my first snowman needed some friends. My inspiration for the layout was those picture collage frames you can buy and so I made the snowmen (and women) blocks in a couple of different sizes. There are 12" x 12" blocks, 6" x 6" blocks and a couple that are odd sizes, like 8" x 12".

I had a lot of fun drawing the different snow people and then making all the blocks!

I love that their character seemed to come alive once I embroidered the mouths on!

My plan had been to finish my quilt, finish the pattern and get it to the two people who generously offered to test it for me, all in time to have the pattern available to launch today. Well. That didn't happen. Why is it things always take longer than I think they will? The pattern is with the testers (finally!), so it will be available shortly after I hear back from them. 

The quilt finishes at 48" x 48." When I finally got it all put together, I was surprised by how big it was, which really amused me because it was exactly the size I designed it to be! Not only that, but I've made 48" square quilts before and somehow they always seem bigger than I was expecting. I'm not sure why I can't seem to visualize that size quilt! Thankfully, it still fits on the wall in our entryway where I plan to hang it come Christmas time :)

You may have noticed that my quilt is still only a quilt top, not actually a finished quilt. That's partly because I haven't figured out how I want to quilt it yet! The faces are big enough that they need some quilting, but I can't decide what. I'd appreciate any suggestions you have :)

There are lots of other great Christmas-related projects being shared during this blog hop, so be sure to check them all out. Plus, Sarah is hosting a quilt-a-long during the hop, posting a new set of instructions each day (about an hour's worth of work for each day, I believe). Here's the full schedule:

July 14th:     Sharon Vrooman @ Vrooman’s Quilts

                    Carole Carter @ From My Caroline Home

July 15th:    Yanicka Hachez @ Finding Myself As An Artist

                   Chris Dodsley @ made by ChrissieD

July 16th:     Marsha Hodgkins @ Quilter in Motion

                    Leanne Parsons  @ Devoted Quilter

July 17th:     Tonia Conner @ All Thingz Sewn

                    Selina @ Selina Quilts

July 18th:     Lara Buccella @ Buzzin Bumble

                    Soma Acharya @ Whims and Fancies

July 19th:     Joanne Harris@ Quilts by Joanne

                    Suzy Webster @ Adventurous Applique and Quilting

July 20th:     Vicki in MN @ Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

                    Jennifer Fulton @ The Inquiring Quilter

July 21st:     Michele Kuhns @ Crayon Box Quilt Studio

                    Jan Ochterbeck @ The Colorful Fabriholic

July 22nd:     Alla Blanca @ Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes.

                     Zenia Rene @ A Quilted Passion

July 23rd:     Joanne Hubbard @ Everyone Deserves a Quilt

                    Paige Alexander @ Quilted Blooms

July 24th:     Carolyn Jones @ …by CJ

                    Tisha Nagel @ Quilty Therapy

July 25th:     Susan Arnold @ Quilt Fabrication

                    Beth Sellers @ Cooking Up Quilts

                    Linda Pearl @ One Quilting Circle

Merry Christmas, and thanks for stopping by!