November Chrstmas QAL - Post 2

It's Sunday morning, mild and overcast.  Yesterday was the first day I wore a winter jacket.  Up until then I was getting by with heavy sweaters and wraps. 

 

I quilted some of my trees in blue thread

and some in pink thread

 

and when I used white thread it was almost invisible

and I have some unstitching to do, as well as some thinking on how to proceed from here.  There is a lot of white to quilt and I'm waiting for the light bulb to go on.  Christa made her quilt using solid colors for her trees and matched the thread to each color.  She also has a swell plan for her quilting, which includes words.   Her quilting is beautiful.

 

So, I might be changing gears today.  We'll see what I come up with.

 

 

November Christmas QAL - Post 1

We're over at Hazel's today.  I am still sipping my first cup of coffee and will kick into gear very soon.  Since I'm quilting my Modern Christmas Tree quilt today, I may not have much to show, but I am playing along just so you know.  If I get bored and need a break I'll check out what everyone else is up to and seek some inspiration.

 

We have Sue's Challenge to conquer, don't forget.  You know, the one with no green or red.  Challenge it certainly has been.  Finding Christmas fabric free of those colors is not easy, so creativity is needed. 

 

I'm beginning to sound like Yoda, so I'm going to finish my coffee and get going.

Just Checking In

I feel as if my blog is feeling neglected so I will just show you what I've been up to.

My creative mess.  I can't believe I work in this disaster area.  Believe me, I tend to be a neat freak at the office.  

I was working on different projects and skipping back and forth, so I just left everything out.

One of these days I will again see the top of the dining room table.

My Modern Christmas Tree quilt top is finished.  Later tonight I plan to make the sandwich and then get quilting.  I made miniature trees and sewed them as cornerstones.

  I thought about putting in a flange between the border and the tree panel, but I forgot.  Yup, that's what happened.  I had sewn on two borders before I realized.  Now I don't think it would have worked well anyway.  But a flange is on my list to use one of these days.

I've been making postcards and can't show them yet.  

That's it.  This weekend is 

  at Hazel's

It's sure to be fun and with the holidays coming up very soon, we all should be in productive mode.

God Bless You. 

Autumn Leaves Wall Hanging

I had hopes of completing this Blowin' in the Wind project, the sandwich for the Modern Christmas Tree QAL and two blocks for the Stash Busters QAL all this weekend, but I spent most of yesterday ripping stitches from  the border quilting on this quilt. Finally, today it's done.  Except, I didn't applique the tree branches that should on the left.

This is the version that Chris Malone designed for Quilter's World.

It's not too late to add but I like my version as is. 

I quilted leaves throughout.

 

I've decided to enter this wall hanging in the Bloggers Quilt Festival. 

I've taken a peek at some of the entries and am amazed by the gorgeous quilts.  It's a fabulous show.  

 

FMQ is like writing by moving the paper instead of the pen.  It must be good for my brain.  Hand quilting makes so much more sense.

 

God Bless You. 

Baby Lock Melody

189 built in stitches, including 3 alphabet styles, great warranties, hands free presser foot lift, lots of accessories included and it's a Baby Lock.  If this were my machine, I would be so happy.  It would be just plain fun to use.  Of course I want one.

 

 

Check out the entries at Amy's Creative Side .

What's On My Design Wall

I've always wanted to say that.   However,  I did not design this wall hanging.  It is called Blowin' in the Wind designed by Chris Malone, and is in the August 2012 issue of Quilter's World.

I added one extra row.  Most of the fabric is Stonehenge or other Northcott fabric, except for three of the leaves, which are some other company's batik.

In case you are not aware, Northcott has a site called Fabric Circle which you can join.  Each quarter they have a drawing for a fat quarter pack for those who have posted a picture of something they have made using Northcott fabric.  http://www.northcottfabriccircle.com

I have never sewn with Stonehenge batik, but have to say it is lovely to sew with.  I love it.

One more thing.

GO RED SOX!!

 

God Bless You.

