November Mini...

Another closeup of mine

Friday was a fun day for me. I got to spend the day in the studio - less the hour I spent at the post office waiting to post overseas packages. (Just a few goodies heading to my friends in the Farmer's Wife QAL.) When I got back home, I tasked myself with starting (and finishing) my mini quilt for November. It is mid-month already, after all.

Kathy's original design

My friend, Kathy designed this month's quilt. I was tickled to see that she had chosen squirrels and acorns! I think her design is adorable and I've been thinking all week about how I wanted to personalize mine.

Fay's mini

This is the quilt, adapted by Fay. She had hers finished earlier in the month, so I got a peek last weekend at our coffee group. It's always fun to see how each quilter personalizes the designs to reflect their own personality. One of the gals loves little yellow ducks, so no matter what the theme, she always manages to find a place to sneak in a duck!

It was time for me to quit gawking and start sewing. I chose the fabrics I wanted to use, and then I pulled out two of my Michelle Palmer drawings on fabric that I've been saving for a special project.

Close-up of my November Mini Quilt

I decided to do a little hand tinting on Michelle's two little squirrel drawings so that I could place them as the focal point on my block. Then I fused them to the block and started adding leaves and acorns.

My entire center block

By the end of the day, I'd completed my block. It's all stitched, bound and ready to take to our coffee group this morning.

December's design is already in my binder, but I think I'll bask in this November glow for a little while before I tackle the next one. I'm going to wait until the traditional "day after Thanksgiving" to even start thinking about it. Christmas will be here soon enough. No need to rush.