Winner of Blog Hop, Next Big Event, and Some Pics

First, thanks all for coming to the party, the Quilting Gallery 4th Birthday Party blog hop! I had fun reading everyone's comments and can pretty much guarantee you that it'll end up as a podcast episode coming up soon. I'm also so thrilled to announce that, with thanks to the random number generator at random.org, SassyCoconut won the drawing! Woohoo! I've picked up from reading SassyCoconut's blog that she's a young, new quilter. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to help her along in her quiltmaking journey just a little bit more. Congrats, SC, and thanks again to everyone else!

Now, the next big event... #ABFSI (Anti-Black Friday Sew-In) was so popular--and so many people wanted to be sure we did it again next year, that I decided, why wait? Several other podcasters and bloggers have decided to join in the fun with me this time and we're hosting the Boxing Day Sew-In (#BDSI) on December 26th. Pam ("Hip to Be a Square" podcast), Sandi ("Quilt Cabana Corner" podcast and pattern designer), Jaye (www.artquiltmaker.com), and Tanesha ("Crafty Garden Mom" podcast) are all joining me in offering up great give-aways and fun ideas for the day, so plans are in the works. Eschew the crowds at the shopping centers (isn't "eschew" just a great word?) and stay at home in your jammies and sew! We'll have lots of giveaways and a variety of ways to win, so mark the date on your calendar and watch here for more details as we figure them out. We'll find a way for you to participate whether you're on Twitter, Facebook, or none of the above...so for now, just make your plans to stay home, pick out your fave pair of jammies, and get ready for a relaxing day of fun and quiltmaking!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.... During the blog hop week, I managed to get some stuff done. Here's a picture of my son's Christmas gift...he's a student at University of Buffalo. I downloaded their logo, created it in applique, then echo-quilted around it (not worrying, obviously, about being too exact on those echoes!).

It finished around 13" x 15" or thereabouts--not very big. But I think he'll enjoy it.

Second finish of the week, my niece's quilt I'm naming "[her name]'s California Dreams." She loves visiting her cousins in California, and the fabric line is named Sausalito, hence the name.

Not that she'll ever know, since I didn't make a label. I'm not expecting any of these quilts to last until I'm no longer on this earth and will be making them much nicer quilts sometime in their future, so I wasn't sweating the labeling thing this time. I'm documenting it on my end, though.

In any case, this was the Five Yard Designs pattern--one yard each of five fabrics does the entire front, border, and binding. It requires a couple of additional yards for the backing.

I had it done by my wonderful long-armer with an allover pantograph--couldn't get too good a picture of it because of stinky lighting. Apologies.

I still have one more quilt to get bound before Christmas, so watch for more pictures by the end of the week.

And don't forget to mark the 26th on your calendar!