I Like Thursday #291

Welcome to I Like Thursday! Please visit LeeAnna to find what other bloggers are liking this week. I put a little border onto my turkey block. It's all set to quilt. All of these fabrics were from my fabric stash. I love using whatever I can find in my sewing room. I guess it makes me feel less guilty! It now measures about 28.5" X 24.5".

We got new couches a few months ago and didn't realize that arm chair covers are no longer provided. We bought some of the fabric from the furniture store. I didn't have a pattern but I used an old arm chair cover to come up with my own pattern. I think it came out pretty good! I made 4 of them in one day. I think the couches look better with the covers. They look more complete and it's a great way to protect the couch. 

My husband was in the driveway and took a video of 2 bobcats running across the street. This one was running after the first bobcat. I've seen one bobcat only once before so it was neat to see a video of 2 of them. They looked like 2 big cats playing together. I'm glad they didn't notice my husband!!

The question this week asks what clothes do we start to wear as it gets colder. Well, the first thing that comes to mind is socks!! I don't wear socks all summer but as it gets cooler outside, it's the first thing I wear! I like them nice and thick and will wear them all winter. 

That's it for me this week. Have a great weekend and keep warm! We're under a freeze warning in my neck of the woods.

A Thanksgiving Turkey

 I was looking forward to making a turkey block from Riley Blake. They've been coming out with kits every month that could be a  mini-quilt or block. Unfortunately, my local quilt shop was all sold out. So, I decided to look online to see if I could find anything else to make for Thanksgiving. I found this block.  This block is found at Villa Rosa Designs and is designed by Tricia@VRD. Here's the link if you're interested. 

 The first step was to make the body.

Then I added some half square triangles to resemble feathers.1

I worked on the head separately. I had a little problem with the directions and had to remake one of the strips. But it worked out fine in the end  It measures 16" X 22". It's a fun and quick project to make. I used up some small pieces from my stash. I just need to add a border, quilt and bind! I'll be all set for Thanksgiving this year!!

I Like Thursday #290

Welcome to Thursday Likes! Please visit LeeAnna to link up to more participating blogs. The sunsets have been beautiful lately. This one was taken this past Monday. The sunsets are getting earlier but so colorful! It's so cold this morning. I think this is our coldest morning yet. But, we should hit 80 this coming weekend. The weather is so weird lately!

These blocks are the October blocks for Laurel Ridge BOM. These were fairly quick to make. The center is a solid piece of fabric. I just had to make the flying geese. They measure 5.5" square.

I guess I wasn't feeding these 2 fast enough. These are the looks I was getting as I was getting their food ready. Fresh kitties!!!

I love gingerbread but my mother never made it when I was younger. I don't think it's very Italian! Anyways, I usually use this recipe. I like the cake better than the cookies. I like putting whipped cream on it so the cake is better for me!

Have a great weekend!!!

Frightful Fun BOM is Done!!!!

I did it! My Frightful Fun Block of the Month is all quilted! It took me about 10 days to quilt it. I did no other sewing at all. If I quilt too long on the longarm, I tend to get sloppy so I tried to break up my quilting into 2 sessions per day. The quilt was finished with a combination of free motion quilting as well as ruler work. I'd like to thank Leila Gardunia, Hunter's Design Studio and Quiet Play for the gorgeous paper pieced block patterns. The directions were clear and easy to follow. I really enjoyed working on this quilt. It measures about 58" X 76".

This is a little closeup photo of the quilting. So fun!

Here's the backing. It's nice and flat. You can see the quilting. I just love the crows! My binding is done and ready to be sewn on! I even made a block for my scrap quilt that took a backseat these past couple of weeks. It's always a great feeling to finish a project especially when they take less time than expected!!

I Like Thursday #289

Welcome to I Like Thursday! LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color hosts us bloggers each week. Please visit her to link up to more participating blogs. It's a dark and rainy day in Massachusetts. We need the rain but it's a dismal day out there. I suppose it's a good day to stay home and quilt!

I'm taking a break from cross stitching. I miss knitting so I started knitting socks. I didn't want it to take too long so I found a pattern for ankle socks. This is a pattern that includes cables. I haven't made cables in awhile so it was good to refresh my memory and get them going again.

I highly recommend this book. It's a story about a woman who left her family behind. She became an author at a very young age and fled her family home after an incident took place, Of course, her family has been searching for her for years. It's a wonderful book that's very enjoyable that just might make you cry!

This is the time of year I start putting out Fall themed accessories. I just put this table runner in my dining area. I always feel sad that the summer is over. It always seems to fly by so quickly. I'm hoping the winter isn't too bad this year.

Have a great weekend!

Quilting Halloween Blocks

I was so busy all day today! The time just seemed to slip away from me. I've been working on finishing the quilting on my Halloween quilt. I'm making great progress. I'm already at the bottom row! I just wanted to show you the quilting on a few of the last blocks. I just echoed around this ghost. I thought it would fit in well with the whole ghost concept. I'll be changing my thread to white to quilt inside the ghost. I want him to stay white!!

I wanted to make swirls in the background of this block. However, there are so many different types of swirls that it took me awhile to choose the right one. This one is very simple and consists of a large swirl with a simple echo around it. The skulls were just stitched in the ditch but it took forever. I couldn't connect any of the dark features so I had to break thread for each eye, nose and mouth.

I was so excited that I could do a little ruler work on this block. I was getting tired of free motion quilting backgrounds. This one is pretty easy. I just outlined each candy. I quilted lines in the triangles and loops in the smaller triangles. 

That's what I did today. I'm almost at the bottom border! I think this quilt will be done for Halloween! I'm so excited!!

I Like Thursday #288

It's time for Thursday Likes! Please visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more blogs posting Thursday Likes! I finished my Purranormal Activity Halloween ornament. I used a method where I sewed right sides together. I also added batting and then turned it inside out. I inserted a square of card stock for a bit of rigidity. I added the black rickrack and sewed up my bottom opening at the same time. Then I added the ribbon and done! I think it came out great!

I finished this block on my Frightful Fun BOM. I used pebbles for the bottles and straight lines for the background.

I quilted a swirly flower in the background of this block. Those small pieces have wishbone and cross hatching. I'm hoping to have this done by Halloween but not sure I can do it. Custom quilting takes a while!!

My husband just lost 30 lb using Weight Watchers. One of the strategies that seemed to work was to eat this pop corn as a snack. Each bag is only 100 calories once it's been popped. I've started eating it too! It does make you feel full and the calories are so low!! Just thought I'd pass that along!!

Have a great weekend!!