October Christmas QAL Post 6

Thanks to all of you who were able to join in the Quilt Along this month.  Next month Hazel of Hazel's Quilts takes over one more time, and then in December the originator of this wonderful QAL, Sue of Quilt Times, hosts the big reveal when we show off our finished projects. 

Have a wonderful October.  I took a walk this morning to kick some leaves and indulge my senses with the beauty of the colors and smells of autumn.  I'm definitely a cool weather person so I'm loving this time of year.

Thanks again for joining in. 
Enjoy your quilting time.

 
God Bless You.



October Christmas QAL - Post 5

This is my last hosting gig this year, so how about a Christmas carol.  I thought I was getting Brenda Lee singing Rockin Around the Christmas Tree, but instead I have Jose Feliciano singing Feliz Navidad, one of the honest to goodness toe tapping, happy songs of the holiday.
http://www.carols.org.uk/rockin-around-the-christmas-tree.htm

Hope you like it, too.

October Christmas QAL - Post 4

It's a gorgeous Sunday here in New England, cool, crisp and sunny.  Hope it lasts.  I'm unsure of what I'll be working on today, but I could begin to quilt the Plaid Nativity Quilt. 

In a bit I have to run out to pick up 30 dozen of party pastries for a church event this morning, and I'm hoping that will be enough.  That's 360 little sweets and they are the dessert.  If nobody shows up it will be too much; if lots of people show up it won't be enough.  Oy!  Maybe they'll fill up on the chorizo and peppers, beans and other stuff.

If you want to see something cute to make for the holidays check out Melanie's BonBon project at The Patchwork Robin.  Very cute.

Our Canadian friends are cooking and eating today, so I hope they are having a wonderful time.

October Christmas QAL - Post 3

I'm the hostess without the mostess.  I should have mentioned the linky tool on the Christmas QAL page (top of the blog) as well as the Christmas Challenge information that is posted there.  If you are a new reader, that is the place you should go to first.  If you're participating with the QAL, please sign in.  Thanks a bunch.

 I just sewed together my trees for the Modern Christmas Tree QAL hosted by Christa's Quilts.  http://christaquiltsblog.com/2013/10/09/christas-quilt-along-7-2-assembling-your-modern-trees-quilt-top/  I decided to use the tree layout because I don't have anything like that.  It went together in just a few hours today so I'm up to date on this qal.

October Christmas QAL - Post 2

I received this gorgeous postcard from Annette at In Stitches and Seams http://www.institchesandseams.blogspot.com/

Isn't it super?  It makes a nice decoration for this time of year.  Thank you to Annette for the postcard and to Sheila for organizing the exchange.

I have been working on this little purse this morning.

Beverly of Flamingo Toes posted this tutorial and when I saw it I wanted to try making one.  http://www.flamingotoes.com/2013/09/teeny-tiny-embroidered-key-chain-coin-purses/  I purchased my frames from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Frames-Clasp-Pattern-Silver/dp/B00CCF6ZA0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381588177&sr=8-1&keywords=purse+frames  and I think they are a bit bigger than Bev's but otherwise it's the same.  I quilted my case instead of embroidering.

 What that did was take in the fabric a bit so I was a bit short on the top.

So my next try I'll enlarge the pattern.  I didn't use any glue, just thick embroidering floss to sew the case to the frame. 

Once I perfect my technique I think these would make cute small gifts. 

 

October Christmas QAL - Post 1

Good Morning! and Merry Christmas!

Oh, wait a sec. It's isn't December 25th yet.  That's two months from now.
Yikes, did I say 2 months?  Yes.  It's coming fast.  If you have plans to sew something for the holidays, it's time to get to it. 

Hazel is thinking about us while she relaxes somewhere on her vacation.  Hope you are having a wonderful time, Hazel.  I hope Grumpy Uncle George is minding the crops.

Sue is home from her travels way out west, but we'll have to wait and see if she joins us.  She may need a vacation after her vacation.

I'm still on my first cup of coffee, but I have my plans for today's sewing. 
Melanie's already joined in, so hope to see what you are doing today, too.

Monday is Canada's Thanksgiving Day, so

Happy Thanksgiving Day, Canada!

