Happy Halloween!

Traveling Forward

After my Travel Back in Time post I decided it was time to give the zigzag quilt another look. I had gotten tired of the half square triangles so I decided to start sewing the rows together to help me get some motivation. Well it is working! I only have a few more half square triangles to make so once I get to that point, I will make them and keep going! Linking to Linky Party Tuesday at Freemotion by the River,  and WIP Wednesday at The Needle and Thread Network.

Design Wall Monday - Sunflowers

I have finally have all of my blocks done for my Sunflower quilt. I have really been enjoying this Taffy pattern by Jaybird Quilts, and I could see using it in a few different ways. Now, it is time to get it off of the Design Wall and sew it all together. Check out what others are working on at Patchwork Times.

Sunday Stitchery

Here are my snowmen stitchery that I did awhile ago and then left out "in the cold". I would like to get back to them. The problem I have is that when I downloaded the patterns, I did not download the December snowman, so I have been trying to figure out whether to make 11 of them and find a different pattern to display them, or whether to make only a few of them. I do enjoy working on them, so continue on I will!

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Tea Time

Quilt Measurements 11 1/4 " x 14 3/4"

Special Techniques : Paper piecing

Quilted by… me

Here is my submission for the Blogger's Quilt Festival. My mom had bought this as a kit for me years ago, and I put it on my UFO Challenge list to get done this year. The kit was originally pink and blue and I decided to swap out some of the fabrics. The pattern is called Time for Tea by MH Designs. I love paper piecing and this was really fun to do. This little quilt is going to reside with me, as I do love my tea time! I am always in awe of the impressive talent shown with the Blogger's Quilt Festival. Thank you to Amy for organizing.

On The Needles

My socks are coming along slowly, but surely. I am really enjoying the bamboo needles. They have a nice feel to them. Check out what others have On Their Needles at Patchwork Times.

Travel Back in Time Thursday

I thought it would be fun to travel back and time and update you on a post from a few years ago. On October 20, 2009 I talked about this block and how it was going to become a quilt for my brother.




It never happened. I was making a quilt for my sister too at the time, and I needed something faster. This is what my brother ended up with:

 

From what I can tell it has been well used and loved. The fabric that I bought for my brother's quilt turned into this:

  

I started on a few of these blocks, but I found it lacking something. Those fabrics turned into this:

 

I realized the blues need something to lighten them up so I added the lighter blue. The blocks for this quilt which I designed are all done, and I am ashamed to say they have sat untouched for almost a year. I think this will be on my list for next year. Well, it has been fun traveling back in time with you. To me, one of the wonderful things about blogging is seeing what I was intending years ago, and how things became.  Join me, and travel back in time, sometime with your blog! It's a lot of fun!

WIP Wednesday - Sunflowers

The Sunflower quilt is coming together. It has been a fun one to put together while I watch the tree outside my quilting room turn colours. Fall is such a beautiful time of the year. Check out what others are working on at The Needle and Thread Network and Freshly Pieced.

Plugging Along - Linky Party Tuesday

My stack for my Sunflower quilt is coming along. Only one more set of squares to do and then I can start sewing it together. I will be excited to see it come together. I am linking to Linky Party Tuesday hosted by Freemotion by the River.

Design Wall Monday - Down and Up

My Storm the Castle is up on my Design Wall right now. I finally found a border fabric I am happy with. It is going to be coming down so that I can put up my Under the Stars quilt. 

I bought this as a kit years ago. It does have a lot of fabric for the squares but I like it to be more of a planned scrappy so that the same fabrics are near each other. Check out what others have made for Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

Stitching Sunday

When my nephews and nieces were born many of them got birth cross stitches. Of course my children never did. I have worked on my son's but my daughter's needed some cross stitch fabric which I had a hard time finding. Last week I was at a needlework show and I found some of the fabric. Now I finally get to get started on hers and hopefully finish his.

