The Many Moods of October

I think October is the best month for cloud watching.

And I confess... in October I start slipping in a little bit 

of Christmas music here and there on my iPod.

Especially as the weather gets colder 

and the leaves start falling from the trees.

I had September as my month for the Bees Knees Sewing Bee.

So, I started thinking about Christmas even earlier this year.

I picked Countdown til Christmas for my blocks.

My blocks are slowly arriving... and it's so exciting!

I sent out fabrics from the Aneela Hoey, Cherry Christmas group.

The block shown above was made by Nedra

This line of fabric was adorable!

The original pattern was from Moda Bake Shop and made with 

Countdown til Christmas by Sweetwater... it was a 

great, wonderful, fantastic Christmas line (which they should reprint)

because I never got my hands on enough of it.

My group is making the star blocks and I am making all of the 

alternate blocks! It's like Christmas every time I receive a finished

block in the mail! 

I am loving it!!!

So, I'm wondering...

What is your favorite Christmas fabric group this year?

And what Christmas music is going on your iPod this year?

Non-market Related Eye Candy!

Have you seen this?

Temecula Quilt Company is displaying

a collection of blue and white quilts.

Only second best to their red and white quilt

competition and show. 

This one really strikes me... the stars are such an unexpected

surprise. I would not have thought of that.

 

I think that two colored quilts are very complex and unforgiving.

It takes a lot to make them work well and any little mistake...

you just can't hide it. I have a deep admiration for people who can 

conquer two-colored quilts!

I have always wanted to make a black and white two-colored quilt with black 

being the background color. 

Maybe one day! 

Since I have my Midwinter Reds and patterns... I guess I will start there!

I am winding down with my birthday "month"! 

I have a sweet little bundle of fabric that came in the mail to me...

I just love the retro look and colors.

And it has a sweet little clock print in the bundle that 

is just too cute. (I have a new obsession about collecting vintage 

nightstand clocks).

Something else that came in the mail to me

... Quilty Fun by Lori Holt!

The book is just a must have and makes me feel better about not 

making the row along when Ms. Bee In My Bonnet hosted it.

But have you seen this?

This group won't be released until March!

(photo borrowed from... well, you can see)

See, we don't have to go to Market to see new things...
doesn't that make you feel better?

A Whirl Wind Weekend

I meant to add this to my post on Friday... but
ran off  before I did it!

Here is one last photo that I took of Summer Wind.
I put it on the guest bed. It's queen size. I am trying to decide if
I need another border..
maybe? maybe not?

I went away over the weekend to Southern California. It's a 5 hour drive
from here. I hate being in the car that long... but it was worth it when we got
to our destination.
There was a birthday party for my mom.
My sister had just bought a new home... so the pressure was
on to get everything unpacked and boxes thrown away since she
was hosting the party!
It was fun but very rare to have my siblings all together.
My daughter in law and grand daughter even came with us...
that was extra special.
You know it was a good time when you leave
and feel like you had just gotten there!
It all ended too soon!
And I didn't take my camera out once!
*gr*
I am going to have to access my DIL for photos!

Autumn Breeze or Summer Wind?

The star row is on and all four corners are completed too!

I never found the other little HST.

 Like someone said...

it will probably show up on the backside of a pair of pants!

Now i am on to the last row. 

I am adding a colorful row to add some balance to the quilt. 

Here it is with all four rows added to the quilt!

I loved this quilt and learned a lot from it. It certainly helped to 

have Thelma to "hash" things over with. Being able to see how 

hers was coming along

was an added bonus!

I have to say that I hadn't noticed this fabric (High Street) until Ms. Cupcake

showed it to me. It is a beautiful group... and I am sure I have enough leftovers

to make a Schnibble pattern with next!

Here is one more shot... a chance to stand back and look at Summer Wind

and exhale! This was a nice get away and sew along! Thanks for the great idea Thelma!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Here are some other "stars"!

