I love Christmas quilts. I have several, but it never seems like enough. We love to snuggle up and watch Christmas movies or read Christmas stories, and we each must have our own Christmas quilt! One inevitably gets taken to someone's room, or left downstairs when we need it upstairs, so I have decided I need to make lots so we can always find one when we need it! When I saw this cute retro Santa Claus Lane fabric by Melissa Mortenson of Polka Dot Chair, I was immediately inspired to make my Christmas quilt for this year. I wanted something different than what I already had, and I wanted something that would be fairly quick and easy to make. I already have a Christmas quilt with a low volume background, one with a mint green background, and red generally scares me, so this time I decided to use pink! I used Riley Blake Swiss Dots in Baby Pink, and I just love how it turned out. I made a traditional Irish Chain pattern, and it was so easy! I strip-pieced my 9 patch blocks, so no sewing lots of little squares. And I love that there is no fabric waste with this pattern and no triangles to trim off. It went together so easily, and the borders really set off the pink. And, as a treat to myself, I decided to have my quilt quilted by my long-arm quilting friend, Heather from Material Girls Quilting. She always does such a great job and puts up with my quick turn around time and short deadlines! I used a white flannel backing fabric, and I'm so glad I did. It shows off that beautiful quilting (with pink thread!) perfectly! Along with the beautiful quilting, my favorite part of this quilt is probably the binding. I tried something new this time, and I love how it turned out! I used two fabrics to make a little 3-D flange and to give it some contrast, and I'm going to show you how to do it too! Just scroll to the bottom of this post for instructions! I also made a matching pillow, using my Cathedral Window Pillow Pattern, which I hope to have ready soon. I love how this pattern can show off the cutest fussy cuts. And let's face it, this Santa fabric was made for fussy cutting! Flanged Binding Instructions You will need 2 different fabrics. Cut the main binding print into 1.5" x WOF strips, and the contrasting flange fabric into 2" x WOF strips. Sew the two strips together and press toward the 1.5" strip. Sew all of your WOF strips together, then fold binding strip in half, wrong sides together, and press. Sew the binding to the BACK of your quilt. Fold over, clip in place, then machine stitch in the ditch on the top side of the binding. So easy, but what an impact it makes! I can't wait to snuggle up with my new Christmas quilt and pillow this winter! In fact I may not wait. I feel a Christmas in July movie marathon coming on... Happy Sewing! Stephanie