December NewFO Linky Party and Giveaway

Take a good look at it because the 2012 NewFO Challenge button is about to sail off into the sunset.  This is the last month you'll be seeing it.  In January, it will need to make way for the 2013 NewFO Challenge.

But we're not quite there yet because I still have one more quilt pin to give away.

If you'd like to win this little cutie, all you have to do is link up and show off the new projects you started in December.  Surely you started something...it's Christmas, after all!  Maybe you started a table runner?  A Christmas stocking? A mug rug?  A potholder?  No need to have finished anything because the NewFO Challenge is only about starting new projects.

So here's what I started during December.  And I actually finished some things too!  This is my doll quilt for the December Doll Quilt Swap.

The theme for this month's swap was "Signs of the Season".  I made this little quilt called Catty Canes.

I found the pattern for this quilt in Janet Kime's book, "Christmas Cats and Dogs".

Also, I started a new embroidery block quilt called "A Gardner's Journal" from Anni Downs' pattern.

So far, I have finished the stitcheries for the first section of the quilt.  There are lots more stitcheries to come, along with traditional patchwork.

Also, I made Christmas stockings for the cat children of the family.  Where was Santa going to leave their catnip?  Now he has a place!

And finally, I'm just barely under way with a quilt I've been wanting to start for a long time.  The pattern is called "Summer Flutter" and it's from the Spring, 2010, issue of Quilting & Embroidery magazine.  In the original pattern, the fabrics have hummingbirds and the center panels are actually machine embroidered.

When I saw the pattern, my mind went immediately to this fabric that I've had in my stash for quite some time.

There is a quotation that I've always liked, and it was my reason for purchasing the fabric in the first place.

True hope is swift and flies with swallow's wings.

~William Shakespeare~ 

We have a group of swallows that return to our house each spring and they nest under the eaves of our house until they've raised their young.  Then, they move on to parts unknown.  In any case, I've always liked this fabric, and the pattern seems just right for it.  I'm not going to embroider the center panels.  I'm just going to use the swallow fabric for the center and the outer border.  Here are the other fabrics I'm using.

For this month, I only got as far as the cutting.  I'll start working on the blocks next month.

I'm calling this quilt "True Hope".

So...a busy month.  It didn't seem like I had much time for sewing, but I guess I got quite a few things started.

So now, I'm ready to see what you started during the busy month of December.  And if you feel like it, please update us on your other NewFO Projects started during 2012.   Here's what you need to do to be entered in the giveaway:

1.  Please link-up with your newly started projects from December, finished or not.  If you feel like it, show us the progress you've made on your other 2012 NewFO projects.  

2.  Please link to your blog post, not your blog.  To do that, just click on the title of your post to isolate it from the rest of your blog.  Then copy the URL and use that to link up.  Folks who are clicking on your link want to see your NewFO's, but they don't want to go hunting for the right post.  Links to blogs will be edited or deleted entirely.  Also, this is not a place to link to your Etsy shop or some other event.  Inappropriate or unrelated links will be deleted. 

3.  Finally, don't have a blog?  Upload an image to my FlickR group and link to that.  If you have questions about how to do that or about how to link up, please email me.  If you're having trouble posting your image, email it to me as an attachment, and I'll be happy to do it for you.

This linky party will be open for one week.  Winner of the quilt pin will be announced on January 8, 2013!  I will ship internationally, and so this giveaway is open to all residents of Planet Earth.

And with that...here's your old friend, Mr. Linky:

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