I've Waited SO Long to Show This!

In January I received a brown bag with a yard of fabric in it.

Batik fabric.

Beautiful Batik fabric.

My job - to make a quilt top using this fabric and have it completed by December.  Then I would give away the quilt top to whoever put it in the brown bag.

This is the fabric I was given.

Didn't know whose fabric it is.
Didn't know what they like
or what they don't like.

So I made something
that I would like.
And finished it in the summer.

Kept it quiet all of August.
September.
October.
November.


And then the trees were such a pretty color that I knew it was the time to take pictures of the quilt top.

I had two charm packs of batiks - they were the perfect combination of colors and textures.  

And, somehow, they were the perfect number of charms to use this pattern.

The pattern is called "Smitten" by Rachel Griffith.  

You can see it here.
(Her colors were for a baby quilt)
(I also saw an awesome rainbow rendition of the quilt here)

But the obvious color scheme for mine focused on the lovely Autumn Batik.

Here are some of my favorite blocks in this quilt:

  

I had so much fun making this quilt - and was so excited to give it away.
Two of my children could not believe I would give it away. . . they really liked it.



Merry Christmas to my dear friend.  I'm so glad you like your quilt top!

CathyH

Christmas Exchange - The 2012 "Reveal"

Our "Seams Like Sisters" Quilting Bee holds a special event each year - which we unveil in December.

For 2012 our special event involved a yard of fabric placed in a brown sack.  We shuffled the sacks around and took one home.  Using that yard of fabric we were supposed to make a quilt top.  At the 2012 Christmas party the yard of fabric (and it's companion quilt top) would be returned to the proper owner.

Some of us had trouble remember what fabric was put in the sack last January!!

But, in the end, each of the Sewing Sisters ended up with a quilt top.  Here is a quick glance of the quilt tops  - those with pictures!

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

I think there may have been more quilt tops - but these are the pictures I have. 

What  an amazing story of creativity!!  Great job, my Sisters!

I will show the quilt top I made in a post tomorrow.  The leaves on my crape myrtle turned the most amazing color one day (and dropped all the leaves the next day!) and provided the best opportunity to photograph the quilt I made.  Check back tomorrow!

CathyH

Christmas Exchange

For the last two years, our "Seams Like Sisters" Quilting Bee holds a special event each year - which we unveil in December.  You may remember that, for Christmas 2011, we each made blocks for our Sisters in the color(s) they desired. This resulted in a number of quilts that were unveiled THIS Christmas.

You can see last year's reveal on this blogpost.

Here are a few samples of the blocks put into quilts, as some of our Sisters brought these to the 2012 Christmas party.

Christmas Colors:

Specific Block in Specific Colors:

Green Blocks - made into Houses around the Church!

Snowmen:

And, you will probably remember my Red and White Quilt.

I love my Sisters.

CathyH

Satisfied with Progress

(Sigh)
Finish is a relative term - I have decided to be satisfied with PROGRESS.  Little steps towards Finishing will just make me happy.

I finished three more paper pieced people for my 1999 (or earlier) sampler quilt.
This is a 12" block.

And I started sewing the I Spy hexagons together with the yellow equilateral triangles.

And - Christmas is coming!!

We had a Ladies' Christmas Tea at church last night.

I decorated one of the tables with our Peanuts 

(Charlie Brown, Snoopy & Company) decorations.

It just makes me smile.

I love it when Linus says - 

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

That's what Christmas is all about.
CathyH