Take Small Bites

I was watching Oprah's Next Chapter last night will Paula Deen, and Paula Deen had a small pillow that said Take Small Bites. I thought how appropriate that is as well for quilting. Putting things into smaller bites, makes a large project seem so much more manageable, and goals reachable. Here are some things I have been working on today in smaller bites.

My Under The Stars quilt

and

 

Socks

Finish it Up Friday - Storm The Castle

This posting once a day for the month of October has been keeping me on my toes. I have definitely been getting lots done, so that I will have something to post about.

Here is my nephew's quilt that we made together at March Break. I did not like the border that I originally had on it, so I took it off this week and put on a new one. The border is a deep brown colour and I like how it brings out the browns in the quilt. Now I need to get it quilted for Christmas. I am linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and Can I get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Under the Stars

I got started on my Under the Stars quilt today. It reminds me a bit of cross-stitching. I am counting the squares in the sections to sew them together between the stars.


 
Over the summer Nicole of Sister's Choice Quilts and Thelma of Cupcakes 'n' Daisies had a quilt along for the Spool quilt. Today they are both hosting a parade of the quilts that were made. Mine is being such at Nicole's, and check out the quilts at Thelma's too. Nicole and Thelma always have such amazing quilts on their blogs. I always want to make whatever they have created. Thank you to the two of them for the inspiration, motivation and support.

WIP Wednesday

A Wednesday with too many projects to count.

 Storm the Castle quilt waiting for its new borders.

Spools waiting for borders.

Sock Do-Over

3/4 of the blocks done for my Sunflower quilt.

 

Squares organized waiting to be sewn together for my Snowmen quilt.

I am linking to WIP at Freshly Pieced  and WIP Wednesday at The Needle and The Thread Network.

Almost Sewn Up

Well, my Spools quilt is almost sewn up! The Spools are together, and I am loving it. At the very bottom row I realized I had turned one of the backgrounds the wrong way, but when I look at the quilt I cannot tell the difference. I am going to think about whether to take it out, and I have a couple of ideas for the border, so I need to decided those before I move on. I am joining Linky Tuesday hosted by Freemotion by the River.

Design Wall Monday - Sunflowers

I am really enjoying the progress of my Sunflower quilt. It is great to have a pattern that can really showcase gorgeous fabrics. I would not normally say I am an orange and brown kind of girl, but I love the warmth that comes from this quilt. The pattern has come together quiet easily. Check out what others are making for Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

Sunday Summer Stash

Here are some of the fabrics I accumulated in my summer travels. Many of which have yet to be touched. I had a gift certificate left over from Christmas from my mother-in-law, so I used it to treat myself to this gorgeous roll by Robert Kaufman.

I also have a LQS which has their birthday sale around my birthday! How nice of them! These are the things I got at a great price.

 I know that purple can be a love it or hate it colour, but I love it. I have a couple of ideas for these beautiful fabrics.


 

This table topper came with a pattern for an embroidered centre. These are the colours I would love my dining room to be. Perhaps these will be on my UFO list for next year!

Starting over

Today is a day for starting over. I went to a needle craft show today and one of the booths was selling bamboo knitting needles. I read some good reviews about them and decided to try them out for the socks I will be redoing.

I also decided to take off the border off of my Storm the Castle quilt. I was not happy with the colour of the border. My LQS had a big sale of fabrics for $5.00 a metre and so I found some fabric I think will work better. It will also work for the backing as well. Hopefully, both projects will turn out as perfect as the yarn!

Triangulation

My Chopsticks top is sewed, the sides have been cut and it is ready to go to the quilter's. I have been practicing my FMQ but we still are not getting along. I am still trying to convince my DH that, that would be a great thing for him to do. I decided to leave off border, because the quilt felt finished. The original pattern does not have borders either. I also tested it out on my dh (he's good for a lot of things) and it is a good lap size for him. I am linking up with Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and to the Virtual Sewing Room at Amylouwho.

