lets play.....finish the poem...

Alright ladies, I need you to put on your thinking caps! Here's a poem in a Halloween stitchery done by Cheri Payne when she was doing classes at Country Loft. Therefore I doubt there was ever a pattern for sale. I have that on good authority. But like I said...when a gal wants something, she wants it, so I'll make my own. Consider it an homage to Cheri...

I have a picture from the Country Loft Quilt show gallery, but won't show it here since it's not my picture. I'm ready to start stitching, however the last two lines are obscured and I swear, I can't think of what they say. So, If you'd like to play along...read the poem and give your best guess at what those last two lines are....

Ghosts
Bats
Pumpkins Alight
Black Cat
Spooky
Witches hat
eek a spider
*??erie sights...Eerie Sights!
*??ic night...Magic Night!

I was thinking Scary sights...but even spelled SCARIE sights doesn't work...it's "erie"

SO here's what I will do for you! The first person to either (A) find the right answer or (B) make up a new suitable replacement answer ....gets a prize!! How's that? I'll put together something very nice, I promise. ***** SaraRules! wins the prize...Sarah, I think you filled in in with exactly what was meant to be there! Even if it turns out not to be the original, it sounds perfectly good to me!
Frantic and Panic were good but didn't portray the magic of the night. Of course it made even more sense when I deleted the "s" on the end of Magic. Typo on my part! But of course I couldn't think of anything! Thanks for playing ladies! I knew I could count on you!

Sara send me your address by email and I'll pop and nice surprise into the mail for you this!! week!

fall is lurking...

Yesterday was 69! Seriously awesome...even though it's gonna hit 80 tomorrow, it's not expected to get above 70-74 for a while now. Cross your fingers it stays put. In the mean time I figured if I decorated for fall it would come running! To that end I got something else almost finished! Just needs quilting...

Plaid Pumpkins by Cheri Payne 23 x 23

Gotta love me some Cheri Payne patterns. I got 4 new ones from her yesterday and I ordered 5 more from Country Loft yesterday with some plaids.

Hit a bit of a wall today but I think some lunch will cure that and I'll get moving. I think really it was trying to find enough wool pieces to do the Nativity quilt was what got me frustrated and stuck. See we have no wool in the stores around here...no homespuns, no wool, no Primitive stuff for sale...nope, not happening. SO it's hard to run out and pick up a few pieces of wool unless you shop online for $200 worth of bundles to get the right few colors...and that ain't happening. **I think some of you thought I meant *I* had no homespuns. My wording, sorry.... I have lots. I just can't get wool locally or homespuns, Nothing of that sort is sold in my nearby area.**

So onto idea #2. Do most of the applique in plaid homespuns and the rest in a few select wool pieces. I'm gonna call Quilters Station for a few pieces I need. I need to send some $$ out to the best shopper I know and have her pick up some wool for me the next time she and her sista's do a grand tour of the fabulous shops out there.

Now for lunch! Hubby should be home soon...he came home half day today and is bringing me some Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup. I thought you'd like to see one of the kitty's...I found Pixel laid out at the foot of my bed. They like my side because I keep the sleep number really low and squishy and even their 15 pound bodies sink down into the mattress!

fish oil....

Man I love getting packages from Thousands of Bolts! They come in the coolest pizza boxes! I have about 6 of these in the closet holding projects that are waiting or on hold. Plus what can't you say about getting fabric at rock bottom prices...not bottom quality goods either, but first rate fabric. I got some big yardage of two nice homespuns.

Now I also wanted to show the Fish Oil I take. It's from Trader Joe's and reading the label was interesting...it's oil made from anchovy and sardines. Weird but okay, they are both very oily fish so I guess that makes sense. I do think it's helping a lot and next time I get my bloodwork done it just might show up in the inflammation levels. I'll let you know what happens.

Check.....

Christmas Elf Stitchery finished................................CHECK !


Christmas Mice Stitchery piecing done.................CHECK !!

Log Cabin Angel finished..................................................CHECK !!!

I don't want to jinx myself but I have been tearing up the September list of sewing goals! As with half the things I do, I changed the borders and stuff...much simpler! But I like them all the same.

*****DETAILS for those who might ask later:********
Christmas Elf's official name is Welcome Christmas by JoAnn Mullaly ([email protected]) ... I got it at Country Loft. Christmas Mice is from Cinderberry Stitches. Left side bar gives you places in the USA where you can purchase patterns.

