Thursday, October 29, 2020

I Like Thursday #75

I had a long day at work but I'm finally home! I meant to post this last night but never got to it. Today is Thursday so it's time for happy and uplifting posts. Please visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color to read more positive posts from other bloggers. As you can see, the second t-shirt quilt is quilted and I've sewn on the binding. I'm sewing the other side by hand. I love to sew down binding. It's relaxing and means the quilt is almost done!


I rejoined the American Quilter's Society. I received this free book as well as a $20 coupon to use on their website. What a great deal! Membership dues are only $25. You also get their magazine every other month, American Quilter. It's the only quilt magazine I still get. I always look forward to it. 



And since Halloween is this weekend, I leave you with Molly and Lily in their costumes. I think Lily looks more upset than Molly! My daughter bought one lobster head piece and made them share. They look cute if they're not happy about it!

Have a Happy Halloween and enjoy the extra hour of sleep this weekend!

Monday, October 26, 2020

Projects I'm Working On


 I'm almost done making Pineapple Blocks! The large pile is made up of 72 completed blocks. On the right, I have 4 blocks in progress. I also have 5 little 2.5 inch squares in the top right of the picture. Those will be the last 5 blocks I have left to make! Phew! Almost there!!

Binding Baby is all set up holding onto my binding for the t-shirt quilt I finished last week. I just need to find the time to get that binding sewn on!



These are the two sides of my brioche scarf. As you can see, my lines are getting ready to intersect! I'll be making an X shape. I have to learn how to make a 4 stitch brioche decrease. It's made up of a ton of steps. I'm going to practice it first on a practice piece. 

That's what I'm working on. What are you working on??



Thursday, October 22, 2020

I Like Thursday #74


 It's Thursday so it's time for postive and uplifting posts. Please visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color where you'll find more happy posts by other bloggers. I'm happy to say that I voted yesterday. It was a very quick process. There was no line. Everyone was socially distanced. It's a good feeling to know I've done my civic duty!


We added a new Halloween decoration to our lawn this year. We bought these Styrofoam headstones. They actually look good where we placed them. Every time I see them from the corner of my eye, I think it's an animal come to visit us. Then, I remember it's just the headstones!


I finished the second t-shirt quilt. This one was quite the challenge! It came out so much better than I expected. I'm just starting to cut the binding. I'll be so happy when Angel has her two t-shirt quilts back in her possession. The longest part of getting these quilts ready was backing them with fusible interfacing. It was a step I couldn't skip and I think that's why the quilts came out so well.


If you like mysteries, don't miss this book! I always enjoy book selections from Reese's Bookclub but this one was great. The first half was a little slow but the second half was wonderful!

That's my week. I've had a quiet week just working and mostly staying home. Covid numbers are increasing in Massachusetts. It's making me a little nervous so I've been staying home when I can. I hope you all have a great weekend! Stay safe and stay healthy.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Brioche Scarf

 




I started to knit my Brioche Scarf. I found this scarf as a free pattern on Ravelry. It's supposed to be a basic scarf as far as learning brioche knitting. I'm in the process of learning increases and decreases. So far, the pictures aren't very helpful. There are videos to watch and I'm hoping they will be a little more helpful. brioche knitting has 2 sides. Each side has a different dominant color. Isn't that so cool?! I find brioche knitting amazing!


I'm almost done machine quilting this t-shirt quilt. This one has been so much more difficult that the first one. I think the first one was constructed better. This one is a mess! The seams are all crooked. The bottom is wider than the top. The sides are all wonky. Ugh!! I'm just glad that I'm almost done. It's been quite the process. I have to put the binding on too. The owner of this quilt doesn't sew. I'll just be happy to give them both back to her!


Thursday, October 15, 2020

I Like Thursday #73

 


It's Thursday so it's time to share happy and uplifting posts! You can visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color to read more fun posts. My daughter had a birthday this past weekend. We bought a sugar-free and dairy free birthday cake. It looks so nice but did taste a little different. I felt it was a little bland without the added sugar. Also, I think the frosting was made with Crisco since they couldn't use butter or cream. I think I prefer a regular birthday cake with sugar and butter! I bet the calorie content was just as high or higher than a usual cake. It was fun to try and my daughter liked it!


My daughter and her boyfriend decided to carve pumpkins a few days ago. This one is my daughter's. I know it's an owl. I'm wondering if it's from Harry Potter. They printed out stencils and applied them to the pumpkins. This is so nice to do this time of year. It's on our front porch. I hope it lasts long enough to put a candle in it Halloween night. 


