Feel good finish

 

I finished our quilt group "Bound Together" 's Mystery SAL this beautiful afternoon.  (Just the top)

I struggled with the pattern and was about to give up so many times but I'm glad I stuck with it.

I don't normally do the "victory lap" of machine basting on the outside of the quilt top but this one has so many bias edges that it needed to be done.

It's spread out upon tall grass so it doesn't look very smooth in this picture.  It measures about 60" square.

I was unable to get a really good picture on this old trellis but I wanted to include the absolutely beautiful autumn sky.  It really is that bright blue color!!!  Amazing!

Enjoy you day!

Robin

Happy Fall to Everyone!

 

Happy Fall to everyone!  I found this darling platter at the grocery store of all places.  I love it!  It adds so much ambience to the room.

This is my mantle so far.  I'm waiting for my two grandsons (ages 7 and 5) to come and make decorations for Halloween/Fall.  The are so delightful and stinkers all in one.

I decided I wanted to make a fall bouquet for my living room wall.  I'm not much for flower arranging but I'm willing so I picked out flowers at Hobby Lobby, bought some of the spongy stuff to stick them in, found a little bling and got to work.  I found the basket at CF Furniture in Gardner Village.

I found a large doily that my mother made, folded it in 1/2 and it adds nice contrast to the flat hanging basket.  There is enough basket leftover that I'd like to find a photo or quote to hang there.  There is a 'Welcome' plaque under the doily but it's too dark to really notice.

If you look closely on the right you'll see a little mouse that I added for whimsy.

And here it is above the couch in my living room.  I think it will be fun to change the flowers etc. for different seasons.  And I'd like to roll up a row of little quilts to put inside as another idea.

As far as quilting goes, I've been trying to catch up on the Mystery SAL in my quilting group.  I picked New Mexico colored fabric from my stash.  At least they look New Mexico to me . . .   I made one of the strips to finish the outside border.

I have seven more strips to go.  I cut out all the colored squares today and need to cut out all the backgrounds next.  And then it will be done.

I finished "Big Stitching" my flying geese quilt.  It time to do the binding around this 88" square quilt.  It's going to take a while.  The temperatures have been dropping and this is for my bed so I'm motivated to get it done.

A lady gave daughter #2 boxes of old fabric she didn't want any more.  I was invited to come over and look through it.  I found this 1/2 yard print by Debbie Mumm in one box.  I still love Debbie Mumm Fall and Christmas things so I was excited to find it.  I'd like to make it into a little wall hanging but I have no plans yet.  I'm thinking it would look cute to just surround the big piece with blocks.  We'll see.

I've made a little more progress with my hexagon quilt.  It's so hard to show much progress with projects like this.

 This is a picture of my "Rolling Office".  It's really the kitchen table but it's what I always use for computer work (it's where I'm sitting now) and the rolling cart contains everything I need.  I can roll the cart into the bedroom when not in use.  

I'll close with my husband's (the garden gnome) harvest of pumpkins this year.  It always makes me happy to see them all together.  I probably should have taken the picture in the early morning when the sun shines in on them  but I didn't think of it till this afternoon so it's in the shade.

 

I hope you're having a lovely fall and Happy Thanksgiving to you if you live in Canada.

Robin

Autumn is sauntering in . . .

I'm still working on this quilt.  I hand quilt every morning (except Sunday) and it's looking great but I'm always so surprised by how slow hand quilting is.  The full quilt is pictured at the right

Kinda crazy

We had a pumpkin block exchange in my quilt group.  I wanted to get something made out of them before they get stuck in a box and forgotten.  I tried all sorts of ideas and none of them worked with what I wanted or the amount of time I was willing to spend putting this together.  I had three of the corner pumpkins done so I needed to make one more.  I also made the double stacked pumpkins.

I found this leaf print in my stash from many moons ago.  It's not quilt weight fabric but it is really pretty.  I call it "The Pumpkin Patch" because it looks like the pumpkins are sitting among the leaves.

 

Look closely for the pumpkin

And speaking of pumpkin patches, it's really looking like fall around here in the garden.

Another pumpkin further along in the garden.

A small green pumpkin above and one just beginning below.

The patio looks lonely without the grandkids running about and people sitting down enjoying food.

We had our last family gathering of the summer.  It was a backyard campout.  One of my grandson's found an unguarded bag of gummi bears and promptly stuffed his mouth before anyone found out what he was doing.  Sugar. . . we love how it tastes but it does a number on a child's activity levels.

My husband always plants big clusters of marigolds that shine so brightly in the noonday sunshine.

Of course, they weren't very big when they were planted but by this time of year they out-do themselves.

The concord grapes are starting to ripen.  The leaves are spent and ready to be done with summer.

This corner of the garden has pumpkins growing in among the iris'.  This is where the quail hang out so I didn't disturb them looking for more orange orbs.

It's a lovely day,

Robin

I love it!

 I finished the quilt top I was making with my Blackbird Designs fabric.  I used Ella's Linen Closet (my absolute favorite), Madeira, Meadow, Blueberry Crumb Cake, Chelsea Boutique, and Nell's Flower Shop.  You might recognize some Jan Patek, Robin Pandolph, and Jo Morton too.  

