Day 4 is my day!! Before I begin the Henry Glass Holiday Party though, I thought I should introduce myself. In case you don't know me, my name is Anni and I design under the banner Hatched and Patched. I live in Bathurst, Australia, with my husband Pete, my two children Sammii and Tim, and our dog Tillie and cat Munch. I have been designing for over 16 years now and have written many books and patterns, and have just started designing for Henry Glass which I am truly enjoying. I love the process of making quilts and other items just as much as seeing the project to completion. I love hand sewing, as you can take it anywhere (have you ever tried to lug a machine around??!), and you can talk with friends as you sew!
OK, now firstly, the most important part - my free pattern. I hope you like it...
Click here to Download Home for Christmas, my free pattern.
It is now my turn to give away my dark secrets about Christmas so here goes.....
What is your favourite holiday food? I am a nut fanatic and unfortunately don't go in for the Christmas Turkey, as I'm one of those silly vegetarians, so macadamias and cashews come out onto the table and I GORGE myself on them. Of course I am also a stickler for the traditional Christmas pudding.
Does your family have a favourite holiday tradition? My mother makes the pudding every year, and throws sixpence and threepence into the mix. If you're lucky enough to find one in your piece, the silver money is replaced with the more useful currency which can help pay for the dentistry required after clamping down on a coin-filled piece of pud!! (luckily there have been no accidents to date!)
Did you like sitting on Santa's lap? I actually don't know many young people who like sitting on the lap of a rather large strange bearded man - I was one of those who was a little wary.
Was there a gift that you desperately wanted? The only present I can ever remember DESPERATELY wanting was a 'Velvet' doll. i must have been 3 or 4, and I had seen the hair could be pulled out or wound up to be short. Santa came to the party and not only delivered one to me, but to my next door neighbour and best friend. I remember racing over to her house and spending the morning transfixed with that HAIR!
What's your favourite holiday movie? Sorry, I don't really have one. We're having way too much fun outside usually, as the days are long and warm.
Favourite holiday song? Jingle Bells - it's the only song I can remember all the words - sad huh??
Do you make holiday presents? What do you like to give? I really TRY and make holiday presents and LOVE giving homemade sewn things, as I think it's the time and thought you put into things that make it all-the-more special... hopefully this year....
Would you prefer a large fully decorated tree or one like Charlie Browns? I love Christmas, but I think my children like it even more (and why wouldn't they??) Tim can't wait to put up the tree, so on December 1st, Sam and Tim are the decorators, and going pride of place are the ornaments they make each year. I think Tim really doesn't want me to bring out his cardboard glittered santa from pre-school (he is now 13), but I can't help myself. Our Christmas tree is full of very homemade decorations which probably don't appeal to anyone but us. I LOVE it as it holds many fun memories.
If you could go back in time, when would you say was your most favourite holiday memory? Chistmas is summertime in Australia, so every year when I was growing up, we would spend a couple of weeks with my Granparents who had a caravan at Merry Beach. Swimming, building sandcastles, playing scrabble with Grandma, learning to paint with Grandpa - happy days!!
Do you like a big family gathering at the holidays or do you prefer a small dinner followed by hot chocolate by the fire? There is nothing more fun than madness and mayhem at Christmas. I always spent Christmas with my cousins, and want the same for my children, so the more the merrier. We're more into watermelon and water-bomb fights rather than hot chocolate by the fire.
My secret word for your chance to WIN the grand prize of fabric from Henry Glass, (plus other surprises from each designer), is PIE.
Barbara Jones from Quilt Soup is also telling her Holiday stories. Click below to go to her blog.
Have fun
Anni
Make sure you collect all the secret words and at the end of the blog hop visit the Henry Glass Blog and enter for your chance to win a GIANT prize pack!
I love Home for Christmas. Thanks for the pattern. Happy quilting.
Posted by: donna | November 16, 2011 at 10:44 PM
I love your pattern. Thanks for sharing with us.
Posted by: kathy h | November 16, 2011 at 10:50 PM
Thanks for the pattern! It is adorable!
Posted by: Ruth | November 16, 2011 at 11:02 PM
Thanks so much for this lovely pattern. I love it!
