Quilt Gallery's 4th Anniversary Celebration

I hope you will join in the fun give aways here at Michele's (a.k.a. mishka) Quilt Gallery in celebration of 4 wonderful years. Over 200 bloggers from 20 countries are participating and a full list will be found on the site by midnight.

This is my give away. I know everyone likes to win fabric, but I am sure there will be plenty of that offered. So I decided for this special occassion to offer a piece that is dear to me. It's Christmas, and one gives from the heart. This is a self-design and one of a kind wallhanging that started me into quilting. Always an avid cross stitcher, I began experimenting with fabric framing my pieces - adding my signature metalic and silk threads, and beading. This was designed for entry into the 2008 Black Threads International Celebration of the African Woman Quilt Show. "Jubilation" has traveled and now home - looking for a new home.

This is a close up of the center. Over 200 color floss were used from 4 different companies as well as some hand dyed. Sulky metalic and silk thread were used in the cross stitch as well as to quilt - all quilting is done by hand. There is beading in the cross stitch center as well as thru the fabric framing. It is 29" wide by 32" in length. Hanging sleeve and labeled - another label will be attached with dedication to winner. This has been washed and care instructions will be given. You do not have to be a follower, but certainly welcomed. I will ship international and winner will be chosen at midnight, December 17th with name announced on the 18th - all efforts will be made to contact winner so be sure your e-mail information is available.

Enjoy the Blog Hop Party,
Sewingly Yours,
Sharon

O Christmas Tree

In 1846 Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were illustrated in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas Tree. Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and what was done at Court immediately became fashionable - not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. The English Christmas Tree had arrived! Decorations were still of a 'home-made' variety. Young Ladies spent hours at Christmas Crafts, quilling snowflakes and stars, sewing little pouches for secret gifts and paper baskets with sugared almonds in them. Small bead decorations, fine drawn out silver tinsel came from Germany together with beautiful Angels to sit at the top of the tree. Candles were often placed into wooden hoops for safety.

REMINDERS

Visit Darlene here for information on the Accuquilt 'That Holiday Spirit' blog hop. Dec 12-16

Darlene has, also, updated the information to prepare for the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge - along with a list of volunteer experts to help us out - you don't want to miss this if you have every wanted to learn FMQ. See the Dec. 7th post here.

Visit Michele here for details - as of today there are 226 blogs pre-registered from 20 countries. WOW - two blog hops the same week - so glad I am catching up with projects with 'Occupy'

Be sure to share you ME MINUTES over at Marcia's. Some great crafts, christmas gifts, recipes, and personal time things being shared there.

6" AUSTRALIAN BLOCK SWAP

These lovely spool blocks came from Lynette. They took time to arrive - due when we had our flood and then we had no post office or mail delivery, then she had some personal things. I told her not to worry, but here they are in all their glory and she included some of the scraps for me to use in my smaller spool blocks I am making to combine with this project. Thank you Lynette!

OCCUPY YOUR SEWING ROOM

My oldest son came to do laundry to I put him to work moving some of the heavier items for my 're-org' as well as winterize my front hall doorway. In the re-org I came across some 'blocks in progress' so did some finish up work on those. I probably will pass these on to Sarah for her ministry quilts - she and her girls do such a wonderful job and I love being a small part in it.

CLOSING THOUGHT

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
How lovely are your branches.
In summer sun and winter snow,
A dress of green you always show.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
With happiness we greet you
When decked with candles once a year,
You fill our hearts with yultide cheer.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
With happiness we greet you

- Traditional German Carol -

Sewingly Yours,
Sharon

Angels Heard on High

The Christmas Tree first came to England with the Georgian Kings who came from Germany. At this time also, German Merchants living in England decorated their homes with a Christmas Tree. The decorations were Tinsels, silver wire ornaments, candles and small beads. All these had been manufactured in Germany and East Europe since the 17th century. The custom was to have several small trees on tables, one for each member of the family, with that persons gifts stacked on the table under the tree. The early trees introduced into America by the Hessian soldiers were not recorded in any particular quantity. The Pennsylvanian German settlements had community trees as early as 1747.

