Christmas String Spiderweb

My Christmas String Spiderweb is complete! I used this tutorial to create the paper template. I used a variety of scraps of Christmas materials that I have accumulated over the years to make the strings. I cut them in strips measuring 1”, 1 ¼”, 1 ½”, 1 ¾”, 2”, 2 ¼” and 2 ½” wide. I challenged myself while sewing to use the smallest piece possible for each string to keep myself interested! I pretty much depleted my collection of Christmas material. I also used scraps of about 5 different ivory materials including a fine wale corduroy for the center star shapes. I used the paper piecing method described in the tutorial, as I did one time before. This time, instead of removing the paper once each triangular section was complete, I assembled the entire quilt top with the paper in place. It really helped to prevent stretching at the tips and the bumps in the middle of the spiderwebs. It was, of course, really tedious to then get the paper off. I dipped my finger in water and ran it over each seam first and that made it easier and put less stress on the stitches.

The backing and binding I bought when the material was on sale just after Christmas this past year. The backing is by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics and the binging is Grandma’s Gingerbread by Dianna Marcum. I really love the traditional look of these materials. I wasn’t going for trendy or modern with this quilt but just traditional Christmas; something I would like for years and want to drag out each Christmas.
The finished quilt measures about 43 ½” square (before washing).
I used my new Janome Memory Craft 6600 to quilt for the first time here (besides potholders). I am really thrilled with the AcuFeed. I can’t say it enough. It quilted so nicely and quietly and went right through thick seams with no trouble. I didn’t notice any change whatsoever when stitching into the corduroy even. The thread cutter was handy once again but proved that I am a very impatient person. Apparently, it doesn’t cut fast enough for me. I push the button and lift the presser foot before it cuts. Then I get a message on the display screen telling me to put the presser foot back down and press the button again.

My quilting design was inspired by these potholders from Potholder Pass Round 1. I was waffling between this design and other possibilities and asked Ariane’s direct opinion while chatting with her over email and she was kind enough to push me in this direction. I am happy with the decision. I started quilting 1/4” from the seam and then every ½”.
Now it is time to start working on some more seasonally appropriate things and my coin mini quilt for an April swap!