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!!

Frightful Fun BOM

Here's my Frightful Fun Block of the Month quilt all done!! We started paper piecing this quilt back in January and it finished in September. This quilt was a very fun project. Some of the blocks were more difficult than others, but overall it was very enjoyable to work on. I opted to use different backgrounds for most of the blocks but some people used the same fabric which looks great too.

The quilt was made by working on 2 sections and then joining those sections together. I moved a few blocks around because I had too much of one fabric in one area. Many of the blocks were interchangeable so it was easy to do.

I've already started to quilt it. So far I've quilted loops around the bones and big circles in the border. I just have to come up with ideas for each block as I get to it. I'd love for it to be ready for Halloween but I'm not sure about that! Time will tell!!!

I Like Thursday #287

It's time for Thursday Likes! Please visit LeeAnna to link up to more participating blogs. I'm not sure I like this but our leaves are just beginning to change. This is the woods in my back yard. I've tried ignoring it but the yellow is definitely spreading. Autumn is almost here! I love Autumn but I'm not crazy about Winter which is just around the corner. 

I'm working on this cute little Halloween ornament. It's called Purranormal Activity and found in Halloween 2025 from Just Cross Stitch. It measures about 3" square. My daughter has already claimed it!! I'll finish it as a flat ornament.

I wanted to read Jane Eyre again and couldn't find a copy in my bookcase. I went to Barnes & Noble and found this beautiful book in their Classics section. It's such a nice book. I think I'm going to enjoy re-reading it!

Let's not forget what happened 24 years ago today. I still remember watching it on TV and being so scared. I became much more interested in the news after that day. I feel as though I was caught unaware that anything like this could happen. I follow day to day news very closely now and I'm still scared. Let's hope things improve in our country as well as the world. 

Progress on 2 BOMs

I'm on the 9th month of the Laurel Ridge BOM designed by Lynn Wilder. This month we had to make 16 blocks known as 9 Patch in a Star. These were tedious and the pieces were small! I would sew and measure just to make sure I was accurate. It was slow going but worth it in the end. I got my 16 blocks measuring at 5.5" square. I'm glad these are done. 

I'm working on the last block of the Frightful Fun BOM. This will be a fun haunted house! It will measure 24" square. It's definitely on the large size and has many sections to work on. I love adding those little scary characters in the windows! So fun!

We had a very rainy weekend so I had plenty of time to sew. I stayed inside and sewed!

I Like Thursday #286

It's time for Thursday likes!! Please visit LeeAnna to link up to more participating blogs. I'm working very diligently on the Laurel Woods BOM. This month I have to make 16 blocks called Nine Patch in a Star. They measure 5.5" square. This is slow going and very tedious but they're coming out great! I'm working on a few more. Slow and steady is key!!

My needlepoint project, Peacock at Sunset, is finished! Well, the needlepoint portion is done. I still have to block it and make it into a pillow. It measure 14" X 13". I'll be watching videos and reading up on how to finish this into a pillow for my family room.

I'm almost done this book and I just love it! If you like libraries and some history, you will love this book! A librarian discovers a secret room in her library that has 2 dollhouses. They were made years ago and are not considered to be toys. They're miniature versions of people's homes. It's a wonderful book to read. You'll love it!

The question this week asks if you went back to school clothes shopping at the start of school year. I usually did go to stores at the end of August to buy clothes for school. But a few years, my dad would make me dresses for school. Back then, I could only wear dresses. I hated the dresses he made me! He was a great tailor but his specialty was men's clothing. He made everything very plain! I wanted a few little embellishments or something cute. Nope, very well made dresses that were plain as can be! I wore them but I tried to get new clothes as the year progressed. I took my own kids to the mall every summer to buy clothes for the school year. I let them choose what they wanted. I didn't like my parents choosing for me so I didn't choose for them either!

Have a wonderful weekend! We're in for a warm and humid weekend. Just as I was getting used to the cooler weather!

Laurel Ridge Month 9

Month 9 of the Laurel Ridge BOM is called the 9 Patch in a Star Block. This quilt was designed by Lynn Wilder and and part of the The Quilt Show membership. I didn't count myself but I heard this block is made up of 45 pieces. That's a lot for a 5.5" block! I started by making the half square triangles. There are 8 HST's per block so I had to make a total of 128! I know that sounds like a lot but it's manageable if you use the 8-at-a-time method. There are lots of charts you can find online that will explain the method and tell you what size to cut depending on the finished size desired for your half square triangle. I always like to make them larger and then cut them down to size. 

