Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! I can't believe it's already the end of October. I have candy ready and waiting for tonight's trick or treaters. I've been laying low the last couple of days. I got the Covid bivalent booster as well as the flu shot this past Thursday. I started feeling a little better yesterday. It's always rough for a couple of days but worth it in the end.

While sitting on the couch, I've been working on my applique pieces for Carrie Hall's Sampler quilt. The second block is called Sadie's Choice Rose. I'm making it my own way. The directions wanted me to piece the center but I decided to applique it instead. I hope my method works!

 This is the wide back I bought for the blue and yellow scrap quilt I made a while ago. Since it's 110" long, I had to buy more than my usual 3 yard pack. It was on sale at Keepsake Quilting. If you're ever looking for wide back fabrics, check them out. They have great prices and deliver very quickly.

Have a great Halloween!

I Like Thursday #163

It's time to post our weekly likes. Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to find links to more likes. This is the cake we ordered for the engagement party we hosted a few weeks ago. My son and his fiancee really liked it! The baker custom designed it. All the decorations were edible but I'm not sure they were all ingested! I think they saved the engagement ring. It was impressive to see.  It was a white gluten free cake. 

 

I'm working on some Christmas projects. I bought this as the backing for a few of them. JoAnn's has a great assortment of holiday fabric. There were so many to choose from! It was difficult to decide which one to pick.

Our prompt this week is about the Halloween costume we wore as kids. I can't really remember to be honest but I do know I was always a princess or Cinderella. I found this goofy picture and as funny as it looks, there was something familiar about it! I always had one of those thick plastic masks that always got sweaty. I wore lots of pink. I think my brother was Batman a few years. We always went together but would see a lot of the neighborhood kids along the way. It was always a fun night no matter what.

Lastly, Lily was sleeping next to me but I disturbed her when I got up. I wish I could sleep so soundly! I don't think I'd like to be twisted around like that but she does look cute! She likes to get next to me to sleep lately. 

I hope you have a nice weekend. This is the first day of sunshine we've had in awhile! So nice to see all the brightness!

Oak Leaf and Cherries Block

I finished the first block of Carrie Hall's Sampler. It's called Oak Leaf and Cherries, It measures 20.5" square. This is definitely a slow project. This block took awhile for so many reasons. I use the freezer paper method so there's a lot of preparation before I actually get to applique. The leaf piece is one big piece and I was so afraid of any part of it shifting. It seems to be okay! 

This is the book I'm using to make this quilt. Of course, my colors will be a bit different than the cover quilt. I hope I'm updating the look although I do like the vintage colors of the past. I'm using stash for most of my applique fabric. The next block has me a little confused but I'll figure it out. (eventually!)

 

I Like Thursday #162

It's time for my weekly likes. If you visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color, you can find links to similar posts. My daughter spent a few days in the White Mountains this week. This is a picture she took while hiking. She said the hike was challenging but well worth the effort! Such a great view!

Our prompt this week was our favorite Halloween candy. I was always partial to Baby Ruth bars. My mother always liked them too so I think they were more readily available! I really love anything chocolate. I always liked Hershey bars, M&M's as well as licorice sticks. When it comes to sweets, there are more things that I like than I don't like!

Speaking of sweets, we celebrated my daughter's birthday last weekend. We ordered a triple chocolate cake. It's made of chocolate cake, chocolate frosting along with 2 layers of chocolate mousse. This cake is so good! It's a bit heavy so small slices are better. 

I'm working on Carrie Hall's Sampler Applique quilt. I was originally going to use all white fabric for the background for each block. I saw a few quilts made of blocks with pastel or very lightly colored backgrounds. I bought these 3 fabrics and am still trying to figure out how to use them. The colors are so soft and pretty! 

Have a great weekend!  It's been cool this week but I hear the weekend will be warmer. Something to look forward to!