And one more note.
Could we keep Donna of So Sew Crafty and her family in our prayers this weekend?  See her blog for more info. http://www.sosewcrafty.blogspot.com

This Weekend is the Christmas QAL

The October Christmas Quilt Along is here at my blog this weekend.  Hope you will be able to join in at some point. 

I feel as if we are cascading right into the end of the year now. 

Lots to do.

Circle of Geese, Storm Signal and One Cute Cat

First the cute kitty.

From Carol Doak's site. http://www.caroldoak.com/index.php  I'm still working on improving my paper piecing skills and signed up for Carol's course on Craftsy. 

Circle of Geese was last week's block from the Stash Buster QAL hosted by Linda's Quiltmania.  http://lindasquiltmania.blogspot.com/  It's all paper piecing and took some time to make. 

Storm Signal is the 15th block of the Ben Franklin QAL hosted by Erik Homemade Coffee Break ezine http://erikhomemade.typepad.com/ 

 

This is the fourth set of 4 small blocks we've made for this quilt, and I'm curious how we will be using them in the layout.  Block 16 is next so I won't know any time soon.  It's a mystery:)

 

This weekend is the Christmas QAL here on my blog.  That means we have this month and next month and that's it.  December we show off our stuff.  Hope you will be joining in at some point this weekend. 

Modern Christmas Trees QAL

I made my trees for the Modern Christmas Trees QAL being hosted by Christa's Quilts http://christaquiltsblog.com/quilt-alongs/  Because I couldn't decide on which fabrics to use for the trees I decided to make them with the scraps from other projects.  Christa refers to these as improv trees, which makes me sound very modern, which I am not :-)  To me they are scrap trees. I used my Tri Recs rulers for the first time and am happy with them.  I've had them for a while but didn't know how to use them, so this was a good project to work that out.

 

 

 

This Annalee Quilter Mouse is my birthday present to myself.  She makes me smile.

 

Have a great weekend.

God Bless You.



Taking Stock

I used a piece of flannel as a kind of design wall and find that looking at projects straight gives a fresh look at blocks.  This year I had planned to work on UFO's and I did complete a couple of big projects, but of course I have plenty more to go.  That's ok, there's always next year.  I pulled out my blocks to take a look.

I love these blocks.  They are Radiant Star, an Eleanor Burns block that is in the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Vol. 4 issue.  I don't know what made me stop this project but I have to get back to it.

 

These are my Ben Franklin Mystery QAL blocks with Erik's Homemade Coffee Break eZine. http://erikhomemade.typepad.com/erik_homemade/

 I think I'm going to redo the third block down on the right. 

I notice I have two of the same block and I can't think why.  The host for this qal is on vacation, but then we'll be back at it.

 

These are the blocks so far in the Stashbusters QAL at Linda's Quiltmania.  http://lindasquiltmania.blogspot.com/

We were given block 4 today. 

 

I worked on one of my Christmas QAL projects.  I bought fabric at Joann's for the borders of my Nativity wallhanging and wanted to see how it would look.

 

The fabric that is adjacent to the plaid is perfect; it's covered in Christmas stars.

I'm thinking of crocheting some stars to applique to the plaid. Last night I made the quilt sandwich for this project so it is ready when I want to quilt it. I know I'll have other Christmas ideas to work on for our QAL.

 

There is a nice blog hop being hosted by Sheri of Sunshine in the Attic called Quilts in the Pumpkin Patch  http://sunshineintheattic.blogspot.com/

The projects are autumn related so if you like pumpkins and autumn leaves you may like the projects being shown. 

 

God Bless You and have a fun quilting week.





September Christmas QAL - Post 4

I have been sewing today, but not on a Christmas item, although there is so much red and green in this project that I think it could be mistaken for a Christmas Quilt.  I mentioned earlier this week that I made a churn dash quilt.  It is very colorful.  When you take one block at a time, it seems very simple.

But put them all together and there is a color burst.

There are only 5 prints in fabrics in this quilt, but it looks like 100. 

Well, this quilt is becoming another of my favorites.  I think I might do a bit more ditch stitching and then put on the binding. 