I love love love how it turned out.  It's going to be fun to quilt and sleep under.  I'm making this to go on my bed to replace the quilt that has been on it since 2002.  It will have cotton batting and a great vintage blue print backing that I think came from a Thimbleberries Christmas line.  (Gotta use up those Thimbleberries).

And speaking of using up things. . . no, I didn't use up all my Blackbird Scraps.  There were just some that didn't fit into the theme.

Like this yardage from Beach House and At Water's Edge.  Both lovely fabrics but I'll have to use them for something else.

Along with a 3 yd. piece of the Madeira line in the red colorway and 2 1/2 yds. of Meadow in a blue colorway that just didn't fit in with the other pieces I had chosen.  

Here is the quilt with the flying geese going East.  I just like them all going North the best.

The pattern called for a mixture of directions for the flying geese but I didn't like it.

It just looked all jumbled up.

I prefer the North point configuration.  The pattern is called "Northbound" by Mary Fons.

We have had such lovely (although dry) skies lately.

I got up "at dawn's early light" the other morning and the hibiscus was delightfully blooming.

I love how nature blooms all summer long.  Each flower has it's time to stand out and sparkle.  How dynamic but sad it would be if everything bloomed at once and then it was over.

I made a pie with whole wheat crust from dried apples.  I rehydrated the apples but I forgot how much apples expand when they cook.  They raised so high the crust broke away around the outside.  It was very tasty.

This picture is for Michelle McLaughlin Pennsylvania Piecemaker if she happens to read this.  It's concerning her post about knitting spools.

Looking forward to a beautiful day~

Robin

Finally finished

 I completed my Civil War Sampler (again) this week.  I started it with the 2011 Block of the Week program on Barbara Brackman's Civil War blog.  (I love that you can see my grandson's hands at the top of the quilt.)

I call it Succession to Emancipation.  The 7 stars in the middle represent the 7 original states that succeeded from the union.  And the border of girls of different skin tones, holding hands, represent Emancipation.  I also pieced the batting to represent the Union being pieced back together.

I finished it to the hand holding girls border and put it in my closet awaiting  quilting.  When I took it out to quilt I decided it needed another border and sewed the panel strip border around the outside.

For whatever reason (do I really need a reason?) it got put away and when I decided to get it out  again. . .   it needed another border  I ended up buying Barbara Brackman's book of patterns (which it really good BTW) and added another border.  It was complete at last.  It is 81" square.

I backed it with a faded looking floral from the "Say it With Flowers" line by Jan Patek and then pin basted it.  I watched Kate Jackson at the Last Homely House (on youtube) quilt at her table with a cutting matt between the quilt and the table.  I wanted to try this method..  So I pin basted it and using size 8 DMC cotton thread, I 'big stitched' it.  It came together so fast and quilting at the table didn't strain my back or hands like quilting at the frames does.  

I will definitely be using  this quilting method again.

I'm still working on the "Northbound Quilt" pattern designed by Mary Fons.

I wanted to use up my Blackbird Designs scraps but I have had to add a lot of other pieces.  This is a great scrap buster.  I need 121 blocks for the size quilt I want to make and I've only made 80 so far.  The block size is 8".  It's coming along.  

I'll finish with this fabulous looking hamburger my daughter #2 made.  We had a family party last Thursday night and I had to get a picture of this luscious looking burger (green chilies - yum!).

Enjoy,  Robin

It's Poppy Day!

 

". . . all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;"     

D&C 59:18

Some things just have to be shared!

Robin

I haven't posted for a while. . .

But, there are plenty of quilting things going on around here.

I finished appliqueing the 24 birds around my perky bird center.  I am making this quilt as I come up with ideas for it and right now I'm not sure what I want the cornerstones to look like.  I've thought of stars or fans or long cabin but none of that seems quite right.  So until I have an idea it will wait on the design wall. 

 

I finished hand quilting my red & white quilt.  I started quilting it in January and it was a tough slog through quilting the same colors and shapes over and over.  Finally I decided to figure out how long it would take me to finish the quilt if I did a certain amount of squares per day - 6 days a week.  I figured out it would still take 8 weeks but I was determined.  I didn't miss a day and now it's thankfully done.  I really like the quilt I just didn't enjoy quilting it.

 

My quilt group "Bound Together" is doing a mystery quilt.  I decided to do my quilt in what I consider Southwest colors.  It's bright and has a lot of energy to it.  The turquoise blocks surround this center and then we'll get the next step at the end of the month.

I'm currently "Big Stitch" quilting this quilt and I got the center done last week.  Sorry I don't have a better picture and it looks pretty dull following the previous picture.  You can't see it but this quilt is filled with major "Franken-batting"  It took a long time to put it together - so many pieces.

I've decided I want to make something with all my Blackbird Designs scraps and yardage.  And the thing I've decided to do is a hexagon quilt that has big splashes of color all through it.  It's hard to describe but I've made a start below.

So, as you can see, I haven't posted for a while but I'm just as busy as ever.

Robin