Santa Baby and NTT

...or is it Santa's Belly?  Welcome to the final NTT for 2018 friends!  Pillows are such a fun way to get some instant quilty gratification, and at this time of year we all need a little of that.  I love that this pillow is clearly Santa without being a picture of him.  It is just a little different, and that makes it really neat.

I realized the other day that of all of the Christmas pillows I've ever made I've never kept one for myself, and I decided that it was time for that trend to end.  I had so much fun with this whimsical Santa Belly pillow, and it went together pretty quickly.

The color variation in the red scrappy improv adds lots of depth to Santa's suit and I love the metallic gold belt buckle, but my favorite part might be how the different quilting motifs work together to bring each part to life.  The swirls in the white give the illusion of fur, and the straight lines and pebbling in the belt add so much dimension.

On the back of the pillow, I opted for this multicolored polkadot, and I think it fits the fun and whimsical vibe nicely.  I didn't want to frame this pillow with a binding, so I just turned it right side out to keep it simple.

This finished pillow is 18 inches square, and I put together a little graphic for you in case you'd like to whip one up for yourself!  The measurements listed are finished sizes, so don't forget to add your seam allowances.  I sewed the red sections of my pillow using the improv methods from my book Stash Statement, and it's so much easier than you might think!  You can get your signed copy in my Etsy shop HERE, or on Amazon, Connecting Threads, or even at your local quilt shop.

Before we party, let's check out some of the highlights from last week.  I love this Jumping Jacks quilt by  Tanya Quilts in CO-

This scrappy string quilt by Elana at That Fabric Feeling is so cute!

Sue at Sevenoaks Street Quilts linked up this pretty Kiss Cross quilt-

and this Foxy quilt by Kris at Sew Sunshine is absolutely adorable.

Y'all rock!  2018 is really going out with a bang!  Remember, NTT will be taking a vacation next week, but we will party again in the new year on January 2nd.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you!

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