Posted by: Martina | November 16, 2011 at 11:09 PM
I love this pattern. And, I'll be Home for Christmas is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Posted by: Grace | November 16, 2011 at 11:18 PM
Thanks for the fun blog hop. I am enjoying getting to know those of you I am not familiar with. What a cue pattern, thank you.
Posted by: Dorian | November 16, 2011 at 11:23 PM
Thank you for the gift.
Your work is really inspiring.
You are wonderful!
Thank you so much.
Martine - FRANCE
Posted by: Martine | November 16, 2011 at 11:25 PM
I will be downloading Home for Christmas for myself. That is where I will be going for Christmas Eve. All of my family will be there. So much hugging and so many stories to share. Can't wait to go home for Christmas. I like pie - especially pumpkin with either ice cream or whippped cream. Thank you for the Jolly Holiday Party. It sure has been fun. A lot of patterns and recipes. What more could any quilter ask for.
Sandi T.
[email protected]
Posted by: Sandra Timmons | November 16, 2011 at 11:32 PM
Thank you for the lovely pattern, have a lovely Christmas.
Sue
Posted by: Sue | November 16, 2011 at 11:41 PM
Thank you, I love that pattern, the words say it all.
Posted by: Dana | November 16, 2011 at 11:45 PM
Hi! Thanks for participating in the Blog Hop and the great design! I'm going to make one, maybe for a gift!
Take care, Leslie
Posted by: Leslie Legros | November 16, 2011 at 11:46 PM
This is such a cute little project, thank you for sharing it. I love quilting and embroidery together.
Posted by: Staci | November 16, 2011 at 11:49 PM
Thank you for the free pattern. I am a long time fan. This blog hop has been awesome. Such wonderful projects.
Our family loves to eat nuts in the wintertime. I can remember sitting by the fire and my grandfather cracking nuts for us (he kept a bowl and a nutcracker by his chair). Now my husband does it for my kids. But he cracks them the old fashioned way by just pressing two nuts against each other. There is something so homey about eating them fresh from the shell by the fireplace.
Posted by: Robyn Brown | November 16, 2011 at 11:59 PM
Lovely pattern. I remember my family always had a bowl of nuts at the holidays, and my grandfather never used a nutcracker. He just held two nuts together in his hands and crushed them together to get them to crack. We were amazed.
Posted by: Marcia K | November 17, 2011 at 12:03 AM
Wonderful blog hop of designers - thanks for participating. Judy C
Posted by: judyCnNC | November 17, 2011 at 12:15 AM
I love your project - it's so whimsical and fun. I've been wanting to try a little embroidery project, and this is the perfect fit! Thanks for the opportunity to win.
Posted by: Darlene B | November 17, 2011 at 12:24 AM
Cute pattern! It was nice to get to know you.
Posted by: Michelle Harrison | November 17, 2011 at 12:25 AM
Thank you for the pattern. I like handwork too. It was nice meeting you. :-)
Posted by: Cecilia | November 17, 2011 at 12:54 AM
I love your free pattern, that will be fun to make for my daughter.
Debbie
Posted by: Debbie St. Germain | November 17, 2011 at 12:59 AM
enjoyed reading about your Christmas tradition.
thanks so much for the very cute pattern.
Posted by: Carrie P. | November 17, 2011 at 01:04 AM
Thanks sooooo much for the free pattern download! I love it! It was great reading about you!
Posted by: Sarah | November 17, 2011 at 01:14 AM
Thank you for this lovely pattern Anni! I can't wait to get started on it! :0)
Posted by: Terry | November 17, 2011 at 01:27 AM
How fun to think of spending Christmas at the beach:) We nearly always have snow, snow, snow!
Posted by: Alissa | November 17, 2011 at 01:40 AM
How sweet "All Hearts Come Home for Christmas". I love embroidery and can't wait to stitch this up. Thank you so much! Happy Holidays!
Posted by: Pat | November 17, 2011 at 01:57 AM
Such a cut pattern. Thank you.
Posted by: Sue Bone | November 17, 2011 at 02:07 AM