With that I also made the final two Dresden plates for my four patch quilt similar to this. And...I'm 3/4 done on my version of a Cheri pattern of fall pumpkins. I say version only because I don't have the pattern. I guessed at the sizes and they work for me. If you can't tell, I do this a lot...seriously, a LOT! BUT, I also buy lots. I just got 7 Cheri Payne patterns, some old and some new!

Now I have tons of hand projects to do and that may take longer due to the time constraints with my trigger finger problems and the tendon. It's getting much better though and I seriously think it's because I'm taking 1100 milligrams of fish oil everyday that has other junk in there too. Nature's anti-inflammatory. But I'm still working and making tracks!

YEP.......I probably just jinxed myself good.

new find...

I knew I wanted one of these, so last week I headed up to a local quilt shop and got one. Actually it's my sister's MIL's shop in Williamsburg, VA...her husband makes the ladders and they are spectacular. Solid oak and about 7 1/2 feet tall. First time I ever had to tie down my car trunk...even with the seat slid up and folded down I was missing a few inches of clearing the trunk. Quite an experience, but when a girl wants something she will find a way!

It's not full because I'm still thinking what to put out, I don't have all that many fall quilts, plus my brights and 30's quilts seems like summer and I wanted more fall colored quilts out. I'll add them as I make some more and pull some out.

**Don't pay attention to the 2 pictures shoved behind the ladder, just a bit of picture rearranging going on and they'll be up in their new home soon.**

mind the fingers and toes...

hubby's not invisible so parts of him show when holding up finished quilts. At least until I get my medium quilt holder up on the wall. It needs a coat of polyurethane to protect the quilt from the stain. Anywho...

She's all done!

I swear I know that meandering is boring...but it's also F*A*S*T! I feel like I've been quilting for days. Mostly I just did in the ditch quilting and then I crossed all the brown blocks. She's all ready for the wall in November. I've been working nights doing the Christmas Elf stitchery too and it's almost done. A few more nights and then the piecing to do. My Christmas List of projects is getting smaller and smaller!

I discovered a few very cool tools for quilting yesterday. Roxanne's Basting Glue and MaryEllen's Best Press! Two years ago at the quilt show I bought a tiny bottle of basting glue to try out. Never cracked it, but last February I bought a big bottle. yesterday while I was placing a few dresdens on backgrounds I thought about that glue. Pins didn't suit, so what the heck. I popped it out, spun on the tiny needle like tip and started gluing. Man o Man is this stuff fantastic! Tiny drops and my dresdens are all placed on the background ready for sewing and NO pins to mess with at all. Washes out too.

The Mary Ellen's is the most fabulous stuff for ironing. Stubborn creases come out like magic with this stuff. Get some if you run across it, you won't be sorry.

Now lastly, I'm sure you've read before that we have been doing a swap with Carol, Darlene, Sharon, Wendy and I. We all shipped out some cool presents along with our last package of blocks. These were my presents...well one of them. I made small quilts out of the scraps and some extra bits for everybody. This is mine. I added an extra 9 patch to mine...along with that backwards hst. The 9 patch was on purpose...the backwards placement was NOT! Oh well. Not ripping out stuff after sewing. Not on mine.

I also sent all the gals lime green notes cards that had their initials on the front.

Tomorrow I'll show the new quilt ladder I got at a local shop!

More gifties...

Finally Wendy got her present so we can show what we got from Carol for the end of our rail fence 30's swap. Wendy lives in Canada so it take a bit longer for her...no need to ruin the surprise!Along with the last bundle of blocks, Carol made us each a machine cover from the fabrics we have used in the swap! She also added some very cool initial super sticky post-it's and a cool mini gel pen. I use tons of post-it's so these were perfect!

Now to take it off, eat some kisses and get sewing on the last 3 cabin blocks!

Thanks!

Sweetie Mary from Quilt Hollow was kind enough to award me this cool blog award the other day and it took me a few days to get my act together and post it! Sorry Mary...but many thanks for the award!!
I can say Mary that the feeling is mutual! Now I also have to say that naming 7 blogs for this award is just impossible to do. Heck I have over 80 blogs on my Bloglines alone and more in a bookmark folder! Those are mostly just the quilting blogs..let's not imagine the stitching blogs, knitting, cooking, I could go on. SO this is what I will do...if you are reading this, consider yourself awarded!

