Christmas Tree FREE Block Pattern & Tutorial!

Hi everyone!  Before I show you where to find my free quilt block pattern and tutorial for the Christmas trees I made above (yes, I do like to tease a bit...lol)  I am hoping everyone has been doing well, enjoying the changes of the seasons and also maybe still participating with the Challenge of Change blog post I wrote a few weeks ago.  If you haven't read it, please check it out either before or after you look over this free Christmas tree quilt block pattern and tutorial I made back for a Christmas in July Quilt Along!  :-)

Heather, from The Sewing Loft (link to her blog), came up with a really good gift idea, she said from her, The Sewing Loft Facebook page: "I Spy this super cute and FREE Christmas quilt block from FreeSpirit Fabrics & Smilie Mommy Quilting & Crafts. I'm thinking what a cute border on a dish towel. Hostess with the Mostess gift: Check!"  Thanks "sew" much Heather for the great idea and kind words!  :-)

I made this pattern and tutorial back for my first Quilt Along where I was actually one of the long list of other great Quilt Bloggers that were able to unveil their very own pattern and tutorial using fabric provided by Free Spirit, that was then pieced and quilted into one quilt for Free Spirit Fabrics, here is a link to their website, it should also lead you to where you can find my FREE pattern and tutorial in PDF form. 

Here is the list of other bloggers that participated in the Quilt Along and their websites attached:

 Heather at Fiberosity   http://www.fiberosity.com/
  Pat Sloan http://blog.patsloan.com/
  Melanie at Melanie Dramatic http://melaniedramatic.com/
  Pam at Pam Kitty Morning http://pamkittymorning.blogspot.com/
  Kelsey Creates  http://www.kelseycreates.com/
  Katie @ Swim Bike Quilt  http://www.swimbikequilt.com/
  Kim at Persimon Dreams http://www.persimondreams.com/
  Amanda at Sasikirana http://amandasasikirana.wordpress.com/
  Jane at QuiltJane http://www.quiltjane.blogspot.com/
  Kristy at St Louis Folk Victorian http://stlouisfolkvictorian.blogspot.com/
  Kimberly at Fat Quarter Shop  http://fatquartershop.blogspot.com/
  Lee at Freshly Pieced freshlypieced.blogspot.com
  Jennifer at MJandCo http://mjandco-quilting.blogspot.com/
  Mishka at Quilting Gallery http://quiltinggallery.com/blog-posts/
  Tiffiny at www.freepatchworkquiltinfo.com
  Tacha at Fat Quarterly http://www.fatquarterly.com
  Megan at Canoe Ridge Creations http://canoeridgecreations.com
  Jocelyn at It’s Sew Emma http://fatquartershop.blogspot.com/
PS...When visiting their pages, feel free to let them know that Smilie Mommy sent you and says hello as well. :-)

The Challenge of Change :-)

This time of year with the beautiful colors of Autumn and the briskness in the air, it makes me think of all of the changes going on around me.  So many things to be grateful for and realize how fortunate we all really are.  

Last week, when my electricity was out for just under 24 hours, I understood fully all I had was a minor inconvenience.  There are people less then 50 miles away from where we live that are in total devastation, loss of not just "their stuff" that can be replaced eventually but the loss of their friends and family members.  The people we choose to share our lives with are gifts that are priceless and we should try to take all the time we have with them to admire the things we love about them and try with all of our might not to focus and waste time on the negative things that don't define who any of us are.  

While I was in line to vote today there was something that caught my eye.  It was something called Rachel's Challenge, two large white boards with all of the student's signatures on it.  There was a girl standing in line behind me who attends the middle school, waiting with her Grandmother.  I decided to ask her about Rachel and the challenge.  I have sheer gratitude for being in the right place at the right time today.  To hear this teenage girl tell us the story of Rachel, it was bone chilling hearing her recall how good of a person she was, loved by everyone, the caring notes she left behind and the deep thoughts she kept about so many of life's challenges.  Then to hear how she had sadly lost her life way too soon due to the Columbine shootings in 1999.  

Rachel's Challenge Website

There is so much more to tell and her website (Rachel's Challenge) will do it best, that will surely give you goosebumps as well.  But one quote I found on the site that touched me and is from Rachel, "Tomorrow is not a promise but a chance"  She believed in starting a chain reaction of kindness.  I challenge all of us to start our own chain reactions of kindness and compassion.  Let it be in our own families, then our families can gain the strength and confidence to stand up, encourage and help others, and to help keep Rachel's dream alive, may it never stop and the wave continue flowing back and forth just as we depend on the waves in the ocean to always come back to us at some point, we just never know their true power until they have touched us.  :-)

P.S.  Please one other thing, what ever you can give, no matter how small even if it is of your yourself, please donate to your local charities to help the people living in your communities and if possible please help the people also struggling to get by who lost so much in Hurricane Sandy.  The American Red Cross has a Relief Fund set up for those that can help.  Thanks for listening and tag you are it.  :-)

American Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund