And, of course, I DO expect a lot from my cat.  Oliver is always a great sport though, letting me do practically anything to him, with him, or for him.  He's a trooper and as long as he's getting attention, he's up for just about anything.

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween!

 

(Be sure to keep your pets safe tonight! Keep them away from the candy, things they might swallow, and from slipping out the open doors!)

As if it wasn't enough that all of the stores rush into Christmas well before the holiday, even my Christmas cactus has jumped on the bandwagon.  It's just full of beautiful blooms, blooms ready to burst, and buds on every leaf, waiting to show off their beauty.  Oh well, I guess it's a "Halloween" cactus this year, not a Christmas cactus.  And no matter what season it chooses to bloom in, it's gorgeous and I appreciate the show!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attention Owl Lovers!  Do you want to make your own *free* owl calender?  Owls are definitely "in" right now.  Go HERE , to My Owl Barn blog, to make your own customized calendar.  There are 40 artists represented, each with their own creative owl picture.  You pick whatever picture you want for whatever month you want, then print it out.

 

Here are my selections.  I printed mine on card stock, but you could even use fabric.  I may cut mine apart to make a smaller, one page a month, calendar.  Have fun creating yours!

 

 

 

 

Whoooooo......me?

 

 

My sweet Oliver......doing what he does best (outside of napping and snuggling) ...... guarding and watching over his little kingdom,  making sure that everything is safe and protected in our world.

 

First up, a new blog hop starts tomorrow......WICKED!!  Click on the haunted house to get the full schedule and links to the bloggers.  Although Halloween is my favorite holiday and I adore the fabrics and theme, I'm not participating because I'm just "overbooked" right now.  But be sure that I'll be visiting each and every blog during this hop.  It will be wonderful to see all of the Wicked creations!

 

 

 

Next is October's Fat Quarter Shop Mystery BOM.  I finished it up last night and love the pattern and the fabric, as usual.  I'll try and make my second block out of the extra fabric soon. 

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly, here's a great reason, in addition to all of the inspiration you will receive, to visit all of these blog hops.  Many offer very generous giveaways.  I won this wonderful fabric panel during the Fall Leafs Me Happy blog hop.  Linda from Buzzing & Bumbling sent this to me after I visited her blog and simply left a comment..... a random draw grabbed my name.  I just love this panel!  Thanks, Linda!

 

 

 

 

See you all tomorrow on the first day of the Wicked blog hop!

 

 

Crows have feelings too!

I finished a little wall hanging today.  My friend, Sandy, had given me a cute linen tea towel this summer and I just didn't want to use it in the kitchen and glop it up with stains.  Instead, I cut it up and made a little wall hanging, 17" x 18".  The center, the white blocks in the corners, and the binding came from the tea towel.  I used most of the towel, with only a few strips of left over fabric.  I hope Sandy will like my use of her gift.  (You will be seeing more of the coffee print border in a November project.)

 

 

I wanted to give you a little tool recommendation too.  Have you used the Clover Wonder Clips yet?  At first, I thought they were just another gadget (I'm a gadget junkie) that would really not serve much of a purpose.  Instead, I've found several uses for them.  They are somewhat expensive (over $30 for 50 clips), but I bought them at JoAnn's with a 50% off coupon.  This made them worth trying without a huge expense.

 

 

 

 

Their main use is probably for attaching your binding (after machine sewing the front side) for hand sewing the backside.  I like them much better than the long, silver hair clips that many people use and they don't bend like regular pins.  These are short enough that they do not get in the way of sewing.  This picture shows the front side of my little hanging, all clipped and ready to sew.

 

 

Here's the backside of the hanging, folded over.  You can use these clips as a measuring tool too, making sure that your binding is folded over evenly, using the clips as your gauge.  The clear side of the clip actually has some manufacturing marks that can be used as a measuring gauge too, if you don't want to use the full clip length.  I love using them at the mitered corners.  When I reach the corner, I make sure my mitre is the way that I want it,  I clip it, and sew it down.  I can leave my clip in place as I sew, which means that my mitre doesn't slip and need re-adjusting.

