VIC SCQuilters Xmas breakup

Today I decided to venture out and attend my first VIC SCQuilters monthly get together. And what a day to pick, christmas party time...WOOHOO.
I took my plate of food along to add to the other mountains of yummy foods. Organised some show & tell (QS Sampler quilt & nearly completed Xmas Wall Hanging - refer previous posts for pics). And decided that I would join in the fun and got together a Kris Kringle gift.
For my Kris Kringle I received the most gorgeous little Xmas wall hanging (which is already hanging up in the dining room) which perfectly suits my colour scheme...greens.

Also included with this was a book (approx. 3" square) titled 'Quilting - Quotations Celebrating an American Legacy'. It is so sweet. As you can see it has a thimble on a string for a page marker. So cute. Thanks Jo for the lovely Kris Kringle.

One of the quotes which I read when I was quickly flicking through it was the following, which I thought was very appropriate for SCQuilters.

...just as the pieces of the quilt are sewn together with interlocking stitches, all people are linked together in the fabric of our world. In a way, the patchwork quilt represents all the different people of the world. We are individual in our attitudes, life-styles, and backgrounds, yet we share so much of what it means to be human. Teresa Gustafson "Love is a Blanket"

I also took along some items which my friend Janita made for the trade table, as she had to work and was unable to attend. Everybody loved her 'noodle box bags' and all three sold, along with one of her hand painted quilting rolls. Don't have any pics, forgot to take some before they sold. She was thrilled when I told her when I got home that she had some extra spending money for Christmas.

The day went so quickly. Then another small gift was given to everybody. Members received a diary and great little scissors. Visitors (me) also received a small gift. They are the smallest pair of scissors I have seen and dangle from a mobile phone. As you can see from the pic below, I have already added mine to my mobile to share with my Fuwa - Nini the Swallow (one of the five Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games).

In the ancient culture of China, there is a grand tradition of spreading good wishes through signs and symbols. Each of Fuwa symbolizes a different blessing -- and will honor this tradition by carrying their good wishes to the children of the world. Prosperity, happiness, passion, health and good luck will be spread to every continent as Fuwa carry their invitation to Beijing 2008 to every part of the globe.
At the heart of their mission -- and through all of their work -- Fuwa will seek to unite the world in peace and friendship through the Olympic spirit. Dedicated to helping Beijing 2008 spread its theme of One World, One Dream to every continent, Fuwa reflect the deep desire of the Chinese people to reach out to the world in friendship through the Games -- and to invite every man, woman and child to take part in the great celebration of human solidarity that China will host in the light of the flame in 2008.

Every spring and summer, the children of Beijing have flown beautiful kites on the currents of wind that blow through the capital. Among the kite designs, the golden-winged swallow is traditionally one of the most popular. Nini's figure is drawn from this grand tradition of flying designs. Her golden wings symbolize the infinite sky and spread good-luck as a blessing wherever she flies. Swallow is also pronounced "yan" in Chinese, and Yanjing is what Beijing was called as an ancient capital city. Among Fuwa, Nini is as innocent and joyful as a swallow. She is strong in gymnastics and represents the green Olympic ring.

Sorry got carried away with the Fuwa.

On a quilty note, I did manage to work on my quilt-as-you-go hexagon's. I am using up scraps of fabric and also incorporating some chenille from vintage bedspreads. The chenille gives the hexagons some texture.

I would like to thank all the members who attended today for making me feel welcome and I look forward to attending the next get together with this great group of like minded people in the New Year.

Bitch 'n' Stitch night

Well tonight is my weekly get together with my friends 'Nita (Janita) and Pam. We catch up every Friday evening except every fourth Friday which is date night with our DH's. We rotate between each others houses, which is great.

Tonight I will be finishing off the binding on my Xmas wall hanging. With Xmas only 47 days away I thought that I should make a few decorations to make the house festive. Xmas is at our house this year and some of my family from the country will be coming down, as well as DH family, so I would also love to get a fresh Xmas tree. Should be a good day. I just have to make sure that I am prepared for it.

This is my Xmas wall hanging as it was a few days ago before the final border and binding had been sewn on. I also have to decorate the tree section so it looks Xmassy.

This pic is my first lot of healing hearts which I sent off earlier this week to fellow scquilters. I have been wanting to do these now for a couple of months. I luv the idea of letting someone you have never met know that there are others out there thinking of them in their time of need. I was pleased with my first attempt, however looking at the pic I think that the hearts are just a bit to big. Five of the hearts above also have hearts within the pattern of the fabric, which I deliberately did. I have been collecting a stash of fabric with hearts within the pattern for use in making healing heart blocks.

Anyway I must finish up now as I still have to finish off dinner (veggie lasagne) and make some banana walnut muffins for this evenings supper.