Goodbye Leaves, Goodbye Faceted Jewels, Hello Wallhanging...

Hello!! The time between my Friday blog and this blog seemed like ages. There really wasn't much going on in general in blogland this weekend. It feels good to be back and I'm eager to see what everyone was up to this weekend.

Remember this tree, full of fall loveliness......

all you folks in California and Florida who left comments about missing the colors of fall,

look what colors I have now....none,

And this ...

is now this.

We had a lovely warm and sunny weekend, just what everyone needed to rake all those previously beautiful, but now dead leaves. This is what I get to look at for the next 5 months. This is why I plan trips to California in February!!

Well it's official, I have my first real UFO!!

I packed up my "Faceted Jewels" project this weekend. This is the first time I've started something and instead of finishing it, I put in a storage box!! I had a pretty good record going, 52 starts and finishes. I thought it would maybe make me feel bad, to start this project and postpone when I would finish it...but it didn't!! It was really a relief!! With the holidays rapidly approaching, my monthly Schnibbles, plus my snowball challenge, I didn't think I would have the opportunity to spend time on Faceted Jewels. So instead of leaving it out collecting dust, I packed it up. My plan is to get back to it in February, when the decorations are put up, the snow is flying, and working an a colorful project is what I'll need to get through the dreary winter.

It's going to patiently wait for me right here in my closet.

Have you ever made a Harmonic Convergence quilt? It's a pattern created by Ricky Tims.

I can vouch for the book cover, they are mysterious, magical, easy, and fun!! The inside of this book is pretty amazing too. There are some very clever and artistic folks out there!!

All it takes to make a Harmonic Convergence top is four 14 1/2 inch squares of fabric. You cut the squares into 1, 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2, 3, and 3 1/2 inch strips, mix'em up, sew'em up, then cut'em up, mix'em up and sew'em up again. And then you get this.

Some afternoon when you are wanting to feel like an artist and not a quilter, give it a try. I'm giving this to a friend for Christmas. It's quilt # 45 and is 31 inches square.

Well, it was 31 inches square before it was quilted, something happened after it left home to make it a little wonky and ripply. Do small projects get distorted by long arm quilting? I told the quilter I did not want an all over pattern, I think she did a nice job.

I'm still waiting for my Schnibbles Picnic pattern to arrive in the mail!!!

Read more

Patchwork Party 2007 - Part Two . . .

This is the second quilt I made from the Patchwork Party Fall 2007 sampler blocks. It is called "Clara's Enchanted Nutcracker Dance Quilt" and it's by Bittersweet Blessings.

This quilt is 66 x 66...a little more than half the size of this one.

Don't the twelve sampler blocks looks so different in each setting?

I couldn't pick a favorite, so I did both.

The quilter quilted these tops one right after the other, and she did an amazing job on both. She also tried to quilt the blocks as similarly as possible. The borders do have the exact same quilt pattern.

I like this spinning whirlygig quilt pattern thing.

Here's a close-up of the center. This top has just a little applique going on, just enough for me to be able to do it!

This is the back. This is quilt #30.

The large quilt will go on my bed after the holidays, (I have a Christmas Quilt that I use during the month of December) and the smaller quilt will hang on the wall beside it.

Read more

50th Post .......

Yesterday was the 50th post on my blog. Wow, how fast did that go!! I decided to have a giveaway for the folks who left messages on my 50th post.

Cara, Rene, Nicole, Allyson, and Mary are in the running for this:

a Gingher seam ripper.

And the Random Number Generator picked....4! Allyson you're the winner. I've got your address so consider this on the way to your house. Thanks to all who left messages.

(I have no idea how those clever folks cut and paste that random number generator box on their blog...I had Cooper verify the results.)

Speaking of Cooper, he got a birthday card, his first card on his first birthday.... He loved it!! Cooper looked just like the pup on the right when he came to live with us, cute, quiet and shy. That's definitely his sister on the left.

Read more

Patchwork Party 2007 - Part One . . .

Are you familiar with Patchwork Party Quilts? It's kind of like an online shop hop/block of the month combination. A group of twelve online quilt shops each offer a sampler block using the same family of fabrics. You have a couple of months to visit each shop and purchase their block. Each shop also offers a finishing kit, with each shop creating their own design. I participated in Patchwork Party 2007 Fall Edition. The blocks are made using Marti Michell templates. I figured while I was making one block I might as well get some extra fabric and make two. With Marti Michell it's all about the cutting.

This quilt is called" Snowbird Migration". The finishing kit was created by Creative Quilts and the pattern designed by Rose Wojnar. The fabric is "Home for the Holidays" by Faye Burgos for Marcus Brothers.

A few times I have mentioned my Lessons Learned Journal, and how one project taught me to pay attention to the size of a quilt before I start. This is the quilt that taught me that lesson. It is 112 x 120. I started this project in January 2008, and finished two different kits by the end of February. I just got it back from the quilter. She did a custom job that's amazing, it was worth the wait.

Each sampler block is surrounded by red sashing, then black sashing, then the flying geese. Each one of these large sampler blocks finish at 26 x 26. You think I would have noticed that these were rather large blocks but the size of this quilt really didn't hit me until I started sewing these large blocks together.

Here's a little close-up of some of the quilting.

Friday I'll post pictures of the other quilt I made using these same sampler blocks.

Patchwork Party Fall 2009 is going on right now.

This is quilt #29.

Read more

Goodbye Halloween, Hello Thanksgiving . . .

I got all my Halloween decorations packed up over the weekend.

Goodbye Halloween..........and

Hello Thanksgiving...........

I don't really have much in the way of Thanksgiving decorations.

I start decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving, so I don't really want my decorations battling for space during the month of November.

This was pretty much it.

Until now!!!!! Look what I got back from the quilter last week!!!

Eat More Pie, my September Schnibbles made from Gobble Gobble!

I went with an overall swirling leaves design. I'm not usually an overall pattern type of girl, but the quilter thought this would fit the style of this quilt. Plus, this quilt will only be out one month a year, so why spend the extra on a custom quilting job?

Here it is, all done and hanging over the bannister!!

Every time I finish a quilt top I call my quilter to get on her list, so it's pretty random when I get a call that my turn is up. Technically, this time slot was for a quilt I finished in April, but I got it quilted in July, which was the time slot for a quilt I made in February. So I have a quilt I made in February patiently waiting its turn. That's OK, I'm so glad I get to enjoy Eat More Pie this year!

Read more