Lessons From Mama

My local quilt shop started a new Block of the Month last Saturday. For the past 2 years, the shop has had the Thimbleberries Big Quilt Block of the Month program. This year, the shop owner decided enough of the Thimbleberries BOM, and decided on "Lessons From Mama" by Atkinson Designs. I purchased the book, and then, each month, I will get a new kit for that month's block! I'm excited that I have already completed the first block before November ended!!! Perhaps I'm on to something!!

The First Fall of Snow

Woke up this morning to our first snowfall! Only received about 1-1/2", and it's a wet snow at that. This is the view from the front porch, looking northward. Sure does put some life into singing those fun Christmas-time songs!!

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
but the fire is so delightful.
And since we've no place to go,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

Mailman's Offering!

Look what the Mailman brought!! A box full of goodies that I won from Sweet Liberty's blog giveaway!! I still can't believe I actually won all of this...2 "Coming Home" charm packs, 2 patterns, a cute hot chocolate mug, some peppermint hot chocolate, and a box of candy!! Whoo-hoo!! Thank you so much, Jennifer!

(Sorry for the dark photo...again!!)

Birthday Surprises!

My birthday was Saturday, and I had a fun day! First, my son called earlier in the week and left a message on my voice mail wishing me an early "Happy Birthday", then my husband took the day off from work, and we spent the day delivering shoe boxes for Operation: Christmas Child, searching through antique shops, and enjoying an evening meal at a new restaurant. My sister sent me a fun quilty box full of the goodies in the picture...2 bundles of wool felt, thread, cupcake fabric, pattern book, and a fun tote bag(oops...the tote bag must have been camera shy!)! When we returned home, there was the sweetest message waiting for me on our answering machine...an adorable rendition of "Happy Birthday to you" sung by my 3 year old granddaughter! You can bet that message won't be erased! And to top it off, yesterday, Mom took me to lunch at another fun restaurant in an historic hotel and gave me money for fabric shopping! I am truly blessed!

Shoebox Time!

It's shoebox time! Every year, for the past 15-16 years, my family has filled shoebox gifts for Operation: Christmas Child. And each year, we try to fill at least one more box than the previous year. Last year we filled 62 boxes...we are hoping for near 70 this time around! This is so much fun, and something that all ages can participate in. My family collects items for the boxes all year long (thereby making it much easier to fill 60+ boxes), taking advantage of sales and other bargains. Then, in early to mid November, we gather all of the stuff we have collected, and start filling boxes.

Mom and I filled about 30 boxes today...we hope to have the rest finished by tomorrow.

It's not too late for you to fill a shoebox! The nationwide collection drive runs through November 24. Check out Samaritan's Purse's website for a drop-off location near you!

Helping Others

In addition to finishing up on some of my UFO's, I've been working on a few other projects for some good causes! The 30's reproduction quilt is for a friend that was just diagnosed with cancer. Our Tuesday quilting group wanted to wrap her in a great big hug, so we each made a block or two and put them together into a comfy quilt. A friend will be quilting it, and it should be around her shoulders soon!

The second quilt was made for a friend's Dad, who was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. Again, our Tuesday quilting group decide to make a cozy quilt to comfort Dad while he lives out his last days, and to let our friend know that we were thinking about her and praying for her. The quilt is soooo much more prettier in person! It was made from fall colored flannels, and makes you just want to cuddle up with it! Another friend from the group quilted it and did an outstanding job...unfortunately, you cannot see it from the photo.

Lastly, the third photo is a quilt I made for our local chapter of Project Linus. The fabric came from an online ABC Swap. Each person picks a letter of the alphabet, chooses a fabric to represent that letter, and then cuts out 27 ten inch squares. In turn, each participant will receive 26 alphabetical squares, with the 27th set going to charity. The hostess picked Project Linus, and this is what I chose for the quilt top.

Pinwheels on Parade

I finished another UFO today!! Hooray!! The 10" red and white pinwheel blocks were from an online swap several years ago. I needed to make a few more to make this quilt the size I wanted. I picked up the pretty red border fabric on Friday at my new local quilt shop, Stitch-n-Tyme , and put it on this morning! The photo is dark, something I have trouble with when taking photos in the house, but the reds are so pretty! Did I mention that red is my favorite color? Can't wait to get this one quilted! I've been working on several other UFO's, so maybe I will get them completed, and photos posted here later!

Side Tracked!

Yep!!! Instead of finishing some of the projects I've already started, I just had to make something new!! This was a pattern that I bought at the AQS show last month in Des Moines. It's called "Jolene Star" by Laundry Basket Quilts. It was fun to do, although a little bit of a learning curve for me! This pattern came with a set of 3 acrylic templates, so cutting was a bit slow...and I had to cut off a gazillion little "bunny ears"! The table topper measures 24" x 28". Quilting it via the sewing machine is next.