Thursday, October 29, 2009

Fall...

Fall has been beautiful here in my world...




I've spent it finishing up my Stitcher's Angel Projects...they are off in the mail to places far away!




I've finished up a few customer quilts...a beautiful floral...




And an adorable Halloween quilt!





And I've finished the top for a special little baby to be...she should be arriving soon! This one is next on the machine...



And to top it all off, Cliff Lee pitched an amazing 6-1 win against the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series. Un.be.LEE.vable!!!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Vermont..



Grace had a half day this past Friday, so after school I picked her up and headed to Vermont to visit Andrew. I love having a reason to go to Vermont! On Saturday morning while the kids were sleeping, I went out and explored. I'd driven past a quilt shop on the way in and decided to head back there to see what it was like. Good choice...this store was amazing! Waterwheel House quilt shop is a beautiful shop...so full of wonderful projects and fabulous fabrics. And Gracie...the shop Golden Retriever, who is just a sweetheart.





This fall leaf quilt was hanging on display...see the little sign that says "Kit Available"? Not anymore, I bought the last one. :o) The sample was done with fusible applique, but I think I'll do needleturn. The fabrics in it were nothing like anything in my stash...lots of brights, Kaffe Fassetts...just a beautiful combination. I plan to prep blocks and work on it during my travels to Vermont and back...when the boss is driving, of course!






Shelley, the owner was very nice and the women in the shop were just having too much fun together...it seems like it would be a great place to hang out! If you find yourself in Londonderry, VT, be sure to stop by! You won't be disappointed.





The ladies did direct me to another shop, Country Treasures in Chester which carried Jo Morton fabrics. We stopped there in the afternoon and I have to admit...it had a ton of fabric and was very charming, but also very overwhelming. I found some Jo's that I wanted, but so many bolts of fabric were piled on top of the ones I wanted that I walked out with nothing...and decided that I'd order them online from Old Country Store Fabrics when I got home. This is a shop I've visited several times in Intercourse, PA and love. I didn't realize they'd started an online store!





I also stopped at the yarn shop, Six Loose Ladies in Proctorsville. Another fun place! One of the things I noticed in talking to the people I ran into...most of them were from New Jersey! When you're ready to slow down, the heat lovers from NJ all head to Florida and the cold lovers to Vermont. Guess which one I plan to go to? :o)

Monday, October 05, 2009

Making Progress...

I took the pictures of my October projects on Saturday morning and since then I've had 3 productive days in my sewing room. Several of the projects are much closer to being finished! The Poochie bag is done, the blue quilt and applique quilt block are both now quilted and I've made and sewn the binding onto those two quilts as well as the feathered table runner. I've also put together my embroidered Christmas quilt top and have prepared the backing. That should be the next one on the longarm, but will have to wait because my days off are over.

I've also joined in the Quilt Along at Charming Chatter. I thought the little nine patch quilt would be perfect for my Jo Morton fabrics, so will be using my little stash of them for this project. I plan to use the whites/tans on the top of the pile for the background fabrics and the rest for the nine patches and sawtooth border.

I plan to work on binding during Wednesday's Phillies game. It's an afternoon game, so I'm going to park myself in front of the television and stitch away. I can't do that during Thursday's game because I'll be AT the game...can't wait!

Sunday, October 04, 2009

October Projects...

It's a good thing October has 31 days in it because I have lots to do by the end of the month! This block is going to be made into a small quilt for my Stitcher's Angel Swap partner...
And these fabrics are going to become a Poochie Bag for her as well...

This quilt top is going to be quilted, bound and shipped off to Margaret's Hope Chest whose blog I found through Crazy Mom Quilts.

This baby quilt is still in the works...I never got to it in September. At least I decided on a pattern this month! Baby is due around Thanksgiving...I need to get to work!

I'd like to make this practice piece from my longarm feather class into a table runner. All that needs done is trimming and binding...should I use muslin or a color?

I've finished my Gail Pan embroidery blocks, so making this into a quilt is on the agenda for October...
And this stack of fabrics needs to be made into a quilt for Andrew...I'll be happy if I get the top made by the end of the month. I'd like to have it ready to take to him at Thanksgiving.

So, those are my plans for October...as well as keeping up with my schoolwork, the house, the Phillies (we have tickets to one game in each series...we'll be at the Bank for Game 2 of the Division series on Thursday!) and hopefully a quick trip up to Vermont in 2 weeks. Looks like it's going to be a busy month!