Snowman BOM 2009 UPDATE!!

First, I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has signed up to receive my BOM via e-mail and to all of you who downloaded from the posted images. The interest in my little BOM has just overwhelmed me and I am thrilled!! Now, I need to give you a little info - some background and plans for future posts. As I said before, I designed this BOM for friends who came to a group called Hearthside Quilters at my church. There were only about 20 of us and someday soon, I am going to introduce them all one by one here on my blog. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be offering it to you now!! Due to family health issues, I drew the blocks but never had time to finish them til this past year. They are the blocks that are done in the cotton fabrics. I also am working on the blocks in woolfelt. This BOM was to be the original 12 blocks shared with my friends. Then some of you thought it was going to be all snowmen. And so, as I've said before, I decided to take it as a challenge and share a block each month from the original series called "Seasons of the Heart" and to make a new snowman design for each month, too. With that in mind, I realized, too, that the designs can be done in many ways - cotton with fusible applique or woolfelt, plaids with woolfelt, an all wool version, stitched in Redwork, traced on muslin and colored with crayons or colored pencils (heat-set with an iron) then highlighted with outline embroidery stitches. The possibilities are endless!! Here, then, is a slightly revised January Snowman block and the February Snowman block.

The revisions made to the Snowman block for January were done for those who might embroider the design in Redwork or traditional embroidery. The initial block you received is fine for cotton applique or wool/woolfelt applique. I just added some details to the scarf and the words "Welcome Winter" if you wish to add them.

I previewed the February block in a previous post and have enlarged it as above. It also has added detail for embroidery. I have provided the pattern sheet below for cotton fusible applique/wool or woolfelt applique.

I have the block for March "on the drawing board" and will have it ready for you and posted on March 1. All the future snowman blocks have been planned and each will feature a snowman and a saying/words appropriate to each month/theme. Additionally, in March, I will tell you what to do with the words that are included on the pattern pages for the original series. I will now refer to the original series as the Holiday Seasons of the Hearts blocks. The Holiday blocks can stand alone, but I will share my idea with you and you can use it or design your own setting for the blocks.

I want to add one last thing on the BOM. Over 175 of you signed up to receive it via e-mail. I know that many of you are downloading it. I learned last week that my blog has been listed on www.freequiltpatterns.com and this week I learned that it is listed on www.thegoldenthimble.com . And this afternoon, I discovered it's listed on a German site (I think the language is German)..........and what I want to say is "Hello - and thank you!" - and if you do one block or all of them........send me an e-mail and let me know. I've been quilting, stitching for so, so many years and working on my patterns. I am happy to share my designs with you and hope you enjoy creating something fun with them. I'd just really like your feedback! I share my designs and you share your thoughts. That helps me know where there are problems, whether to continue or change a design, etc. Again, thanks for stopping by!!

I think that's all I need to share on the BOM. Sorry I was late getting it posted today. Sometimes other things come up and that happened the last couple of days and, of course, I had tons of stuff to do! My trip to the dentist never happened, though, so I have no thrift shop finds to share and that's just fine. My dentist had a family medical emergency so it will be a week before I may get in again.

Time to unwind and stitch a bit before going off to bed. Night all!

Sandi

Note: If you signed up to receive the blocks via e-mail, I will be sending out the files tomorrow to the entire mailing list. I have a number of new names to add to the list and will get that done and then send off the files.