Several years ago I made a non-traditional Christmas quilt for my sister.  She lives in Florida and regionally, the colors and decor are much brighter and more “beachy” than here in the Midwest.

I used a pattern from an Eleanor Burns book, Christmas at Bear’s Paw Ranch , and as you can see, the non-traditional Christmas colors look perfect against a “Florida Pink” wall.  She has this hanging up throughout the year and of course I stopped to admire my work and reflect on lessons learned.

This quilt was my first attempt at using large scale prints AND of course I didn’t think about matching large prints when I pieced the outer border together.  The prints didn’t match AT ALL and looked wonky-goofy.  I ripped off the outer borders and pieced them together again in a rough attempt at matching.

The final version is lovely and the border mistakes are lost in the overall quilt.   Some of the fabrics have sparkles and who can resist enjoying such a beauty 365 days a year?

Eleanor’s patterns are great for quilters of all skill levels.  Do you have a favorite “Eleanor Pattern”?  Let us know!