Quilt with an Attitude

 I had the day off today to get some housework done, and some quilting. I thought I might start on my UFO for October, which is my Snowman quilt. I took out the pieces, went through the instructions and realized I had a backing that would be perfect for it.

All of a sudden, I heard some yelling coming from my ironing table. It was the Spool quilt, saying "Don't forget about me! Remember you promised to have me finished ASAP?!" I turned to look at it and it had the saddest little face, kind of like the one my daughter gives me sometimes. I could not say no, so I got to work on it finished the last of the spools and got the sashing finished. Here is what it looks like now.

I was happy to heed the call and glad that the quilt is keeping me on the straight and narrow path.

WIP Wednesday

I am going to be adding a border on to this quilt because I would like it to be bigger.

This sock pattern turned out to be too small for my daughter, so I am going to have to rip it out and start all over.

 

 

 


I also need to start working on this quilt again. I need to go out and buy the focus fabric.



Check out what others are working on at The Needle and Thread Network and Freshly Pieced.

Excitement

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I found out that my sister-in-law is going to have a baby. She is not going to find out what it is. My mind started to whirl, thinking about the possibilities. I realized that I have this :

 

or I could use this:

or this for a boy:

or this:

 

New life is so exciting when the possibilities seem endless. I think I am going to put more possibilities into my life. I hope you will do!

Design Wall Monday - Centimetering Along

I was away for Thanksgiving weekend to spend time with famiy. I had a bit of time today to get back to my Spool quilt. It feels like I am centimetring (inching along) with it! Check out what others have made for Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a day filled with food, family and fun!

On The Needles

As I am seeing the beautiful fall colours I realize that it is time to get out my knitting/crocheting again.

 

I started work on this scarf last year for my nephew but never took the time to finish it. Thanksgiving weekend seems like a great time to get back at it again. Check out what others have On The Needles at Patchwork Times.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday to my Dad! Many of my better qualities come from him including my love of reading.

Here is a quilt I made for him a few years ago which he uses every day. He is very supportive of me and I am very grateful for him.

Stripes

I went to my guild meeting last night and it was quite fascinating. Patti Carey was the guest speaker. She is the marketing coordinator from Northcott, and she had a huge collection of quilts to show us. It was fascinating to hear talk about quilting from the business side and how the quilts she makes are used to showcase the fabric collections brought out by the company. Quilts are completed in 10 hours or less, and she told us she has 24 to get done in the next 3 weeks. She showed us this quilt she had made. The stars are actually from a striped fabric and cutting it on the bias gave her the strips already to be sewn together to make the lone stars. It was amazing.

She also had a fabric that had a large scale print on it. She made a block similar to a pinwheel with flying geese, and it looked very similar to a stack n whack. It was neat to see the movement in the quilt. She had another quilt that was simply squares with stripes as the sashing. She talked about how using stripes in a quilt can quickly change the look of a quilt. I have many of those fabrics in that quilt and the stripe she used. I would love to make my own version of that quilt.Now when I think about the time it takes me to make quilts, I will think of Patti and how quickly she has to get things done.

WIP Wednesday - Spools

 

I got behind on my Spools project, and now I am trying to catch up. I was using a Jelly Roll of Boutique, and wanted to add in some other fabrics so I set it aside while I got some other projects done and I came back to it this past weekend. I have the colours done now; I just need to turn a few more of them into Spools. I really hope to get this done soon. I love how it is coming together. Check out what others are working on at  WIP Wednesday at the Needle and Thread, and Freshly Pieced.

October UFO Challenge - Blogtoberfest

This is my UFO Challenge for October. I am so cold right now that I wish I had a nice snowmen quilt to keep me warm. I had this on my list last year, and I got as far as having the squares cut out. It has been a while since I have done applique and I am looking forward to working on this project.

I have also joined up for Blogtoberfest being hosted by Kat at I Saw You Dancing. I will be posting each day for the month of October. Darlene inspired me with her sew each day in September for the National Sewing month. Here's hoping for a month full of sewing and blogging!