 

 

 

 

I have also used these clips for sewing hems in jeans.  When you fold over that thick material, these clips hold the folded material very easily for sewing your hem.  Again, they don't bend like a pin does in heavy fabrics.  They stay put, although I still remove them as I sew.  One side is flat and is made to stay in place while sewing, but I still found it awkward to feed them though my machine.

 

They are great for holding paper pieced sections together for sewing.  Again.... I always bend my pins while trying to keep my paper pieced sections in the right position.  These clips hold tight while I sew the sections.  I thought they would slip since I was sandwiching paper to paper, but everything stayed in place quite well.

 

Lastly, I have used them when sewing clear vinyl.  In this case, you never want to use a pin because it leaves a permanent hole in the vinyl.  The clips are strong and sturdy and keep things together well. 

 

Bottom line is that they are a multi-use tool and I'm sure I'll find even more uses for them.

 

Have a great weekend!

Leafs Me Happy Winner!

Due to the overwhelming amount of comments (over 130) and my tired, old laptop whose memory closely resembles my own, I had to handle the giveaway drawing the old fashioned way........ writing all the names on strips of paper and placing them in the bottom of a bowl.

 

 

 

 

And the winner is........Susan, who said "Your blocks are so lovely!  Thanks for sharing them.  I really like the pumpkins and the single pumpkin.  I look forward to seeing more of your creativity".  I'll be sending off an email to get your full name and address and will then get your goodies in the mail.  Thank you so much for visiting my blog and congratulations!

 

And to everyone that took the time to visit my blog during the Leafs Me Happy blog hop and leave such nice comments..... Thank you!  I enjoyed reading each and every comment.  I'm sorry that many of you, toward the end of my laptop's memory, did not hear from me.

I'll be participating in the UR Priceless blog hop in November and I hope you will all come back and check out my coin purses and all of the other participants, as well.  It's going to be a HUGE hop with lots of bloggers participating.  I'll post more about it soon with a link to the full schedule.  

Thanks again and Happy Fall!

Just a quick post to tell you that my comments section is going nuts.  I'm not able to see my replies on recent posts, but the comment counter is showing an increase after each reply.   I don't know if you are seeing my reply or not....sorry, but please know that I am receiving, reading, and replying to each and every comment.

Don't worry, though, I have everyone's contact info for the drawing.  So whether or not you hear from me, I have your information and you will be included in the giveaway.

I may go through and delete my own replies to see if that clears up the problem.  Geeze..... comment overload, I guess, on my poor little lap top.

Happy Leafs me Happy Hopping!

Leafs Me Happy Day 4

 

 

This is Day 4 of the Leafs Me Happy blog hop and my turn for some fall fabric blocks to show and tell.  I'd love to have had more to show, but it's been a rough month.  At least I have a few pictures to share.

 

For the full Leafs Me Happy blog hop schedule, please go HERE.  Our wonderful hostess, Cherry, has the full line up of bloggers scheduled from October 1 through October 10.... (no week ends).

 

My collection of blocks is titled "Falling Behind" because I never did catch up and finish all that I had planned.

 

First up is a paper pieced crow and pumpkin block.  I just love crows and I'm not sure if they are exactly fall subjects or not.  No matter, I think of them in the pumpkin patch, cawing away and causing a little ruckus. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, some fall apples.  I still need to put something in those blank corner sections.  These apples, the crow and the pumpkins above, came from patterns from the Quilt Pro System, Block of the Day.  These arrive by email every day and are free.  Go HERE to sign up.  You can search their archives for tons of patterns.

 

 

 

 

Another paper pieced pumpkin, this one from EQ5.  I really enjoy paper piecing, as long as the projects are small and not too time consuming.  I don't know that I'd ever make a full quilt with tiny, paper pieced blocks as I get impatient to move on to the next project.