We got a new planter for our mums. We placed in in front of our garage, between the garage doors. It looks really nice there. I'm sure we'll use it for many more years. 


I'm thrilled to say I'm already half done quilting the second t-shirt quilt. This one is a true challenge. It's not square at all. The top is more narrow than the bottom. I'm going to have to trim some of these blocks. I just want it to come out good enough so I can bind it and send it back to it's owner. 

That's my good stuff this week! Have a wonderful weekend!!


Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Second T-shirt Quilt


I'm in the process of getting a t-shirt quilt ready to quilt on the longarm. I bought this backing a few weeks ago. It's actually more blue than this picture shows. It's a fun geometric print. I have the backing all pieced. I just have to iron the seams open. I hope to load it tomorrow. 

This is the back of the t-shirt quilt. I finally finished ironing on the fusible interfacing. That seemed to take a long time! I'm so glad it's done. It's already on the longarm. I just have to load the backing and batting. I hope to be quilting it in the next day or so. These 2 t-shirt quilts have been so labor intensive. I'll be so glad to get them back to their owner!



 

Thursday, October 8, 2020

I Like Thursday #72


Welcome to I Love Thursday! A group of bloggers post positive and uplifting blogs that can be viewed at LeeAnna's blog,  Not Afraid of Color. We had an awful wind and rain storm yesterday. The storm wasn't quite over but you could see the clearing skies were on the way. It was amazing to see how the weather can change so quickly. I love the reflection off my house too.

I try to follow the Paleo diet but I'm not always successful. I found a recipe for Paleo Stuffed Eggplant. It was so good! My whole family enjoyed it and I'm not sure they even realized it was Paleo. I'll definitely make it again.

Speaking of diets, I don't eat dairy at all although I do miss cheese and other food. I found this dairy free cream cheese. I was so surprised about how good it is! By the way, I did have dairy last week and I was sick for the day. Not pleasant at all!!

I couldn't resist this book when I went to my local quilt shop. I'm not sure I'll make the large quilt but I would love to make a table runner or even small wall hangings for Halloween. Such cute blocks!!

Every time Thursday rolls around, I wonder if I can find anything positive to post. This year has been so strange. I'll have to say that thanks to this group, I do find the good stuff out there. It's a little harder to find, but it's there! See you next time!


Tuesday, October 6, 2020

A Stack of Blocks




I'm too lazy to lay out all my blocks. I'm just showing you a nice picture of 64 blocks! They measure 10.5 inches square. I'm getting quite sick of making them but I only have 17 (only?!) left!! At the rate I'm sewing, I should be done in about a month. I suppose I can do it! My work schedule keeps my from making them any faster. I will be quite happy when they're all done!


I started working on these blocks last week. I might make a Christmas gift out of them so I can't say what they're going to become. These blocks measure 6 inches square. They're actually quite small! I like them so far. I just might end up keeping them!

Hope you're all having a good week. I'm almost ready to start quilting my second t-shirt quilt. I'm almost done backing each block with fusible stabilizer. I just bought the backing and I love it! I'll post pictures next post!

Thursday, October 1, 2020

I Like Thursday #71

 

It's Thursday so it's time for a fun and happy post. Please visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color to check out some more uplifting posts. We all know that 2020 has not been the best year. However, I bought this planner at the end of 2019 and found I'm much more organized. I keep track of my projects, work, books, etc. It's fun to look back and see when I was working on various quilts. I'll be getting a new one for next year. Let's hope 2021 is better!

This isn't the best picture but it's my lamppost. My husband puts orange lights on it every October. The tradition continues! Halloween is such a fun holiday to decorate your home. I'm starting to get my ghosts and witches out a little bit at a time!


This sign makes us all laugh at work. We're wondering if we have to wear a mask when we're home too! How about when we're sleeping?? I guess it's hospital humor! Anything to make you laugh is good!!

I just finished this book this morning. It was so good! Do you remember that old movie, Imitation of Life? It's not exactly the same but some elements appear in the book. It's a great read.

That's my week of likes! I hope you all have a great weekend. The temperatures are nice and cool here. No humidity but not cool enough for the heat. My favorite!



Quilting State Fair Sampler

 I'm ready to quilt my son and future daughter-in-law's quilt. It's so big that I loaded it in 2 steps. This is how it looks aft...