Thanksgiving

We are cat sitting, not exactly a dinner guest. But she is company after all, albeit a little finicky.
My daughter is staying with her beau and so she is close and can visit.

Our dinner was steak with twice baked potatoes and green bean casserole with an amaretto pumpkin pie. Special and just dinner for 2.  Funny thing, my daughter dropped by just as we were going to eat.

I was going to take a picture, but with a DD here, I forgot.

So it is time to sew:


I really want to finish this quilt top:





Then I have the first clue of Frolic to work on: yeah for raspberry and blues.

Hand stitching and stars

So I have been hand stitching on my Little Red Hen bakery snowmen. I have been using size 8 pearl cotton. 

And I also have been completing more star blocks for my exchange modifying the sizes. 

My first 6 inch block

  2nd 6 inch block

9 inch block 

And all of them together with the 12 inch one..

For those who asked about the pattern: this is the book I found the pattern in:

Sorry, And this is the pattern directions. 

Sorry, not a very good photo. 

So only 2 days of school this week and a long Thanksgiving weekend.  

We are starting a new tradition for our holiday: steak for 2, my husband and me.

It is very hard after having just our family for at least 7 years. But things change. 

My son and his family are in Louisiana; my daughter and her boyfriend are having Thanksgiving with his family. We will probably have a lasagna dinner or something on the weekend.

There is a lot to be thankful for!  This past year has had its rough patches. 

But there are so many good things in life. 

Treasure them!

Wool hexie

For the past 7 months or so, I have been a part of a pass it on group comprised of  wool.

The hexie mat comprised of 7 blocks was selected and each member of the group of 7 got to choose what theme, colors, etc. for your mat. As it was in the late spring, I was fully frustrated at the lack of sun and warmth and wanted a spring themed exchange.  Each month, I had showed you the hexie I made for someone else as it passed from one member to the next. 

And here is the one I have received back to keep. These stitchers are amazing and I really love the individual blocks and the work they added for it.

But wanted to share.  

Now all I have to do is finish the outside edge. 

Yeah spring!

This and that

I have finally prepared some of my wool applique for the Little Red Hen Snowmen.  I chose the Japanese fabric as backgrounds and have different ones.

There are 2 more that I have traced onto SF101 to back the wool pieces. I really like this instead of fusibles. It doesn't gum up and it stables the weave of the wool. But I need to pun them down to sew them.  On the smaller pieces I used the tiny applique pins for the long fingerlike frosting drips, I used regular pins. I have ordered all the buttons to add: 100 of various sizes and colors from that quilt store. I even found some slightly cheaper pearl cotton at my LQS. 

Here are 2 blocks for our BOM at guild.  The center is a piece of cactus fabric. ( They are turned sideways. We were given paper to make the wonky sides. These are both greens, but the lighting makes it look so dull. These are about 7 inches. 

Then I even started on my exchange blocks for guild and won't need them till December.

I really liked this block. The owner wants red white and blue stars for a Quilt of Valor.

I am going to try to resize it for smaller ones. This one is 12 inches finished.

Lastly, after careful searching, I have found the quilt I want to make for Bea and Cecile's quilt along.
They are large blocks so I think it will be great to create a quilt with the blocks.

 

I found this on my facebook feed, of all places. It is a free pattern from Quilter's cache, just recolored.
I think this will be my star quilt for the quilt along: pattern link for any of you who might also like it.
My colorway will be golds, reds, browns, and blacks.

Other than that, I am making some for my blocks for my exchange at guild. This month's are star blocks in red white and blue.  Easy enough.

November is here

I have always liked fall: the warm colors that remind you of comfort foods, the family holidays (Thanksgiving both Canadian and US) and my birthday.  Oh yeah, I should have said that first.
This year is truly strange: we still have snow.   And leaves. and cold. And it is only the first week of November not the last.

So two things have been on my mind.

One: Christmas.  I need to get things going.  I usually have a project or two started. And this year I need to mail to Louisiana. Yikes.

Two:  the more important in a quilter's mind are the two quilt along-s I want to participate in:

A) Bonnie Hunter's Frolic. 

 😊😊The colors just sing to me this year. And I really like how Jo Kramer has selected batiks to make them her link: Jo Kramer's selection process.  I keep saying I dislike her many seams at the intersections, but I love how the quilts turn out. I have completed 2 of them: Roll, roll Cotton bowl and EnProvence. So I am thinking batiks and that is as far as I have gotten.

B)  Bea et Cecile   Bea et Cecile Quilt along  I have also participated in the past 2 years. The first year was log cabin blocks Flowers around the cabin!   ( Blog post on the completion.)

 and last year's flowers. I used up some of my Fig tree fabrics. Or at least I cut up and appliqued some: the box still seems full.

 It's parameters are to make 2 blocks a week for January and February  ( total of 16) and then put it together in March and quilt it is April.  I think.
But I love the fact that it is international as the organizers are from France and there is a facebook group. This year's theme blocks are stars. No other restrictions.  I have been searching for what to make. So many ideas.
Here are the "instructions"https://patchworkinspirations.fr/   There is a translation button on the blog for those of us not fluent in French.

And besides that I am finally back to my sewing machine after a couple week hiatus.

Making some  quasi hunter star blocks for an exchange.  It was fun to select the colors.

Crazy week

Back to  a regular school schedule was hard.  After 3 weeks at school with less than 5 days, it was a change. Plus on Tuesday night I had conferences which seemed to make the week drag. But I felt very good about the parents I spoke with. It is a great affirmation to know that you are helping kids you care about so much.

Then the weather took an abrupt change AND IT IS ONLY OCTOBER. Never have I had such snow this early. And I mean in my lifetime: here are pictures:

It was a beautiful sunset despite the combination of snow and fall colors.

 It was so strange to have such an accumulation of inches of snow that are still lingering after 4 days. Usually snow disappears because of the warmer ground. But no, we still have temperatures in the 30s.

 Have you ever heard of shoveling leaves?  Well there were leaves on top of the snow which needed to be removed for the trick or treaters. Then the leaves underneath were frozen to the sidewalk so that was cleared to prevent more slipping and sliding.

 And yes, the trick or treators still came albeit dressed in winter garb as well. I will say that it ended after the first hour or so. Too darn cold to remain outside for long!

The only sewing I have gotten done was to prepare the wool for some applique.

It is a facebook group and the patterns are free.