Project Catchup

I finished my table runner last week. It was perfect timing! Thanksgiving was over and I could begin to display my Christmas decorations. I have a table in the dining area of my kitchen and thought it was the perfect place for my new table runner.

This is just another view of the same table with the table runner. It fits perfectly!

My handmade Christmas gifts are finally done so I could get back to my own projects. Here's the first row of my string quilt. It's amazing how scraps look so good together! These blocks are easy to sew together but there are so many bias edges. I'm just pinning a lot but there are no seams to line up. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!!🦃🍁🍽

 

Christmas Table Runner Finished!

I just finished my Christmas Table Runner.  It used a charm pack so cutting was minimal. It measures about 16" X 48". The longest part was figuring out the arrangement of the 5" squares!

The quilting didn't take long either. I quilted arcs in the squares and ruler work in the stars. Since there were only 4 stars, that turned out to be quick too. 

I had enough of the star fabric to make binding. I'm still working on Christmas gifts but I'll be sewing this binding down as soon as those gifts are done. Christmas is always such a busy time of year!  I'm almost done my handmade gifts but I still have a ways to go on the rest of my list. Online shopping, here I come!!

I Like Thursday #166

 It's time for Thursday likes! A bunch of us bloggers post things we like once a week. If you'd like to see more happy posts, please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color. Well, my lawn looks like winter. Our trees have lost their leaves and everything looks dormant. But I noticed this lone flower on a rose bush. I'm not sure how but it's still proudly blooming! I felt uplifted when I saw it. 

I finished my Christmas table runner. It was such a fun project. It was quick and easy! It measures 16" X 48".

I found this Riley Blake fabric for the backing. It's funny the stuff you find in your stash!

With Christmas season almost upon us, we just had to buy a new seasonal scratching house for the cats. This one is a van or truck full of Christmas gifts in the back that's being driven by a penguin. Sounds normal to me!! Each cat has taken their turn sitting next to the penguin! It always amazes me that the cats seem to know exactly what to do!

I don't have any fancy Thanksgiving recipes to share. My family grew up in Italy and this holiday was very foreign to them. They did serve turkey with vegetables and tried to make it as traditional as they could. However, we always had Italian food mixed in with normal Thanksgiving fare. We always had some sort of pasta dish, lasagna being my favorite! My mother's lasagna has meat in it but she makes the meat into tiny little meatballs. I don't have a picture to show you but I just think it's the best one I've ever eaten!

That's the week that was! Have a great weekend!

Christmas Table Runner

I'm still working on finishing up Christmas gifts but I started a project for me! I've made this table runner as gifts for friends but never made one for myself. I bought a charm pack awhile ago so I thought I'd better start now it if I want to use it this Christmas season.

This table runner is made up of 12 rows made up of 4 squares. I didn't have enough squares in my charm pack so I found a few matching fabrics in my stash. Flying Geese are made with the squares to give us that pretty Sawtooth Star block throughout the runner.  I changed the pattern a little. I liked the flying geese to be all the same size. The pattern called for 2 sizes to make it look a little more whimsical. I like symmetry too much to do that!

This is the book I'm using for the pattern. There are 3 books in the series and each book has great patterns. I have all 3 and I love them all!

 

I Like Thursday #165

It's time for Thursday Likes! A group of us bloggers post happy and uplifting posts. Please visit Not Afraid of Color to link up to similar blogs. I looked out my window Saturday and found this cute squirrel sitting on a branch, just sort of relaxing! The weekend was so warm that I think he was a bit confused! I can't blame him! I heard there weren't very many acorns this year. I'm not sure how true that is. 

I don't do too much decorating for Thanksgiving but I did put up these kitchen towels. I had to take down the Halloween decorations and thought the house looked sort of empty. It won't be much longer and those Christmas decorations will be everywhere!

This week's prompt was apple cider. I don't drink apple cider. It never seems to agree with me. However, apple cider doughnuts are just the opposite. They go down a bit too easily! There's a local orchard that always has them. I'll have to say that I've bought them at the grocery store and they taste pretty good too. I guess I'm not too fussy!

I am obsessed with this book! It's the story of Lucrezia de Medici. She was born in Florence, Italy in 1545. She was married off at the age of 15. Her marriage was short and unhappy. Of course, much of the book is fiction, but it's written using the historical timeline of Lucrezia's life. This book was so good. I plan on reading more books by Maggie O'Farrell. This book read like classical literature. What talent!

That's it for this week! Happy Veteran's Day! Have a great weekend!
 

Voting and Stitching!

I voted this morning around 11:00. We've always voted at the elementary school around the corner. I was so surprised to see a line there. I had to wait over 30 minutes. It was tough to find a parking spot. I hope that means people are taking the midterms seriously. I guess we'll find out later!

I'm sewing down binding on a few of my Christmas gifts. I can give you this little peek!

These are the leaves I need for my next applique block of Carrie Hall's Sampler Quilt. I have them marked so I know what side of the stem they're supposed to go. I have to applique the leaves first since the stems go over them and cover up the raw edge of the bottom of the leaf. 

It's a cool and windy day. Quite the difference after the temperature hitting the high 70's yesterday! Today feels more normal for this time of year. 

I Like Thursday #164

Welcome to my weekly likes! Go visit Not Afraid of Color to link up to more happy likes. This is my front door. It's been decorated for Fall for awhile now but it's going downhill! The squirrels are munching on the pumpkins. The poor mums look like they've had it. Oh, well, I hope it lasts a little longer. It's way too early for Christmas decorations!

We bought 8 bags of Halloween candy and this is what's left. Our Trick or Treating hours were on Monday from 5-7PM. It took awhile before the kids started showing up. Once they showed up, it didn't stop! I like seeing them all dressed up. It's always a fun time.

 

This week's prompt is cooking with pumpkin. I love to make pumpkin pie. I use the recipe right on the can of pumpkin. It always comes out great and it's easy too! I also make Paleo Pumpkin Bread but I'm the only one that eats it in my house. I like the recipes at Paleo Running Momma if you're interested.

I usually have a little plant on my kitchen window. My last one died so I bought this cute little Polka Dot plant to take it's place. It's so cute and has such a great color. I think I'll enjoy the color throughout the winter. (I hope it makes it until then!) I'm not the best with plants. I always seem to forget about them.

Have a wonderful weekend! I can't believe Thanksgiving is 3 weeks from today! Oh no!!!!