Two Finishes

 I have a subscription to The World of Cross Stitching magazine and each magazine includes a small project kit. This month was this cute little Autumn Cat Card. It says it only takes 7 hours to stitch this piece but I think it took me double! I must be a slow stitcher! The cross stitch piece measures about 3.75" X 2.25". The kit come with everything and is always a fun little project to work on.

Here is my Talking Turkey all done! Everything was in my stash. I finally have something to display over the Thanksgiving holiday!

I had my annual physical this morning and am happy to report, all went well! I'm always a bit nervous before these appointments but am so thankful for good news. I can relax until the next appointment! 

I Like Thursday #292

Welcome to Thursday Likes! Please visit LeeAnna to link up with more participating blogs. I finished quilting my turkey wall hanging or table topper. I haven't decided yet how to use it but it's almost done. I cut out binding this morning. This was a fun piece to quilt. It's small with easy shapes. I'm glad I have something quilty for the Thanksgiving holiday!

My daughter just had a birthday recently and I had to show you what her boyfriend bought her. She loves cats so he got this limited edition print and framed it himself. I'm not sure what it's called, maybe Strawberry Kitty?? It was painted by Emily Dunlap. That kitty is so cute and pudgy! I love it!

There are lots of great Halloween decorations around me. I think this one is my favorite. It's found at our local library, right outside of the children's section. There are lights twinkling all around it. It's so fun to see, even for me!!

Our conversation starter for this week asks what food would we bring to a fall gathering. I would always bring some sort of apple cinnamon bread. It's one of my favorites this time of year. Here's a recipe if you'd like to try it for yourself! I just love the plethora of apples this time of year. Add some cinnamon and sugar and it's a winner!

Have a great weekend!! Keep warm.

Projects Update

I had a very busy weekend but I did manage to get a little sewing/quilting done today. I loaded this turkey on the longarm last week but only started to quilt it today. I did bead board in the border which is quick and always looks nice. I echoed lines and quilted wishbones between them. I quilted a loop meander in the background. It's not a very big piece so it should be quick. 

I'm back to working on my Facets quilt. I'm making good progress on the dark purple row. It's so fun to use up my fabric and watch the quilt grow! And use up some of my stash!

Here's a closeup of some of the purple blocks. I'm using a solid orange for those tiny little triangles in the corners of the block. The middle is an orange print but the focus fabric is a dark purple. I need 36 blocks for this round. I'm getting there!!

I Like Thursday #291

Welcome to I Like Thursday! Please visit LeeAnna to find what other bloggers are liking this week. I put a little border onto my turkey block. It's all set to quilt. All of these fabrics were from my fabric stash. I love using whatever I can find in my sewing room. I guess it makes me feel less guilty! It now measures about 28.5" X 24.5".

We got new couches a few months ago and didn't realize that arm chair covers are no longer provided. We bought some of the fabric from the furniture store. I didn't have a pattern but I used an old arm chair cover to come up with my own pattern. I think it came out pretty good! I made 4 of them in one day. I think the couches look better with the covers. They look more complete and it's a great way to protect the couch. 

My husband was in the driveway and took a video of 2 bobcats running across the street. This one was running after the first bobcat. I've seen one bobcat only once before so it was neat to see a video of 2 of them. They looked like 2 big cats playing together. I'm glad they didn't notice my husband!!

The question this week asks what clothes do we start to wear as it gets colder. Well, the first thing that comes to mind is socks!! I don't wear socks all summer but as it gets cooler outside, it's the first thing I wear! I like them nice and thick and will wear them all winter. 

That's it for me this week. Have a great weekend and keep warm! We're under a freeze warning in my neck of the woods.

A Thanksgiving Turkey

 I was looking forward to making a turkey block from Riley Blake. They've been coming out with kits every month that could be a  mini-quilt or block. Unfortunately, my local quilt shop was all sold out. So, I decided to look online to see if I could find anything else to make for Thanksgiving. I found this block.  This block is found at Villa Rosa Designs and is designed by Tricia@VRD. Here's the link if you're interested. 

 The first step was to make the body.

Then I added some half square triangles to resemble feathers.1

I worked on the head separately. I had a little problem with the directions and had to remake one of the strips. But it worked out fine in the end  It measures 16" X 22". It's a fun and quick project to make. I used up some small pieces from my stash. I just need to add a border, quilt and bind! I'll be all set for Thanksgiving this year!!

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!