Christmas Joy Quilt - using the Gayle Loraine collection

Written by Brittany Lloyd

I am so excited to share my Christmas Joy quilt using Elizabeth Chappell's very first fabric collection with Art Gallery Fabrics! The Gayle Loraine fabric collection was inspired by and named after her late mother, and it was such an honor to be a part of the LookBook.

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When Elizabeth asked if I would like to make a quilt with her fabrics, the answer was immediately yes! I mean, I had my eyes on them since the second Art Gallery started sharing little teasers. I created three different mock-ups and ultimately decided to create Christmas Joy, but here's what Nightingale (with White Linen as the Background) and Celtic Crossing (using Northern Waters as the Background) look like with these fabrics. It's a close call, right??

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It's hard to believe that Christmas Joy is my SECOND ever quilt pattern. I've since revamped it a few times, which includes instructions for how to use fat quarters and even do a mix and match situation like I created here. You might recall Christmas Joy is a two-color quilt, intended to be a classic vintage-inspired Christmas quilt....but it REALLY is so versatile for any occasion!

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Christmas Joy includes five sizes: Wall Hanging (31" x 31"), Throw (54" x 71") Twin (71” x 88”), Full/Queen (88” x 105”), and King (105” x 105”). Since this pattern is block-based, you can easily add or subtract blocks to customize the size. I decided to create the Throw size, but omit the sashing/cornerstones between the blocks; which made the finished quilt 42" x 56". It could still work as a small throw/ lap size quilt in my opinion, but really, I think it's the perfect toddler-size quilt. Since this quilt uses less Background fabric than what the pattern calls for, you only need 2 yards...which I used AGF Snow.

We have kits (12 FQs + 2 yards Snow) in our shop for this exact quilt!

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I remember the Lookbook deadline being around the holidays and I was feeling a little bit stressed about getting it done in time. Elizabeth was kind enough to tell me about Sandy of Thai Charm, who does sample sewing. It was the perfect fit! Sandy not only pieced an incredibly accurate and precise quilt top, but she also longarm quilted AND hand-stitched the binding as well. Beautiful work, Sandy!!

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The quilting pantograph is called Daisy Daze by Karlee Porter. I love the retro feel that it has...and the quilting density is perfect! Keep an eye out in the next week or two for another quilt that I made that uses a similar pantograph. ;)

For the binding, we used Memory Lane, a really pretty subtle stripe. Even though the quilt is smaller, I would still estimate that you need 1/2 yard of fabric for the binding...just to be safe.

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The backing is called Gentle Nostalgia, and it's probably one of my favorite prints from the collection. Mostly because I love the shade of orange/light brown, and also the little flowers are just the sweetest.