We started the evening with a raffle drawing. We provided a quilt for Fisher's House to raffle off. I mentioned Fisher House in a past post but if you haven't heard of them, they are sort of Ronald McDonald Houses for the military. Places where family of injured military personnel can stay for free while their loved ones are hospitalized. The latest Fisher House to be dedicated was for the family of service members who have been killed in action. Frank said they sold 2100 tickets - most at 6 for $5 - so he figured they raised about $1,800. The quilt was won by a minister within our community.
Then we moved on to food! Most people's favorite part of any party. lol. It was a potluck and there were so many yummy items to choose from.
After that we had a brief business meeting - picked out the pattern for our raffle quilt for our next quilt show - Spring of 2012.
Then we moved on to the ornament exchange. This is the first year I've done the exchange - last year I had the flu and missed the party. I was a bit nervous because while I am a "comfortable" quilter (I'm a bit above novice but still have lots to learn) there are some ladies in my guild who make over the top gorgeous quilts and I was worried if my ornament would be good enough.
So here is my ornament:
It is not woven - some of the ladies saw it from a distance and thought it was. It's pieced with teeny tiny pieces. I don't think I'll be doing that again! Not that it was terribly hard, I just don't think I'd want to do it too often.
The way we exchanged ornaments was really cute. All were in plain brown paper bags and under a Christmas tree. Each of us picked a bag and then we stood in a circle. One lady who did not participate stood in the center. She asked questions - is your tree up and decorated? If so, you moved to the center of the circle and exchanged bags with someone else in the center. We did a few questions and mixed in there were times of pass your bag three times to the right, pass your bag five times to the left, etc. At the end each lady took out her ornament and showed it and said who made it.
There were a variety of methods used - cross stitch (a beautiful church in the trees), felted wool (a little elf), a snowman head made of a plain ornament with facial features drawn on and a hat added, embroidery. One lady brought in an ornament she had received in a similar exchange 27 years ago!
This is what I received:
It's not technically an ornament but it's very lovely - and filled with candy. I have been so good with no candy lately - these will go to the kids.
I've been making plans for the New Year. This can be rather dangerous. Last year I planned to make at least two quilts for my queen-size bed and I ended up needing to make almost a dozen baby quilts.
Next year I am hoping to make some quilts for our family. One for my bed - I'm doing the Project 360 BOM found here.
For over our fireplace, I'm hoping to do the Applewood Farms BOM series from this past year. You can still get these patterns for a small fee - info is here.
I do have a few UFOs I'd like to get finished. I have a Double Irish Chain and a fall applique top that need quilted. And I have a few blocks from some fabric I fell in love with and searched high and low for the perfect pattern for.
That should be enough to keep me busy for a while - at least until the 2011 BOMs start popping up all over the internet. lol.
Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody
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