Did I ever show you any photos of my quilt retreat?

Here is a group shot. All 46 of us. I had to bribe them

by withholding lunch until I got a photo!

Seriously, I had to bribe them!  I suppose it was more of a threat...

but I don't think they minded.

 We had a lot of local quilters but we also had women from San Diego to San Francisco and as far away as Alaska, Washington and Idaho join us too. How fun is that?!

I will have to show you some of them hard at work next time!

It's Gotta Be Somewhere!

Just a little follow up to the Summer Wind project: episode 4
or is that 5?

Here are my corner blocks for the row I am working on.
I seem to have lost one of the HST's. Seriously... how does that happen?
So close to the end of this row and then, a little snafu!
I could have made another one in the time it took me to look for the missing
piece. I ran out of time... so I had to stop here... but
I will be back with this row finished and hopefully the next/final row
of Summer Wind in place!
I almost hate to see the end of this project.
I don't know if it's because I am working on it with Thelma that makes it
so much fun, maybe it's the fabric... or the pattern.
Maybe it's all of the above!
Thelma says that the fabric looks like Starburst candy.
Yeah, ex-actly!

Another Summer Gone By

Back in business!
I can show my progress on Summer Wind today.
I can't even type the words without hearing Frankie singing
the song in my head:

The summer wind, came blowin in - from across the sea
It lingered there, so warm and fair - to walk with me
All summer long, we sang a song - and strolled on golden sand
Two sweethearts, and the summer wind

Like painted kites, those days and nights - went flyin by
The world was new, beneath a blue - umbrella sky
Then softer than, a piper man - one day it called to you
And I lost you, to the summer wind

The autumn wind, and the winter wind - have come and gone
And still the days, those lonely days - go on and on
And guess who sighs his lullabies - through nights that never end
My fickle friend, the summer wind

Now it's the corner block dilemma.
I think I need to bring out the green and yellow a little bit more.
Or maybe it needs some of the center star raspberry color?
That row inside from the green is pretty low volume but it might
be a sacrifice for the greater good.

You can click here to take a peak at Thelma's quilt using the same
fabric... High Street.

 

 There will be just one more row outside of the stars...
and then I'm done!
It's been so fun to have a blogging buddy to sew along with!

(or try to keep up with) ha!
Thanks Thelma...
race you to the finish!!!

Picture Proof

(Photo from Fat Quarter Shop)

Wow, thanks for all of the comments to help me decide which quilt to make

with the Winter Reds from Minnick and Simpson!

I am sold...

on both! 

I just have to do both of them! Everyone made good suggestions and had 

good points about each quilt.

But Nantucket is going to be first and then on to Debonaire.

Which, I agree, is the best It's So Emma pattern to date!

Doesn't the photo above look so much better of Nantucket than

the photo on the pattern cover? 

That's what sold me.

I left my camera cord behind today...

so I don't have a photo to show you of my Summer Wind project

that I am working on with Thelma at Cupcake n Daisies.

I love this quilt so much! Thelma's is looking great... 

you can see her post today here.

I did get a lot done with mine over the weekend... I am trailing Thelma a little

but I have my stars done now also. I will show you tomorrow, promise!

On another note...

my house has gone up for sale.

It isn't really my house. I have been renting it for several years now.

I love it as much as the home we sold.

Yesterday my hubby said... 

"did you see the photos of the house on the Internet"?

WHAT?

I have been so busy I didn't even think of that. 

I knew that they came by and took photos when I wasn't home one day.

Honestly, I have been so crazy getting ready for my retreat etc and probably

had a little bit of denial going on too... 

so last night I checked out the site to take a look 

and I am mortified!

If you see the photos, which I hope you do not, 

you can see my little messes here and there and 

my sewing room... is, well, not pretty. 

Honestly, it has been a bigger mess but

would you really want picture proof?

I sure wish I could go in there and delete them!