Check this out...

GENOME quilts!

Click here to see...

Hubby found this lady and these things are really cool. Very interesting...

She's taking shape..

and coming along nicely...

I decided to work on the hardest blocks first...so the double and triple colors one's are done. That's her halo above....with her wings and her red dress. The brown blocks on the sides of her dress will have one last red strip to make the dress a bit wider, but after that it's all brown and applique. I leaning towards doing the applique on the machine with black buttonhole stitch to save my arm which is getting worse.

After 160 flying geese done with freezer paper piecing and cutting tons of strips for this...way too many mind you...I'm having to chose between using the limited use time for sewing or computer time. Sorry but in that scenario, the computer loses out every time. I'll be around and posting BIG updates or finishes. I'll read when I can but comments may fall by the wayside for a while, as will thank you emails for comments left here, sorry. I'm not ignoring you, but I've got to get this under control.

Get out the drool rag...

if you like primitive houses that is. Might not be your cup of tea, but I think my new favorite color is black!

Check out the new pictures from Behind My Red Door..her house is simply stunning. I can see my cats climbing all over everything eating those bittersweet berries. On second though that might be funny if they really are bitter. Bad Mommy!

I know that a lot of you decorate this way or something similar and was wondering if you have any ebay shops, etsy places, or online stores that you like to frequent. I'd love to pick up some small pieces...bowls, shelves, things like that....but locally this stuff is like finding kriptonite around here.

Still moving along...

Isn't that the coolest bag? It was a gifty from one of the swap gals who participated in our rail fence swap. Remember Darlene's angel? Well, Wendy made these fabulous bags and included a cool tiny jounal...think 2 inch tiny! Here's the bag all loaded up for the Post Office with their last swap packages from me (plus a few more things to go out) and my little gifties! Carol sent us something cool too but Wendy hasn't gotten hers yet so I'm not telling that secret! I'll post afterwards.

Sewing wise...it's been slow moving around here. Had a tiny setback with the 'trigger finger" issue this week. When I made the Blind Man's Fancy quilt is was easier to make the flying geese with a freezer paper pattern, so I made one 14 blocks long and used that to whip out 160 flying geese. Yea, not a good idea, but hey the quilt looks fabulous. Between that, hand quilting, and mouse clicking... it's been temperamental and stiff as all heck. SO it's been slow going around here.

I did get started on the Log Cabin angel yesterday after cutting what seemed like a million strips! Not something my finger is thanking me for either...let's not discuss the typing or computer time shall we?

So I cut and cut and I didn't even get to the red or gold yet! I still have tons to prep, but I just had to get moving on the brown ones! I got 2 blocks done yesterday afternoon. That's a start...a few each day and it will be done in no time!

Now I have to say something that might make a few ladies sad. I do NOT have a pattern for this project. I don't know who made it either. I am simply using a printed copy of Libby's picture and working my way through. I do this a LOT! Sorry, I can't help you with any details. I took the b/w copy and just figured out the block rotations and the switches on the blocks that make up her red dress and the gold wings. I think I remember asking Libby the strip size, but I might have just guessed. I am doing my strips 3/4" finished...so I'm cutting 1 1/4" strips. They could easily be done in 1" finished too. When it comes to doing the applique parts, I'll just lay down some freezer paper and draw those freehand. It's a primitive style and I really like doing those. It doesn't have to be exactly like the others, so it doesn't bother me. I know the trees will come up to about "here" and I'll just draw them.

My list is coming along quite well. I also got my christmas elf transferred over to fabric so that will get started in the evenings soon. Thanks for all the lovely comments about my handwriting...I always got an A in penmanship! LOL!

best laid plans....

...well you know what happens to those right? I still make them anyway, and the lists. Gotta have the lists. Since I made a few finishes lately, I sat down and made a list of what to work on next during the September and October time period.

Most are projects for this Christmas:
Log Cabin Angel (seen here)
Christmas Elf (seen here)
Christmas Mouse (seen here)
Homespun Santa's (seen here)
Nativity Quilt (seen here)

The Mice just need piecing work, some are embroidery, some hand work and lots of machine work. SO it's a nice variety. Then I sat down and made a full list of all the current projects I have going. It's full of lots of things put aside, things waiting for completion, projects still being done and projects I want to start soon. I'll spare you the list of all those things!