 

 

 

 

And lastly, this fall owl, sitting high in his branches.  If he looks familiar, he was in the last blog hop, Dots on Dots, from Debby Kratovil.  She has a free pdf pattern of the owl on her blog.  Go HERE and scroll down to the September 14th post to get the owl pattern.  Thanks, Debby! 

 

 

 

 

I also have a small give-a-way for anyone that leaves a comment.  Please make sure that I can reply to you.  I just have a mix of goodies.... a great fabric marking pencil, a 45mm rotary cutter blade, a two pack of 28mm rotary cutter blades, a little package of quilting needles, a small scissor, and a fall fat quarter.  I'll draw the winner at the end of the hop, on October 11.  Good luck!

 

 

 

 

Now you are ready to move along on this hop and visit the other bloggers for Day 4.  Here they are, so get hoppin';

 

Debby Kratovil Quilts

 

Patchouli Moon Studio

 

Freemotion By The River

 

Apple Avenue Quilts

 

Quilt Doodle Designs

 

Jane's Quilting

 

Spoilt Dog Quilts

 

Ramblings of a Quilter

 

Deborah

 

Hope you have enjoyed the Leafs Me Happy blog hop today.  Be sure to check out all the blog hop days for lots of inspiration and an occasional give-a-way.  Thanks to Cherry for hosting and Madame Samm for being our blog cheerleader and catalyst for all of these wonderful hops.

 

Happy Hopping and thanks for visiting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is the first day of the Leafs Me Happy blog hop.  Go HERE for the full schedule.  Cherry, our blog hop host, has all of the participants listed by each day of the hop.  Every day, from October 1 to October 10, several bloggers will be posting some great fall blocks (and maybe a few giveaways along the way!) to inspire you.  I'm on board for October 4th, so please stop back.  Oh, if you miss a day, be sure and go back to check them out anytime during the hop.  As I said, many have giveaways and you can still participate anytime during the hop.

Happy Fall Leafs Me Happy Hopping!

(And many thanks to Madame Samm, our blog hopper queen and cheerleader, who keeps us on track!)

Yesterday, I headed to the Michiana Mennonite Hunger Relief Auction (check out this link for lots of details) with my friend, Joyce.  We had made and donated a quilt and drove up to see the auction.  (I had shown you the border blocks that I made in a previous post.)  The main attraction at the auction this year was the Psalms Quilt made by Carol Honderich.  I imagine many of you are familiar with Carol's online quilting classes that she has been hosting for many years.  She's created and taught The Women of the Bible, The Psalms, and The Names of Jesus.  When I say "taught", I mean that she did everything from designing the patterns (pieced, foundation, and appliqued) along with commentary and history discussing each block's inspiration.  I've "attended" all of these classes, although I have never finished one of the quilts.  Carol's web site is Patterns of Faith and you can contact her and find out details about joining one of these Yahoo group classes.  They are free, of course, and full of inspiration, regardless of whether you even touch any fabric and make any blocks.  She continues to combine her love of God with her love of quilting and reaches thousands of people all over the world.  Her quilting ministry is amazing! 

 

Joyce and I walked into the auction facility and Carol's quilt was the first quilt hanging on the featured wall of quilts.  I was so drawn to Carol's quilt that I didn't even notice that the second focused quilt was the one that Joyce and I had made!  We were elated!  Each year, three of four quilts are picked for this special spot and we hardly expected to see our quilt hanging next to such a wonderful quilt as Carol's!

 

 

So here's our quilt.  It's draped behind protective plastic so the colors are a little dull.  I think we were chosen for a featured quilt because our quilt was quite different from the "normal" quilts that you typically see at this auction.  Generally, they are very traditional in both pattern and fabric.  Our quilt was an original pattern made with batik fabrics.  Just different enough to be chosen, I guess.  It was very exciting and humbling. :) 

Here's our quilt on the auction block.  It did not do as well as we had hoped but $800 will feed a lot of hungry people and that's the whole point behind donating these quilts.  Overall, the quilts did not go for very high prices.  You just never know what the trend will be each year.