Yes - I am still in that 'occupy' mode even though all that cleaning and organizing really whipped my behind. And everyone around me has or is coming down with the flu - taking lots of vitamin C and fluids.

I finished the Ruby Tote with Clover & Violet (will link up). Very different looking from theirs for sure. I opted not to add the side ties as will be using this for my quilt guild carry tote - lots of pockets inside to hold various items if needed for a class. The front pocket is a little bare - I have a flower pin with my name on it - that may go nicely there.

And this is the back. I went with a solid piece instead of the patchwork. This is just too pretty to cut up and I actually designed around this fabric. Some of these fabrics are from my stash and some are from items received in swaps/winnings. So it is a bit of a treasured piece for me. I love the earthy, country look to it - and these are my 'angels heard on high'.

More eye glass cases. I sent some on to the Senior Home and then made some for a local craft show - let me tell you, looking for a man's gift. This is it! I had men buying these for themselves. Even got a request for a case with a pocket in it to carry a pen, gas card, cash, etc... Used my tutorial found here.

And the next block for the Fat Quarter Stars Quilt Along. I almost forgot about this, but it worked up fast even with the hand stitching on the cathedrial window section. But the seams are a bit 'thick' and had to get my seamstress hammer out and whack those bad boys flat. I like the look of this block, but wouldn't want to do a whole quilt with them.

Are you getting a chance to occupy your sewing room? To clean, tidy, organize, stitch, fold some fabric, even to pet it and tell it is love?

CLOSING THOUGHT

As our community church has started to ring the bells in seasonal songs, I thought of this:

I heard the bells, on Christmas Day,
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

- By Henry Longfellow

Sewingly Yours,
Sharon

Deck the Halls Or Cleaning Them

In the mid 16th century, Christmas markets were set up in German towns, to provide everything from Christmas presents, food and more practical things such as a knife grinder to sharpen the knife to carve the Christmas Goose! A visitor to Strasbourg in 1601 recorded a tree decorated with "wafers and golden sugar-twists (Barleysugar) and paper flowers of all colours". Tinsel was invented in Germany around 1610. At that time real silver was used, and machines were invented which pulled the silver out into the wafer thin strips for tinsel. Silver was durable, but tarnished quickly, especially with candlelight. Attempts were made to use a mixture of lead and tin, but this was heavy and tended to break under its own weight so was not so practical. So silver was used for tinsel right up to the mid-20th century.

ORNAMENT SWAP

I joined in Tony's ornament exchange this year and this lovely ornament is from Sherry. Reminds me of the handmade Victorian pieces - and I love pearls and blue! No one better touch this!

This cute little snowman - with snow belly - is from a student in Mrs. Cook's 6th grade class. I haven't had a child's homemade ornament for many years so this is special.

This precious beauty if from Belinda. Just had to ask her how she made these. I've made the prairie point fabric balls, but this is so different - so delicate and sparkly.

And this multi-pocket cone is from Tonya herself - filled with so many little goodies from her family. I have a few more to arrive, but had to share these with you. And yes I have been scolded - need to get a little tree to put my treasures on - I think a live tree.

OCCUPY YOUR SEWING ROOM

It was a cleaning day in the sewing room - which is kind of my house now that I think about it. I am moving my sewing area, which of course then means you move a lot of other things. But if I want to be more organized for 2012, it must be done.

Of course that involved putting all those saved/printed/gathered/hunted for papers and patterns into a neater order rather than that 'pile'. Gosh, I was so naive when I started - printed everything!!! Now things are where they belong with a lot of throw out. Well, a lot of the paper is boxed to use (recycle) for paper piecing. I need to find a set of blinders to hang next to the computer - limit those projects! But I did prep some projects for a full day of sewing today.

CLOSING THOUGHT

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree.
Lush, green ambiance standing before me.
Mesmerized by childhood memories.
I smile and ponder of which I see.
- Melvina Germain

Sewingly Yours,
Sharon