Melia Mae Quilting: The Countdown to Christmas Quilt Along

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I am very excited to announce that I am hosting a Quilt-along with Janice from Better off Thread. When I had said that I wanted to do a Quilt-along and I had a pattern idea in mind, she offered to help me because this was my very first experience with hosting one. I was extremely appreciative and she has been really great to work with!

The pattern we will be using is by Elizabeth Hartman from Oh, Fransson!, which you can find here. It is a free tutorial on Sew Mama Sew's website. Please go see this website to get the PDF instructions so you can follow along.

I chose this advent calendar because my kids just love and I do mean LOVE Christmas, but hey what kid doesn't. One of their favorite things about the season is the "Advent Calendar". Sometimes I think this is actually their favorite part of Christmas! I typically buy the store bought ones for $2.00 that have candy in them and they get to open them daily if they are good. However, there isn't a lot of choice when it comes to purchasing these types of calendars. When I saw Elizabeth's pattern, I knew that I had to make one because then I get to "surprise" the kids on a daily basis with what is in each pocket, so every day can have its own special unique treat. I can include favorite goodies that each of my daughter's like because of course, they don't like the same thing.

When Janice and I were discussing the schedule of the Quilt Along, I told her that the one thing I wanted most was to make it easy for everyone to follow along, so this includes working folks as well. I work almost full time and it is very hard for me to follow the deadlines on some Quilt Alongs because the schedule requires a lot of homework, so this quilt along is definitely something anyone should be able to participate in and keep up with!

The schedule is as follows:

August 19th - Announcement of Giveaway and sponsors
September 2nd - Quilt Along begins: Choosing fabrics and fabric requirements
September 16th - Cutting and layout variations
September 30th - Applique techniques (machine, hand, puff-paint, ironed on). The options are endless for how you would like to add your numbers to the pockets.
October 14th - Piecing
October 28th - Quilting ideas
November 11th - Binding
November 25th - The Big Reveal and ideas for what to put in the pockets.

On each of these dates both Janice and I will have linkups on our blogs for everyone to show their progress along the way. It is always fun to see how everyone else is coming along and their "interpretations" of the project! If you do not have a blog, please post your pictures in the flickr group, which can be found here. We would love to see your progress as well. So please, grab a button to get the word out and join in! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to send Janice or I an e-mail.

At the end of the Quilt Along we will have prizes for those who link up to "The Big Reveal". Four random winners will be chosen to win the following prizes: