Finishing the Christmas Trees…

I was determined to have these trees finished in time to decorate for Christmas and it happened….

I am super pleased with how they look!!

But, the last time you saw them they were in lots of pieces so let’s talk about how they got from there to here….

I finished the paper piecing and was ready to add the borders. I trimmed down the entire tree leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance around the pattern lines. Then, I removed the paper just along the edges….

That way the edges were free of paper but the rest of the piece stayed stabilized.

After adding the borders it was time to remove the rest of the paper and I found a new tool while doing it. I normally used a seam ripper to help get under the paper…..

…but was always concerned that I would accidentally clip the threads or, even worse, cut a hole in the fabric!!

Then I remembered my “Purple Thing”!! It was perfect for this task…..

Another reason why I am not fond of paper piecing….

Now it was time to think about quilting. I tried a few designs on paper…..

…but decided that I wanted to see it in the real size.

You may be tired of videos but I wanted to share one more that shows how I planned the quilting and then how easy it was to actually perform the design…..

I kept the rest of the quilting really simple and am especially happy with the striped binding…..

Another project finished…….