Summer Wind, Yes, Housework, No

I am happy to report that I have caught up on sleep 

after my long weekend, last week.

Unfortunately, that means that I have not been doing the

normal sewing that I do in the mornings before work.

Thank goodness that we are here at Friday and

I can start making plans for my weekend sewing!

Here is what is on my list...

More rows on Summer Wind.

Then there is Clover. It's this month's AYOS pattern pick.

I didn't make it ahead of time... and I don't want to miss

out on making it, so I am going to try to squeeze it in now.

I also have a block to catch up on for my Bees Knees quilting Bee.

Then this has been tempting me...

For my birthday I got a bundle of Winter Reds by Minick and Simpson.

I have this pattern that I thought I would use for the group 

but,  I have this pattern also.

Once I decide on the pattern... I might have a little bit of time to

cut out the fabrics for the pattern.

What do you think? Debonaire or Nantucket?

Wanna Hold My Hand?

I have hopes of catching up with myself soon.



I have made a tiny bit of progress on my Summer Wind, a Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. pattern.
You can see that Thelma at Cupcake n Daisies
has got me beat by a yard... but I am coming along and enjoying the process.
As much as I love the fabric, I am freaking out a little with the color.
I'm going conservative. I think I need some hand holding here!

The next row is ready to go on!

I keep going with bold and then balance with 

the light to keep the quilt from running away with color 

by the time I get to the last row. 

That's my method of madness anyway...

also know as, frugal color theory.

Yes, I seem to be a scaredy cat  but I like the word

"conservative" better. 

I still remember the disaster I had with Eventide, a quilt along

hosted by Thelma. I still call it my Dear John quilt... 

it was a bad relationship, not in the beginning, but got progressively worse.

Do you know what I mean?

Thelma has been very successful with her color choices in Summer Wind...

go take a look.

There are a few versions that I have seen of Summer Wind on Pinterest.
This one was pinned by Wendy.

Good/Bad? I'd Say It's All Good!

Very often my fellow bloggers, yes that means you, are a bad influence on me!

 For example:

Thelma of Cupcakes n Daisies blog and I finally had an opportunity to

work on a project together! I'm jazzed just to play along with Thelma!

The last time I remember working on something with her was her Eventide quilt along.

It happened to be a Miss Rosie's pattern.

 Do you remember that one?

The fabric choice was a slam dunk. The minute she showed it to me I fell in

love with the beautiful colors... the next thing to decide on was a pattern.

Sometimes I have a pattern in mind first and the fabric gets picked to go with it.

This time  it worked out the other way around.

We had thought about a Kim Deihl pattern, there was a couple ideas there...

but in the end a Carrie Nelson pattern looked like the perfect contender.

Summer Wind?

More like Autumn Breeze!

Here is my center...

I only have one photo that is on my phone showing 

the first border...

it's not very clear at all, and I can't seem to 

upload it to edit it...

so bear with me... 

Border #1 with cat.

I will show you more photos soon. I had to switch gears here...

because I had a retreat to attend to over the weekend.

Here is a group shot of (most) of our group at Pine Needles Quilt Camp.

We had a great weekend... 

and

 I 

am 

very

 exhausted!

Have you seen one of these before?

Shhh, be very quite...

It's a very rare, seldom seen baby Dresden!

You might have seen one or two before.

There was a sighting on Thelma's blog this summer. Joann from the Patriotic Quilter had one show up on her blog too.

See what I mean about bad/good influences?

I can't believe that I'm not just throwing out fabric pieces that

are this small!!! 

No worries... it's all good!

And Lastly...

Apparently I have an over active spam filter this month!

Here is a bright and happy Mercerie that was hiding in there...

it was made by Denise T  using V & Co. fabrics... she made a cute little label on

the back too. Pop over to her blog to see it!

This one was made by Satu! It is beautiful! You can see more at her blog,

Quilttales... it's always nice to go there and visit her cat too!

