another winter quilt

For a couple of years now, I've wanted to make a throw quilt that could be pulled out just after Thanksgiving and could be used through the winter. In my mind, the fabrics would be decidedly wintery, but not overly Christmasy to allow for leaving it out through January and February without looking like we were neglecting to put away Christmas decorations. Last winter I decided that if this quilt was going to materialize, I couldn't wait until winter and then wish once again that I had time for such frivolity. October through January tend to be completely filled with Christmas and birthday crafting, then in February I generally take a break to make something for myself. At the beginning of summer, I found myself thinking about that winter quilt and perused etsy.com and fatquartershop.com until I found fabrics that fit the bill.

Except I found 2 sets of lovely fabrics that fit the bill. (Isn't that always how it works?!) The first set of fabrics (Cherry Christmas by Aneela Hoey for Moda) was on sale because it was a line from a previous year. I found a stack of fat quarters and made a quilt right away. The second line of fabric (Winter's Lane by Kate & Birdie Paper Company for Moda) didn't officially come out until mid-summer which gave me time to complete the first quilt before starting the second. (Actually, the purchase of Cherry Christmas fabric for the first quilt might have just been an impulse of impatience at having to wait for the Winter's Lane fabric, but I'll never tell...)

The Winter's Lane fabric line is really my favorite. The colors and prints are just so cold and wintery-looking to me. I intended to use the same gray flannel sheet backing as I used for the Cherry Christmas quilt, since I had an extra sheet leftover, but when the Winter's Lane fabric came, the gray prints had much more brown in them than you could see online.

I found a quilt-backing red flannel from fabric.com, that was on sale, no less. I think it's a better trim for the binding than the gray would have been anyway.

Now these 2 quilts just sit on our red sofa, waiting for cooler weather. (I couldn't bear to store them away until winter. Neither could the kids.) One full of whimsy and cheer of winter festivities, the other reflecting the cold beauty of winter nature. I know we'll thoroughly enjoy these quilts in winters to come. (And the kids are already laying claims to the one they want to use. Maybe 2 more quilts will be a project for another summer.)