Enjoying Autumn...

sewed up a little backdrop for my old birdhouses. That was Sandy's idea. She is always making more work for me. OK, you know me, it isn't work to get to play out in the quilting room with the pretty colors of autumn. Now, I am commiting to make one for each season. Hmmmm wonder what colors I'll use for winter? Maybe plaids in flannel in a bearpaw pattern... or icy colors of pale blue and lavender... see? It's a sickness!

Been sewing curves...

using up some of my repro stash. Made a little baby quilt- I'll see if I can't get a picture of it in the next couple days. It turned out very sweet and old timey. And that's a good thing in my book. Who's it for? I'm trying to make the nursery at the church building more...welcoming. For someone else to use. Been there, done that.

Been smiling...

This bright green just makes me smile. It's just a pokey ole hallway- to the quiltingroom and guest quarters, but now it has plenty of personality of it's own! Need to trim the doors and openings... But that can wait. In the meantime, you'll find me peeping around the corner to see if it's really as green as I thought it was.... yep, green!

Woodlot at Dawn...

a picture for Darcie. She loves skyscapes. Especially the dawn ones. Isn't the hoar frost pretty? The corn is getting cut this evening and then it will feel so naked out here on the prairie.

Isn't that the sweetest bag?

Sweet Darcie strikes again! She sewed me up this adorable project bag and it was filled with crocet thread. The bag is completely reversable and just so darIing. It has really inspired me to finish a few started crochet projects- like this little table runner. I just love this bag!! I have made two of them, myself- nothing like an example to hold in your hands to use as a pattern! They aren't as pretty as Darcie's(I made mine from vintage fabrics) but the recipients were in as much raptures as I was over mine.

Sandlyn's Gameface...

~a fabric copy of a painting. I wish I had a picture of the original, but you will have to take my word for it- it looks very similiar. I couldn't figure out how to snag the picture from photobucket- I am so technology challenged! This is one of the wallhangings I quilted up last week. Told you I was doing something quilty! I just didn't want to unveil it until it was in the rightful owner's hands!

*

The original artwork was painted by a sweet little girl named Sandlyn, the daughter of a childhood friend of mine. She has spent a lot of days, weeks, months in hospital. This picture was painted during one of her more recent recoveries and I loved the big ole smiley face in the middle. The color blocking was what drew me to it- all quilters would notice that first. You all know how much I like to translate childrens' artwork into fabric, but as I pieced and sewed and appliqued, I found that under the smiles there is a lot of... well, maybe knowing more about pain than anyone should. Certainly more than any child should. Breaks your heart, huh? So if you'd lift up a prayer for her, I know she could use them.

October days...

I love October! The days are cool and fulll of warm sunshine and the nights are nippy and that makes for great snuggling under the quilts! The gardening is a thing of the past and the holidays are far enough away to not throw me into a tizzy. All's calm and sweet.

I have a dining room that is being built- I can hardly wait until it's done, but I am loving the sound of hammering and sawing- all these things mark progress. The dining room will be a monster in size- 17'x28'- now that is big enough for at least 3 dining tables! I'm gonna throw me a bunch of parties! Doesn't that sound like fun?

I have been sewing a lot and making myself scarce around the construction zone- that way, every few hours I can come out and ohhh and ahhh over all their progress!There are walls and windows- still needing a door, but we have it all roofed. Today is quiet, my sweet William is at work, and will be picking up insulation so the boys can make progress without the foreman.

I have quilted another quilt for my bed- even have the binding on already! I'd take a picture of it, but then you'd see my cluttered bedroom...I've quilted a few different projects, actually. Wallhangings and table toppers and such. And then I've been sewing on a few different things- a valance for the livingroom, out of scraps of the pink and black quilt- which I'd take a picture to show you, but then you'd see my dirty windows. What a dilemma... My Aunt Isobel is always asking how I get all this sewing done- well, I'm not washing my windows...or decluttering my bedroom... I will, I will... just not today.

Smile!

I've been working on my applique- I still am not very good at it, but I kinda enjoy it- in moderation. (I got this "pattern" from an old magazine, McCall's Quilting, April, 2004. Flower Bed by Michelle Scott) I just think it is the sweetest little block- I added some old vintage fabric to the border and even though it's unexpected, I think it still works. I don't think I'll be doing a whole quilt in applique- any time soon. Seems like there are more and more applique patterns in the quilting magazines. Maybe that is the result of the newer, fancy, sewing machines. It is a lot easier than it used to be. I have a queen sized quilt on the frame now, and then I'll be quilting up this sweet baby and another child art quilt. My sweet William bought me 40 yards of cotton batting(my favorite) yesterday. Ahhh... that should tide me over for a while.

Oh, I've been intending to mention my opinion of Warm Co.'s newer batting called Warm and Bond. I wasn't impressed. Stiff stuff- I mean really stiff- I've washed it once and still it's, yep, stiff. I'll not be buying any of that again.

Hope everyone has a grand day. My 5th son has a Birthday, today, so I'll be taking him to lunch and then cooking up a Mexican feast for dinner. Happy 12th birthday John!

Waste not, want not...

So I had all of these tiny little slivers of fabric left from trimming my HST... just a little pile of fluff, really. But they made me smile and I wanted to share that feeling. So I ironed them onto a piece of pellon, stitched my way across it- zigzaging this way and that until I felt they were secure and then cut out hearts and appliqued them down on a postcard. How easy and so sweet! So now I'm sharing the smile with you!

BTW, guess who finally picked up DSL??? I am so happy. What fun this is- to click, click, click, type a minute and click again. Post done. Used to take me 45 minutes, now takes me five. And I can visit all my blog friends in about 5 minutes instead of an hour. Technical question- now don't laugh. Some of you return a comment to me(on email) when I leave a comment on your blog. How do you do that? Thanks! Hope everyone had a great weekend and are ready to charge into the new week!

New project...

I need a new project like I need another hole in the head... But that doesn't keep me from starting something new. Nope. Sometimes ya just gotta do things in spite of yourself. I saw this pattern in the book, "40 Fabulous Quick-Cut Quilts" by Evelyn Sloppy. Yes, I might have used a pen name if I were her, but there's nothing sloppy about her book. Full of great scrappy quilts. This quilt is made from a simple 9-patch(w/2 HST), just twisted and turned about. And it is soooo easy. One of those mindless day projects. OK, I might have a whole lot more days like that than the average bear... quit your pickin' on me. At any rate, I am using my reproduction fabrics and I am loving the bubble gum pink with the red and black.

Different color way. I made this blue and brown one for a curtain/cover to the porch door window in my bedroom.