I missed Nancy's diverted email also! And it was an important one...

she not only caught up with last month's Canasta using Halloween fabrics!

I just love this one!

And then she went on to make Mercerie also!

She used Bluebird Park, Birdie and Cottage Romance is mixed in also.

I love the color placement on Nancy A's Schnibble. 

Ah, and now that THAT faux pas is fixed...

I have another one to address... is was

not Laura's birthday, but her sister's birthday... Polly!

I unfortunately have not met my two Moda idols before, 

so I have a hard time distinguishing who is who... I have the

 same problem with the talented women of Blackbird Designs...

Barb and Alma. 

I have to admit that I sometimes have the same problem

 when I see old photos of my sons...

but at least they are identical twins, so I have an excuse!

And lastly, Sherri will be posting the parade winners later today!

Pinky swear!

AYOS Birthday Parade!

Today is a special day indeed!

The title is a bit misleading...

it's not the birthday of Another Year of Schnibbles...

and it's not the birthday of Schnibbles patterns either.

Today is the birthday of Carrie Nelson...

you might also know her as

"the one who is not Rosie".

It's always nice to share the birthday with great people...

Laura Simpson of Minick and Simpson is celebrating today...

and it's also the birthday (of sorts) of Yosemite, that became a 

National Park, and unfortunately on this, it's 123rd birthday

 it is being shut down today, along with other national parks

 here in the U.S.

 due to some issues in congress.  

So let's celebrate since Yosemite can't!

Did I mention it's my birthday too?

Thankfully I am less than half the age of this beautiful 

national park that I happen to live minutes from!

Sherri and I picked the new pattern for AYOS.

This time it's Clover!

Isn't this the sweetest little Schnibble?

I think it has a great vintage vibe!

I will be making mine along with you this month!

Here is another version of this adorable quilt!

Do you want to see some more beautiful things?

Well, let's start the parade!

Mercerie!

Do you not love this one?

This was made by Patty at A Stitch in Time blog!

I want this one. 

Here is another beautiful version...

so fun to see the color placement here!

She used Giving Thanks by Sandy G.

This sweet quilt was made by Tilda at Huckleberry Stitches!

Here is a gorgeous version of Mercerie made by

the wonderful Miss Linda at the Quilted Pineapple blog!

This Mercerie is just dreamy! She was made by Mary C in Michigan!

I love the background fabric too! So sa-weet!

Here is Mercerie in traditional red and white...

a stunning little quilt! You can see more over at

May Kristin's blog Krisp Quilts!

Okay, hold the phone!

What a fun idea is this?!?

A perfect table topper in yummy Autumn colors!

This one was created by  Nancy using Jo Morton fabrics!

Paulette made a beautiful water color looking 

version of Mercerie. It's so pretty Paulette!

And lookie here! Polly at Aunt Polly's Porch made a 

table runner and she named it Mercy Mercy Me!

I agree completely!

Sally made her sweetest little version of the Schnibbles patter

in oh so soft colors... just as sweet as con be!

Beautiful and bold!

This Mercerie was made by Sandy F. using her Civil War scrap fabrics.

I love the way they blend and how the background pops out!

Shannon at Nunus World blog made a gorgeous version of Mercerie

here... this one just says Fall! Love the fabrics here!

Sue made a beautiful holiday version of Mercerie out of 

Countdown to Christmas! One of my all time favorite Christmas groups of fabric!

I love the background... doesn't it make you want to make one of your own?

Or is it just me?

You can see her quilt on Wendy's blog, It Is What It Is... I hope you are feeling better Wendy!

Look who else wants to help us celebrate our birthdays...

and the Schnibbles parade too...

the Fat Quarter Shop is offering

a gift certificate for $35.00! We will be picking winners

and will give a FQS gift certificate along with our other parade prizes

tomorrow!

The prizes will be posted over at A Quilting Life, so don't forget to go see who

the lucky winners are!

And don't forget to go see the other half of the parade there today too!