 

Thank you to lovely Hazel for hosting this weekend.  She does such a good job of it.  And have you seen all of the pastry people have been showing?  Between the cookies, blondies, gingerbread, Sue's boozy recipes and I don't know what else, we could become a Cook and Quilt Along.

 

Hopefully I'll be seeing you here next month.

 

God Bless and have a great time quilting (and eating;-)

September Christmas QAL - Post 3

Are you a pet lover?  Than you will enjoy this link that was shared by Soggibottom.  The creativity of bloggers is awesome.

http://www.speedyhousebunny.com/

September Christmas QAL - Post 2

I fixed my polar bear and he's going to be quilted, and get his eyes and pompom sewn and finished up all together this weekend. 

He's going to be lovable once he's quilted.

 

I hesitate to show the Nativity because I know the plaid isn't matched.  But this is still a work in progress and we'll see how it looks when some borders are added and maybe some applique.  I need to make a trip to Joann's Fabrics to see if I can find some red or green that matches.  I never seem to have just the right color. 

 

I think I'm going to pick up one of Donna's design walls while I'm shopping.  http://www.sosewcrafty.blogspot.com  Crawling around the floor isn't the best way to see the best layouts. 

September Christmas QAL - Post 1

The Christmas QAL is on at Hazel's http://www.hazelsquilts.blogspot.com   Where I live it is one gorgeous day.  I think I love it more after a week of humidity, the kind of days that sap energy.  Not today.  It's clear, cool, dry; lovely. 

So, I do plan to work on my Nativity, but I need to fix my second polar bear first.  When he was hanging up waiting for attention I noticed his cap was off.  Now paper piecing has the reputation for accuracy, but not in my hands. But it's fixable.  So that's first.

 

You got Cookies by Sonja Callaghan; Quiltmaker Nov/Dec 2012



Things I've Been Doing

This month's Christmas QAL is being hosted by Hazel http://www.hazelsquilts.blogspot.com and it's this weekend.  I hope you can participate and that you are enjoying the qal time as much as I am.  I want to work on the Nativity quilt top this month and hope to make progress with it.

I'm also joining Christa Quilts QAL of her pattern, Modern Christmas Trees Wall Hanging.  http://christaquiltsblog.com/2013/09/11/christas-quilt-along-7-0-modern-trees-intro-and-schedule/ 

 

I think it's a sweet design and will use up some of my Christmas fabric.  If you visit Christa's blog you will see variations of the design that show the possibilities with changing fabric and layout.  Join in if you can.

 

I am quilting a churn dash quilt.

The fabric is from a 2010 collection called Golden Afternoon by Connecting Threads.  I think I've had the fabric since 2011 when I began quilting, and probably bought it because the floral is of marigolds, one of my favorite flowers.  In my part of the world, they are now coming into their best show, and I love that I can have them growing until late October or even November.  I'm doing only simple curves on this quilt so it's almost finished.

 

I've also wanted to see if I liked the look of drop cloth slipcovers so I made a cover for a hassock.  It looks pretty good so I'll be making new slipcovers for the living room. 

 

God Bless You.

Double Hourglass Block

I saw on Sheila's Quilt World http://sheilasquiltworld.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-little-mail-today.html about the Stash Buster's Quilt Along at Linda's Quiltmania http://www.lindasquiltmania.blogspot.com/  and decided to join in, mostly because the first block is so cute.

I was happy to see that I have the two rulers needed.  In fact, I used one of them for the first time making the Double Hourglass block.  Thank you, Sheila, for posting about this.  I think it will be fun.

I finished one of my polar bear You Got Cookies wall hangings which I began during the Christmas QAL.  It is sweet.  I love him.  I can't show him off until December when we have our show and tell at Sue's (http://www.quilttimes.blogspot.com ).  I did say "one of my polar bears."  I made another one with a bright blue cap.  I didn't have to do that because the first one, which I thought was bland, is not at all plain since he's been quilted, has cute brown eyes and  a big blue pompom at the end of his hat.  And I am loving paper piecing, even though I rip out more stitches than I put in. 

 

God Bless You.