 

 

We are already thinking about next year's auction.  There were some very tiny wall hanging quilts (like 18" x 18") that did very well.  I love to paper piece and may make a small wall hanging for next year.  It would certainly not cost much with so little fabric.  Gotta sleep on this one ..... there's plenty of time to make a decision.  If you'd like to donate a quilt, go to the link at the beginning of this post and get the details.  You can always mail your submission if you are not close enough to attend.  Until next year......

 

Oh, I forgot to tell you the best part...... I got to meet Carol and thank her personally for her devotion and hard work.  It was an honor and a pleasure!

 

September's BOM from the Fat Quarter Shop is finished.  I love opening the package each month to see what pattern they have selected and what fabrics they included.

 

 

 

And, as usual, here's a block made from some of the excess fabric.  My excess fabric stash is actually growing, even though I'm making two blocks out of every kit. 

 

I've also been working on my Fall Leafs Me Happy blog hop blocks too.  I've actually finished a few, in spite of life's issues along the way.  October 4th is my blog hop day so be sure to come back.  Check the link on my sidebar for more details.

  

 

 

Here's a stack of potential fabrics for the Fall blog hop.  I have many more bins of fabric that I could have pulled from, but this is already more than I'll ever use.  I'm hoping to complete at least a couple of blocks but it will all depend on how I'm feeling.  We were instructed to use fall fabrics, not Halloween fabrics, so I've tried to stay away from rats, bats, etc.  I have now been assigned my day, October 4th, so I MUST get busy!

 

And speaking of rats....... here's some wonderful cut outs that I found at the Dollar Tree.  They are just paper, but would make great templates to transfer to fusible web and fabric.  I also picked up the fuzzy brown spider.  Gotta love a good lookin' spider!

Yes, I love Halloween!  I love rats, bats, cats, spiders, snakes, and all the creepy things that we associate with Halloween.  I find them cute, not scary, and love all of the wonderful Halloween fabric choices that are available to quirky people like me!

 

 

I managed to get my Giant Granny Panties top pieced into strips this afternoon.  The strips are not sewn together yet but I have completed all of the instructions that we have been given to this point.  I couldn't get the full quilt top in this picture.  There is another round of cream blocks on all four sides.

 

I've never even seen a picture of what the finished quilt looks like so I don't know if we will be inserting side setting triangles (filling in the zig zagged edges) or just trimming off the edges of the squares to make everything flush once the rows are sewn together.  Oh well..... it's on a need to know basis and I can wait for the next chapter.  Sewing the rows and adding borders is expected to be the next step.

 

I like the fabrics so I'm pretty sure I'll be pleased with the finished product. 

 

Now..... on to the Fall blog hop (see left side bar for info) that I joined.  I haven't received the date that I'll be showing my blocks yet, but it could be as early as October 1st.  Time to get moving if I expect to have anything to show!

 

 

 

 

     

You may have noticed a new gadget on my left sidebar, just like the one above.  I joined another blog hop that begins in November.  We will be making cute little coin purses like the one in the picture.  There are still some openings if you click on the picture..... go to the link to sign up and get full details.  The pattern will be free to those who chose to participate.  Oh.... you don't have to have a blog to join.  They will host pictures of your little purse for you, so don't let the lack of a blog keep you from playing along.

 

They are practically guaranteeing that we will be able to make these with clear directions and sources for the purse closure and batting.  They are small, so a little fabric will go a long way and maybe these would make a nice Christmas gift for someone you know..... and one or two to keep for yourself too, of course!

 

 

My fabric is cut for the Giant Granny Panties Quilt Along.  Pretty easy cutting, with large pieces.  We'll get the sewing instructions this Friday.  I get impatient, having to wait for each weeks' directions before proceeding. 

 

This second picture is the package that I received today that contains the binding and the backing for the Giant Granny Panties quilt.  This is a shout out for the Sew Lux Fabric & Gifts online fabric shop, the place where all of these fabrics came from.  They also have an Etsy shop.  Their service is outstanding...... the fabric comes wrapped up like a gift...... the fabric is cheaper than on other sites (at least the fabric that I have ordered so far)...... the orders are shipped out immediately....... and there is a personal note written on the back of their business card.  In other words, they are doing everything right to make a successful business and I wanted to pass along my recommendation in case you were not familiar with them.  Happy shopping!

