New pattern: Frosty Forest

Last year as I was taking down my Christmas decorations after the holidays, it occurred to me that I have a lot of Christmas quilts but not many winter quilts. The winter season is LONG in Minnesota, with snow and bitter cold lasting well into March and sometimes even April. So, I began scheming and sketching some pattern ideas for a seasonal quilt that would bring post-holiday cheer to my home, and maybe yours as well.  The result is my newest pattern, Frosty Forest!

Frosty Forest is a throw quilt pattern that finishes at 68” x 68” and is fat quarter friendly! The trees are constructed using a modified flying geese method which is simple to construct and has the added benefit of “extra air space” to the left and the right of each unit.  This creates a nice visual effect.  It is also handy when you are sewing the tree blocks together, as you won’t have to match points from tree to tree.

My sample features a lovely green and blue range, but you could easily change this up to match your decorating style.  Maybe you’d prefer all green and white trees, or a farmhouse combination of greens, grays and blacks. Another option would be neutrals quilt! Imagine how pretty this would be as a forest of low volume trees!

I had a great time collecting fat quarters for my quilt.  The green fat quarters came from various collections, including Red Barn Christmas, On Dasher and Merry Starts Here (all from Sweetwater). The blue fat quarters came from various collections, including Snowman Gatherings IV (Primitive Gatherings), Woodland Winter (Deb Strain), and On Dasher and Sweet Tea (Sweetwater). I think the key is to select prints that are on the subtle side and not too busy, so that the overall effect is calming.

The neutral fabrics in this quilt are also lovely! The white background and outer border are a tone-on-tone snowflake print from Woodland Winter (Deb Strain). The tan inner border and sashing fabric is Essex yarn dyed linen in the color flax (Robert Kaufman), which adds a nice bit of texture. For the binding, I chose one of the softest blue plaids from Snowman Gatherings IV (Primitive Gatherings).

My friend and machine quilting guru, Katy at Woods Edge Quilting, used an edge-to-edge panto called Swirly Snowflakes.  I’ve used it before and I absolutely love it. This may be my favorite use of this panto to date. I think it was made for this Frosty Forest!

I had so much fun setting up my little Christmas tree and snowshoes and taking photographs of Frosty Forest; I can’t wait to decorate with this quilt this upcoming winter. I hope you love the pattern as much as I do! Frosty Forest is available in PDF format on my Etsy shop.

While you are enjoying the remaining weeks of summer and looking ahead to autumn, don’t forget to also plan your winter sewing projects. Now is the time, quilting friends! Thanks for stopping by!

~Taunja

FROSTY FOREST MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Greens:  7 fat quarters
Blues:  7 fat quarters
Brown (tree trunks):  1/6 yard
White (blocks):  2 1/2 yards
Tan (inner border/sashing) :  1 yard
White (outer border):  1 yard
Backing:  4 1/2 yards
Binding:  3/4 yard