The next step is to make quarter square triangles. I'm using the same 8-at-a-time method to make half square triangles. I only have to make 64 of these so that's a little better!!! However, there is one more step in making these that wasn't needed in the half square triangles. I have to sew two half square triangles together to make the hour glass shape/quarter square triangles and then cut them apart.

This picture gives you an idea of how they're finished. Hopefully, I'll be done soon! These blocks are very demanding but I love it!

I Like Thursday #285

It's time for Thursday likes once again! Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more participating blogs. Since I'm coming to the end of my Halloween BOM, I bought this fabric for the backing. It's called Sophisticated Halloween Floral Raven by Riley Blake. I thought it would complement the front of the quilt very nicely.

Speaking of Halloween, I finished these 2 projects. The top is a birthday gift for someone special. The bottom wall hanging is for my daughter and her boyfriend's place. Even though I'm working on 2 long term BOM's, I like making quick projects between monthly directions. The table topper is designed by Doug Leko and the bottom one is a Riley Blake design.

I found this recipe on Facebook and thought I'd share it. I haven't made it but it looks good!

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend! It definitely feels like the end of summer up here in the Northeast. It feels much colder this last week. I'm not even sure what we're doing for the holiday but we'll think of something!

 

Purple Round - Facets Quilt

Here's my Facets quilt so far. The red blocks are all sewn onto the quilt and I've begun to sew the next round. I'll need 36 dark purple blocks for the next round. 

I'm supposed to use dark purples but since this is a scrap quilt, I'll use whatever is in my stash. I really enjoy using up some of those small pieces that have been in my stash forever! Each block is 6.5" square and I'm using some paper piecing to make the block easier for me to sew. 

Quilting Kittens

I did finish the two small quilts, Not Kitten Around. They measure 12.5" X 14.5". They're not very big so I thought it would be so quick to quilt them. Wrong! The pieces are so tiny that I have to be very careful. I usually use a ruler for my arcs but I don't have anything small enough so I had to free hand everything. That's something I'm not used to!!

Each leaf block finishes at 3" so those squares  and HSTs are only 1" square. I did arcs in the full squares and along one side of the triangles. This took awhile only because I had to be so careful.

Here are the two blocks side by side on the longarm. I quilted some ribbon candy in the pumpkins. I used white thread so far but switched to black when I started quilting the cats. 

This is so hard to see but I quilted large pebbles on the cat. Using black thread made it hard to see what I was doing! I think it worked out okay. These little quilts are so hard! I'll take a larger size anytime! I'm planning on switching back to white thread and finishing up the background. I'm hoping to have them done soon before my next BOM directions are released next week.

Not Kitten Around Progress

 I'm making 2 versions of Not Kitten Around. One version uses the fabric that came in the kit but the other is just similar fabrics I had in my stash. The stash version will be going to my daughter and her boyfriend. It's a little bit of a challenge keeping the fabrics separate but I've caught myself before I made too much progress. Here are the cat heads and bodies.

Here are the two tails.

Here are the two pumpkins the kitty will be sitting next to.

These leaves will be placed at the top of this piece, above the kitty. This pattern is from Riley Blake and will measure about 12.5" X 14.5". I think it will be a cute addition for Halloween!

I Like Thursday #284

 It's once again time for Thursday Likes! Please visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more participating blogs. I love how my Facets quilt is coming along! This pattern is found in Victoria Findlay Wolfe's latest book, The Quilting Experience. I'm using my fabric stash but still buying a few fat quarters to infuse a little color where needed. Each block is 6.5" square. Each round focuses on a different set of colors. Fun!!!

I bought this little kit from Riley Blake. It's a series of monthly banners or can be made into a quilt using all 12 months. I'm just making this one for October. It came with enough fabric to make one quilt but I'm also going to make another one at the same time for my daughter and her boyfriend. They'll love it! Both of them are cat lovers!

Our tomato plants are bursting with tomatoes! It took awhile. I thought I'd share the largest ones! I love how tomato plants smell.  The smell reminds me of nature and the great outdoors! Such a clean smell!

The question this week is which do you prefer, creamsicle or fudgesicle???? As a child, I would have chosen the fudgesicle. I have always loved chocolate especially when I was a kid. However, now that I'm much older, I think I would choose the creamsicle. I'm not sure why but that's my answer! I would never say no to either one!!

Have a great weekend and stay cool!!!!!