I Like Thursday #24

Happy Halloween and welcome to I Like Thursday! Our trick or treating got postponed to Saturday night due to bad weather. It's a nice way to extend Halloween! I guess I'll keep my decorations up for a few more days. This wall hanging is the first thing I quilted on my longarm. I just quilted an allover meander. I was scared to use it but sort of made myself quilt this. I think it came out all right for a beginner. Anyways, I hang it up every year.

We had a little celebratory dinner this past Sunday. My son is a banker and he passed all his exams to become a licensed banker. We're so happy and proud! He had to pass 5 exams. It was a lot of work and he passed them all first try. Of course, cake was part of the dinner. It tasted so good!!

Speaking of celebrations, we had a party at work in honor of Pharmacy Week. We had a pot luck day where everyone contributed to breakfast, lunch and dinner. I brought the healthy Veggie Tray. I think the desserts were better received! I tried!!

I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday and bought this magazine. There are some great patterns in it. I guess it's a reprint from 2014. I don't buy as many magazines as I used to but I thought this one was too good to pass up.

That's my week of likes! Go visit Lee Anna at Not Afraid of Color for more fun and positive posts! 

Disco Layout

I'm trying to set up my Disco quilt so I can sew it together soon. I usually live with the design for a little while. I will move a few blocks around but it looks pretty good to me. I'm trying to separate same fabrics from each other but it's almost impossible to keep similar colors too far away. The last row was a little difficult! All the colors seemed the same but I ended up moving blocks around.

This is the design wall while working on the quilt. 

This is the design wall I'm using. It's sort of frustrating to put the whole thing together. You put one piece together and another one will pop out! I just put some of it together and lean it against the wall. I just might tack up a piece of batting on the wall and leave it up as a permanent design wall. So much less annoying!

I Like Thursday #23

I'm so sorry that I couldn't post my usual I Like Thursday last week. We had an awful storm and lost power for most of the day. Everything is back to normal! Welcome to I Love Thursday #23! I love this grouping of frames and wall art. I like white and black together although this frame looks more like grey in this picture. It's just a nice classic decoration. 

I love the sky in this picture. I took this photo over the weekend. You can see how all the trees are changing. After the storm last week, many trees lost their leaves. It won't be much longer until the trees will all be bare. I can't believe winter is right around the corner! It's sort of warm today so I'm hoping Fall will stick around a little longer!

I got a little gift in the mail a few days ago. Dawn from Relaxing Robin sent me this thoughtful gift. The magnets are so pretty! She's so kindhearted and generous. Go visit her blog for some fun!

I love this! I think it's so true. A positive outlook results in positive results. It's not always easy but so worth it! 

And that's my likes for this week! Go visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for positive vibes!!

Progress on Disco

These are just 4 of the pairs I've been working on to make Disco, a pattern from Jaybird Quilts. A good friend of mine gave me a gift certificate to Keepsake Quilting. I bought this kit with her generous gift. 

There are 75 pairs in this pile. I only have 15 pairs left to sew. I'll be getting my design wall ready so I can figure out where all these pieces should go!

This is a picture of the pattern to give you an idea of how this quilt will look. I love Jaybird Quilts. Her patterns are so fun!

Borders and Binding

I have attached 2 of the borders to Long Time Gone. I'm so happy with it. I know it's busy but that's what I wanted. I think it's a great way to frame this quilt.

This border is very stretchy. After trimming off the points, I sewed the edges about 1/8" from the edge. I'm hoping this makes the edges a little more stable. The edges still feel stretchy but it's a little better. 

I have this left over from the last border. I'm just going to keep adding strips to make my next border. No need to start all over again. I read this hint from Bonnie Hunter. She has the best ideas!

I'm sewing down the binding on the Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt. 

As you can see, Lily and Molly like this quilt too! They like to sit on it as I hand sew the binding. They always look comfortable wherever they decide to sit!

We had no power here on Thursday due to the Nor'Easter. Two transformers blew during the storm. I'm so glad the wind is gone and we're back to normal. 

Scrappy Braided Border

I decided to make a scrappy braided border for Long Time Gone. I have 2 borders cut and am in the process of sewing them together. This is just one side that still has to be cut to size. I put the border next to the quilt top just to get an idea of what it will look like. I think this will make a great border for this quilt!

It's pretty easy to sew together once you get it started. You just have to line up the edges and sew. I just finger press after each piece is added.

Just a close up!

It looks so long! I'm going to cut to size and then just keep adding to the braid until it's the proper size for the next side. I'll have to stop at some point and cut more pieces. This is using up some fabric stash which is also nice!

I Like Thursday #22

It's Thursday and time for some positive posts. This was the sunset 2 nights ago. It's so pretty! Such beautiful colors! This was taken from my deck.

This is a picture of my neighborhood. You can see how all the trees are changing color. Actually, a few trees look like they've lost some of their leaves already. We were supposed to have a Nor'Easter today but it stayed well south of my area. Fine with me!

My husband decorated our house for Fall. The scarecrow is a little goofy but cute!

I couldn't resist this book! I like to have nice open areas so I can quilt it to death! This book has some great ideas on combining piecing with free space. I'd like to try designing some of the ideas floating around in my head. I'm hoping this book helps me out.

That's it for this week. I hope you make your way over to LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color, for more happy posts.

Long Time Gone is Done!

I had a rare Saturday off and got to finish Long Time Gone! I was so happy to put all the panels together. I decided to add a little border to the finished top. I thought it would be nice to separate the body of the quilt with the border. The quilt top measure 62" X 63".

This is the quilt top without the added 1 1/2 inch border. I like it better with the border. It looks a little more finished. I started cutting my fabric to make the border. It will take a little longer but I think it will add a lot to the quilt. Jen Kingwell's version just has random lengths of 2 1/2" strips as the border. I want something a little more complex. I hope it works!!

I Like Thursday #21

Another Thursday and another happy post! I just finished this little doily. I knit it on double pointed knitting needles, size 2. It still has to be blocked and starched. It measures 8 inches across. They make great gifts.

I love using this delicate bone china cup. I bought it at the Downton Abbey Exhibit in Boston. It has a little picture of the three  Crawley sisters. They look very fashionable even on my cup! This cup reminds me of a fun day!

I can't wait to make this quilt! It's the Star Storm Quilt pattern from Victoria Findlay Wolfe. It measures 80" X 80". I just love it! I love all her patterns but am starting with this pattern. She has a great website full of all sorts of quilt inspiration.

It sure is starting to get cold outside. We haven't put the heat on yet but I do love using this little electric heater. It heats the family room. We only keep it on when we're in the room watching television. As you can see, Lily loves sleeping close to it!

These are my likes for the week. I've had a busy week working. I treasure my days at home when I can do what I love. Go visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color to read more happy and positive posts.Stay warm!!