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!!!!!

Facets Round 4

The heat is back again and I seem to be moving much slower! My house is cool but if I have to go out to do anything, I get pretty hot. I did manage to finish the blocks for the 4th round of the Facets quilt. This round featured red as the main color with light pink contrast. The middle is made up of a flower motif of any color. The blocks measure 6.5" square. I use paper piecing for some of this block which helps me go a little bit faster. I love the contrast of the rows. My next color is purple! It's supposed to be dark purple but I plan on using what's in my stash.

I couldn't find anything in my stash for the binding of the Halloween table topper. I had to go to my local quilt shop to buy a few replacement lights for my longarm and I bought this fabric for the binding.  I only had to cut 3 strips so it was quick to prepare the binding. I'm hoping to sew it on tomorrow. If the heat doesn't get to me!!

I Like Thursday #283

 It's Thursday so it's time to talk about all the things we like! Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more participating blogs. I've been working on this peacock for ages! I finally finished needlepointing the peacock yesterday. I still have the background to work on but I'm thrilled that all those feathers are done! I hope to make it into a 16" pillow. 

I machine quilted my Halloween table topper. I wanted to make a spiderweb in the large light triangles. I looked online for ideas but didn't see anything that I thought would work with this shape. I came up with this idea and like it! It's not perfect but it works! The machine quilting is all done so I just need to make the binding.

I got new couches back in May and put quilts on them to add some color to my family room. I switched one of the quilts to this one, Arcadia Avenue. It measure 72" X 90". I love how it looks on my couch. It adds some really great color. This quilt really showed me what paper piecing was all about. I became very comfortable with this technique after making this quilt.

Our question this week asks if we used a hula hoop when we were younger. I certainly did and I loved it! I remember a few of us would get together in our neighborhood and just use our hula hoops for awhile. We thought it was so much fun!! When my kids were younger, we bought one. I couldn't wait to try it. Was I ever disappointed!! I couldn't get it to even stay up!! It just kept falling down. I never tried again! I guess things just aren't the same once you're all grown up!

It's been a much milder week here temperature wise but things are supposed to heat up once again. Ugh. Have a great weekend!!!

BOO!

This is the August block for the Frightful Fun Block of the Month. It's appropriately named BOO!. It measures 12" X 24". The letters are actually purple even though it looks blue in the pictures!

The directions recommended we make the skulls first since they were going to fit inside the two O's. Although small, these 2 blocks weren't very difficult except for those mouths! Each mouth starts as a square with tiny triangles sewn on each to corner to round it out. Mine didn't come out perfect but close enough. I attempted one mouth 3 times until I liked the result. Done is good!!!

I was afraid I wouldn't be able to center the skulls properly but it really wasn't too hard. I saved the exclamation point for this morning. This was the fastest part of the block! It was nice to finish earlier than expected.

Next month is the final month of this BOM. I have really enjoyed working on this quilt. The patterns were so fun to work on. I can't wait to put it all together and see the end result!

I Like Thursday #282

It's time for Thursday likes! Boy, the weeks just seem to be flying by. Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more participating blogs. The August directions for the Laurel Ridge BOM were out a few days early so I started working on it. I have to make 32 Cat's Cradle Blocks. I'm working on the portion of the block made up of 4 triangles. The pile on the left are the side triangles. The pile in the middle are half square triangles that have to be ironed open and trimmed. The pile on the right are my finished pieces. It's coming together nicely!

We went out to eat last weekend and I got the best drink ever! It was called simply Pineapple Rum Drink. It was so good! It tasted like a pina colada and even had a little nutmeg sprinkled on the top. I don't always finish drinks but I finished every drop of this one!!

I thought Lily looked uncomfortable sleeping on her couch like this. She stayed in this position for awhile so I guess it couldn't have been too bad! Silly kitty!!

The question this week asks if we worked during the summer when we were younger. I worked as a cashier as soon as I turned 16 years old and continued until I went to college. Once in college, I got a full time summer job to help pay for my tuition. I never enjoyed the summer once I was old enough to work. That might be why I'm enjoying my retirement so much! It's so nice to have time off and be able to do whatever I like!

Have a wonderful weekend!! Stay cool! It's been so hot up here in the Northeast. We're finally expecting cooler temps.

Halloween Stratford

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I had a few busy days at the end of last week. I had to take my mother to the doctor. I didn't have a lot of time to sew but somehow, I managed to finish this Halloween version of Stratford Table Topper. It's a quick project so one step every so often adds up quickly.

These are just the diamonds before I sewed them together. I moved them around until I liked the layout. I just alternated black and orange so it didn't take too long. Plus there are only 6 diamonds so there aren't that many variations. 

I found a background in my stash that I liked. I just barely squeaked out enough to finish the topper. I like the lines and little bit of gold in the fabric. Its not really a pattern but adds a little bit of interest to the background. It's just what I wanted! I had to order the batting. I sure miss running to JoAnn's with a coupon! This will give me time to figure out how to quilt it. Hope I think of something good!!

Stratford Quilted

 

I just finished sewing the binding onto the Stratford Table Topper. I tried to find something in my stash that would work. I'm glad I found this tucked away in my purple drawer and love how it turned out.

I took this picture while I was still quilting it on the longarm. I quilted feathers in the points of the star. That middle seam made a great spine for the feathers. The diamonds have ribbon candy surrounded by echoing lines. The smaller triangles in the middle have echoing arcs with round arches along the edges. It's nothing too difficult but gives a nice effect.

The texture really looks great on this small piece. I plan on making a Halloween version for someone special. These table toppers are cute and fast and make great gifts. 

I Like Thursday #281

It's time, once again, for Thursday likes! It's been a quiet but hot and humid week. I've been sewing and pretty much staying indoors as much as I can. I've been working on my Facets quilt and am making progress on the 4th round which is red with light pink accents. I have to make a total of 28 blocks for this round. Each block measures 6.5".

The cats have been comfortable indoors with the air conditioning on. I thought it was funny to see Lily sleeping right next to her favorite toys! Ahh, the life of a cat!!!

We don't see too many pigeons around our house but this one seemed to love my husband's car! He sat on it for awhile, would walk around and then go back to sitting at that same spot. So funny!!

This one is a bit hard to see but a doe was in my yard with her 2 babies! They were so cute to see. I was a little nervous seeing them cross the street but all three of them made it safely across.

Please visit LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color to link up with more participating blogs. Have a great weekend and keep cool!!!