I finished two more blocks using the left over fabric from the Designer Mystery BOM.  I'm hoping to make two blocks out of each month's fabric and that doesn't seem to be a problem yet.  I still haven't used up all of the extra fabric.

And this is the fabric that I'll be using for the Giant Granny Panties Quilt Along.  You can't see the fabrics clearly in this photo, but I love the post card fabric the best (beige in the middle of the stack).   I'm not sure if we start cutting the fabric this week or next...... I'll post when I have an update. 

This is the August Fat Quarter Shop Designer Mystery BOM.  Although the directions were easy to follow (as always), I did have a couple of seams that I had to rip out.  Easy directions, but a feeble mind.  And also as usual, there is ample fabric left over to make more blocks.  I just love this series! 

The autograph wedding quilt blocks are done.  Actually, they've been done for awhile but I was working on the presentation of the blocks and how to make it easy to manage signing the blocks at the wedding. 

Here's the stack of 110 blocks.  I had planned on making 100, then decided to make 10 more for a rectangular quilt.  The overall size will be a queen sized quilt, more or less, depending on how I finish up with the borders.  I suppose this stack is about 7" tall.  All of the blocks have a square of freezer paper ironed to the back of the cream center to make signing smoother.

Here's kind of a layout of the blocks for signing at the wedding.  There are two baskets, one for the blank blocks, and one for the finished, signed blocks.  This will keep them corralled and safe from getting lost in the chaos.  The frame in the background has the instructions for signing the blocks.  Patti is going to have someone supervise this whole process, but if no one were around, this explanation is simple enough to follow.

I went ahead and decorated all of the fabric pens with the hope that someone wouldn't accidentally put one of them in their pocket and walk off with it, thinking it was a regular pen.  I've glued and tacked the flowers to the pens.  I hope they will stay put.

 Here's the front of one of the baskets.  The baskets, the frame, and the mason jars holding the pens all have inspirational word rocks attached to them......"Love, Trust, Joy, Laugh, and Faith." 

Now I just need to get them in the mail so that Patti can have them ready for signing!



Like I need another quilting project...... 

Well, here's another one that I joined anyway!  The Giant Granny Panties Quilt Along!  (Click on the photo for details.)

It will be an easy sew along, very suitable for any level of quilting experience.  Use your stash or buy a very reasonably priced kit.  Come on.....join me!

Bart is home from the hospital!

Here's a plug for the Vermont Teddy Bear Company!  I have no affiliation with them, I've only visited the factory and I've purchased several bears.

Recently, I discovered that Bart, one of my Vermont Teddy Bears had a broken leg.  I have no idea what happened, as he is just a display bear and is never played with.  (Of course, we never really know what goes on behind closed doors in the middle of the night!)  In any case, his leg was disconnected from his body and he was quite a sight.  Here's the thing about Vermont Teddy Bears...... they are guaranteed for life.  Your dog can have one of them for a snack, you can drive your car over them, the cat can chew it to smithereens, etc....... Regardless, you just ship your bear back to the Vermont Teddy Bear Hospital and your bear will be restored or replaced at no charge to you. 

Bart came home today and was still sporting his hospital ID band.  He's back in perfect shape!

Before sending Bart to the hospital, I had to fill out a cute little form disclosing any health problems,  allergies, or special requests.  And of course, I had to give my permission for surgery.  They just do everything in such a sweet way to make bear ownership (adoption) such a hoot.

They are somewhat costly for a simple, plush bear but the way they are presented is just wonderful and is half the fun of owning one.  They come in several fur colors, eye colors, and many outfits.  If you have kids or grand kids that are a bit hard on their stuffed animals, the lifetime guarantee is great.  They'll have them forever!  So..... there's my plug for the day.  And ...... welcome home, Bart!