5th Dec 2025
Pixelated Santa Quilt in Two Weeks!
Can you make a large quilt in just two weeks? Yes! Especially when you start with Quiltsmart printed interfacing!
I read in our local Bend, OR Arts & Entertainment newspaper about a Santa art contest. Right away, I wanted to make a Santa quilt to enter.
I used the PixelQuilt program to take one of my favorite photos of Santa with my children when they were young. (They are all grown-up adults, now!). I cropped the photo to focus on Santa. Pixelquilt turns photos into pixelated quilt patterns. $15 and a few minutes later, I had a complete printable pattern, including exactly the fabrics I needed to create the design.
Quiltsmart PiX Smart Grid makes it easy to turn pixel quilts to life. The grid makes it easy to lay out the fabric squares, stay together while you are working on your quilt, and it is lovely to sew.
To keep me accountable, I posted (almost daily) to social media so everyone could track my progress.
I used 14 panels of the Quiltsmart PiX Smart Grid 1.25" square. Each panel made 6 blocks, for a total of 81 blocks.
Here I am getting organized for all of the panels that need to be sewn.
Pressing the seams! So easy!
This is really coming along!
Three rows are sewn together in one direction. Six more to go! There are a total of 9 rows for this quilt.
I was sewing so fast that I put on my headphones to make it quieter!
It's finally a weekend, and I'm able to sew all day and get a lot done! No makeup, sweatshirt, watching shows, and sewing rows all day long!
A new color! Lots of reds, whites, and pinks.
Weekends are made for sewing, and I was on a marathon to get this quilt done - only 10 more days until the image is due for the contest!
TIP: Pin your pressing sheet to your wool mat. Just flip it open, add your interfacing with fabric, flip, and press! It doesn't slide off to the floor each time you use it!
TIP: If there is a place that needs four of the same color, fill it in with a 2-1/2 inch square. All little squares are 1-1/4 inch.
Row 7!
TIP: On the paper pattern, circle the block you are working on, and cross it off when you are done.
Now I have my 27 sections in several stages. 18 are sewn in one direction, 9 need squares fused.
I'm going to switch out 3 colors as I thought the fabrics I purchased were the wrong shades. Back to the fabric store tomorrow!
As much as I had an issue with some colors, I ended up using all the original colors and trusted the printed pattern.
TIP: Keep your squares in marked containers. (My favorites are the ones that come with free ice cream! I buy the containers, and I get ice cream for free!)
Another TIP: Make sure that similar colors don't both fall to the floor at the same time. :)
If I don't finish this, maybe it could be a scarf??
Bottom row is DONE! (See how well the corners match when using PiX Smart Grid?)
As I work on this, I'm finding the need to become increasingly more organized.
The little 1.25-inch GoCut die, which was made specifically for these small projects, cuts 54 squares in a few seconds!
Here is the work in progress! Santa is coming together!
I've been working on this nonstop for over a week. Something I'm trying that's easier on my brain is copying numbers to the grid one block at a time. This makes it easier to place the right fabric in the right place.
And, it's a wee bit faster if you use rubber stamps! Plus, it looks nicer, too. (Although no one will see it!)
I wouldn't write on very light fabric because it could show through. You could double the squares up to help block the writing. The nice part about this is that you could mark all of your squares before you iron them.
Ha - where did that square go??? Missing something? Check the floor and inside your shoe!
See all of the pins? I'm not happy with one of the colors and am auditioning others to take its place.
Other than that, it is definitely coming together!
There is a lot of talk about clipping the seams when you do a pixel quilt.
No, I don't always clip them. I do believe that the smaller the square, the more helpful to clip them.
It may take more time to clip them and press them in one direction, but then they easily fall to one side, making the finishing easier (and prettier).
Bennie came up to me and "asked" to get up with me. He's been lying here for about 30 minutes. I think he knows I need to keep moving forward!
I'm sewing the rows together! 9 of them! I'm on the third row - won't take long now!
Bennie hasn't moved! On to the last seam and then to quilting!
And, Bennie's still not done with his nap!
On to the last seam, and then quilting!
Santa quilt top is finished! Now to get it quilted in record time.
You learn a lot when you do a big project. Like maybe I should have contacted a longarmer!
The big day is here! I need to submit my photo. Quilt is done!
And, here is the Santa that inspired this quilt design:
Here is my submission:
Name: Santa at the Mall
Size: 54" square
"Santa at the Mall" is based on a photograph I took more than 25 years ago of the Santa my children visited each Christmas season. The piece merges modern quilting and digital techniques with our family tradition—the annual visit to the mall to see Santa. I enhanced Santa’s beard and added the hat he never wore, capturing both the myth and the man.
From a distance, the quilt reveals a classic, cheerful Santa—our sweet Santa—and reads like a portrait. Up close, its 5,184 fabric pieces dissolve into ¾-inch finished squares, a complex mix of color, time, and patience. Despite its intricacy, I enjoyed the process as I stitched the 81 sections, each made up of 64 fabric squares. Using the modern technique of a printed 1.25" grid made it accurate, easy, and relaxing!
This piece is a tribute to all the Santas who don warm suits and scratchy faux beards, yet still smile their way through children tugging on those beards and climbing onto their laps—their big hearts making childhood magic feel real again.
Mattie Rhoades is a business owner in Bend, Oregon, and the founder of Quiltsmart, Inc., a screen-printing company where traditional craft meets modern technique. When not sewing, she enjoys biking, hiking, and camping.
And - the printed article!
Follow along Mattie's journey in making a pixelated Santa quilt in two weeks!