Hand Sewn Projects

I've been working on Christmas gifts so I can't post any pictures. But, I'm also working on a few other projects. This is the first block for the Carrie Hall Sampler Quilt. This has been appliqued and the freezer paper removed from the back. I'm making 12 pink circles ready to applique in each quadrant of the block. There are only 9 large blocks and a few small blocks in between. I bought a few fabrics that a very light but do have some color in them.  I'm not quite sure how I'm going to place them. I still have to figure that out!

I'm sewing down the binding on Garlic Knots. I had this Jinny Beyer fabric sitting around for the longest time. I liked the variations in color and thought it would complement the quilt nicely. It's great to have hand work for when I'm watching TV. (Especially General Hospital!! Don't tell anyone!)

I Like Thursday #161

Welcome to I Like Thursday! The weeks seem to be flying by! Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to visit more blogs with similar posts. My future daughter in law made these cute favors for the engagement party. I haven't tried them out yet but they're hand warmers she made herself. They have rice in them. My hands are always freezing so I think they'll come in handy! (My son put the stickers on the labels!)

This week's prompt is what food do you go to when needing a break/comfort. I always find myself munching on Cape Cod chips. We always get the 40% less fat. Doesn't that make them healthier?? Anyways, they're my favorite!

You can tell Fall is here. My husband brought home these two goodies. I love the Oreo's! My son usually eats the Peeps. I still don't know what Peeps are made of other than sugar. Lots of sugar!

 It may be Fall but we have one reminder left of summer. This lone hydrangea has survived for over 2 months. I still like having it around. It gives me a little glimmer of warmer weather as our temperatures plummet.

This was a quiet week but I like it! Have a wonderful weekend!

Garlic Knots is Done!

I finished machine quilting my Garlic Knot quilt over the weekend. It measures 92"X92". It's a good sized quilt but it didn't take long to quilt it. 

I used the Drunken Feathers pantograph. I love all those loops on the square lines of this quilt. This pantograph is rather dense. I had to replace the bobbin every 2 passes. I made a total of 17 passes. Each pass was between 5.5 inches high. It worked up so fast!

Here's a closeup of the back. I love that paint splatter fabric. I used up a good amount of scraps but I still have a lot left! I don't think I'll ever use them up! I really enjoyed working on this quilt. Such a fun project!

I Like Thursday #160

It's time for I Like Thursday! Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up to more likeminded bloggers. This week's prompt is apples! I don't usually go apple picking but I do like to make apple pie! I like apple crisp too. This is a pie I made a few years ago. My favorite apples are Honey Crisps. I usually use Granny Smith apples to make pies. There are quite a few apple farms in the area that have some great apples to choose from. 

We're having an engagement party this weekend so I had to go buy some decorations. My son and his fiancee have been planning this for awhile. We rented a tent and tables/chairs for outdoors. I'm hoping the weather cooperates! I will be posting pictures next week. It should be a fun day!

I started quilting Drunken Feathers on the Garlic Knot quilt. This is a close up of the pattern. It looks good so far! I'm enjoying quilting this. I've used this pantograph before so it's sort of easy.

I started a new applique project. I found a book in my quilt library which was Carrie Hall's Sampler. I needed a new hand project so decided to go for it. This block is huge! It's 21.5" square. I use the freezer paper method so that green leafy piece is all basted around freezer paper which makes it easy to handle. I will cut out the back and remove the freezer paper once it's all sewn down. This is not a fast project. 

That's my week! Enjoy the weekend!
 

Drunken Feathers on Garlic Knots

I've been busily sewing but I can't show you! I'm working on Christmas gifts and I can't post any pictures. I try to start early since I've had to scramble in the past. I learned my lesson and start early now! However, I can show you that I loaded my Garlic Knots quilt onto the longarm. I had thought of doing custom quilting on this one but decided against it. It's a scrap quilt and measure 92" X 92". I think a pantograph is the way to go!

 I thought this pantograph would look great on it. It's called Drunken Feathers and I love it! I've used it before and looks nice when done. I usually practice the design without engaging the needle until I feel comfortable enough with the pattern. I hope to get the actual quilting started sometime later this week in between my Christmas projects!!