Bloggerversary Giveaway!

Before November is over (just barely before) I want to take this opportunity to say I'm glad I've become acquainted with you all. November marks 6 months for me on Blogger and though I admit I was not prepared for the time this involves, I have thoroughly enjoyed making a slew of quilting friends who don't care if I am still in my jammies or if my dishes are done. I have learned so many things I would not otherwise have known and met wonderful people from around the world. I have laughed with many over silly things and cried with some when times were hard. I am strengthened by your examples of courage and touched by your generosity and goodness. To say "thank you" I am giving away the items pictured. There is the book "Country Threads Goes to Charm School." Many of you have been to Country Threads--I have not. But I was "charmed" by this book with its patterns for little quilts (which have recently captivated me) made from charm packs. The quilts are all named with "rules" of etiquette--some are familiar, some I've never heard of before. I have included a charm pack of a fabric line that has been catching my eye in the LQS, "Together" by Brannock and Patek. (Click here to see the fabrics). To round things out I threw in a 16" remnant piece of Kona Bone for some background. (The cutting tables were busy, so I dug through the remnants for something I thought would work. I was in a hurry! Besides, you know I can't go in the LQS without a dig through the remnants.)

Look at some of these fun quilts inside.
Sorry for the less than stellar photos. I was trying to hold the book open with one hand without cracking the spine while taking the photo with the other hand. Not so good. This is just a small sampling of the 19 little quilts.

If you want in on a chance to win this please leave a comment on this post by noon Saturday MST.

Currently on my design wall is my red and green version of Bonnie's Smokey Mountain Stars. I had asked for advice earlier on whether to plan the layout or let the chips fall where they may. The latter option definitely won the vote, and I tried--I really did. I know I have this control issue and I ended up alternating the red and green star centers and I'm trying to let the star points fall where they may. Every now and then the dark green star points totally surround a red center. I tried to tell myself that it was okay for that star to be so defined, but it wasn't really, to me. I haven't had to move very many star points, though. : )

Yep, I see the square in the upper right corner that is turned wrong.
But I didn't see it before I took the photo. When I chose the khaki
tan shirts for the background I didn't realize how dark they would
make the overall appearance of the quilt, though I do think the
photo makes the whole thing look darker than it really is.. I hope
 I like the final effect. I'm not changing it now!

I am calling this one Rocky Mountain Christmas. I had originally been shooting for this Christmas to have it finished, but I want to machine quilt it myself. I definitely need more practice and time, so it looks like this will be part of next year's celebration.

Then on my design board is something that should look familiar, unless you have never been here before. That's right, I am in the process of making a duplicate table topper to the one I gave my sister as a hostess gift at Thanksgiving. The center pinwheels are finished and now I just need to cut the borders to length and sew them on. I have a much different quilting design in mind for the outer border and if it goes as planned I will be swapping this for the one I gave away.

That does it for now--don't forget to leave a comment if you'd like to participate in the giveaway.
(ETA--I've decided to throw in a gift bag of my handcrafted holiday soap to a second winner. Just so you know.)
Until next time, from the little mountain valley where the sagebrush is frozen,
Janet O.