Rainy Halloween Night and a Finish

Tonight will be a short post- when the rain lets up those Happy Halloween Candy Lovers stream out to "Trick or Treat", AND I'm trying to adjust to my new life schedule. Starting next week, I'll be out of the house every day rather than just three days a week, so I'm cooking ahead! Wonder how long that will continue?! Tonight is a beef stew, and tomorrow's intent is to make a large pot of cauliflower, potato and cheese soup. I also bought the fixings to make Black Forest ham sandwiches with cranberry mustard to go with that midweek soup ....well, all but the ham. I'll get that fresh come Tuesday night.
So without much more fanfare, here is the finish for my October commitment to the Charming Girls Club....all neatly hand quilted and bound with a single fold binding. I loved doing the hand quilting!! It has been a long time since I actually hand quilted something, and I just enjoyed it so much. I also love how the single fold binding lays on this small quilt. The usual double fold would have been too thick for this little treasure.



With fall in full swing, I am feeling that urge to dig in and sew more. Good thing- I have LOTS of little 9-Patches to complete for the Sew Along over at the Charming Girls Quilt Club! I also have a couple projects to work on for November. I am bound and determined to give a couple of quilts this Christmas, and if this commitment thing works- I think I can do it!!
So off I go...Happy Halloween to one and all.
Karen

Back again but not as quickly as I had promised! Without much fanfare, let me get right to the quilts and then perhaps a bit of musings...if there is time.
I promised to share some of my favorite bigger quilts from Empire QuiltFest, held two weeks ago here in the Albany area (Clifton Park to be exact). It was a wonderful show....
this neutral quilt was one of my favorites. I don't do "neutral" well, and really admired it for the choice and placement of the fabrics. I must once again apologize to you and to the quilt makers. I didn't have a catalog of quilts so I can not give credit where credit is due. I hope if any of the quilt makers find me (by accident - I'm sure)they will leave a comment so I can remedy that.



this next quilt is another I put in my "maybe some day" file- or at least a quilt very much like it. I love stars of any kind:



this quilt sported three ribbons-two, if not all three were Vendor's Choice, and it is a nice rendition of the Hunter's Star:



This one took a lot of hours I'm sure!



and these both appealed to my more rustic leanings:



This top quilt is just the perfect scrap quilt to me

This was a shop hop pattern from either one or two hops ago:



And then there was my own personal heart stopper!! I don't know if I would ever seriously contemplate beginning a Baltimore Album quilt! I do entertain thoughts now and again, but am realistic enough to know it will never happen. Enjoy this one:



And time has run out. I will try to get back tomorrow night and show off the dolls from the traveling Hoffman Challenge. Back in my dolling days I would have run right home and started planning out a new doll project. Now I'll just stand back and admire the time and dedication (as well as the creativity) it takes to execute one of these creatures. I find them all completely amazing and know you will too. Until then-
Happy Stitching
Karen

Empire QuiltFest

The Theme of the Empire Quilt Fest this year was Voyage of Discovery (in honor of the 400th anniversary of the voyage of Henry Hudson) This Particular quilt really caught my eye- and was just one of many in the challenge category. As you can see it received a ribbon, and rightfully so.

The show was filled with wonderful quilts- with several applique stand outs. This Rose quilt has a touching story. These hand appliqued blocks were found by a friend's co-worker after the death of her mom. Said friend offered to set them together so that co-worker would have a quilt stitched by her mom. It was then given to a local long armed quilter to quilt. The final product is just stunning! I hear there were lots of happy tears shed when it was unveiled. I'm not at all surprised, because the story still makes me tear up.


Same friend exibited and won a blue ribbon in the Mixed Technique Category for this (hand) appliqued and (machine) pieced quilt, Old Glory, designed by the gals of Blackbird Designs. I think it is one of of my favorites, and every time I see a new project of Pat's, I think THAT ONE is my favorite! I love the talent of my quilting buddies. Congratulations, Ms. Patty!!


I wonder if someday I'd be able to produce anything half as beautiful as this Baltimore Album??
I wish I could give the quilt maker her dues, but since I was working the show, I had to run through the exhibit very early, and didn't have a program, or pen to make notes!


The local Jo Morton Club, which I finally have the time to join this year, put on a tempting display of quilts made by their members. I am so happy to be able to participate now, and am eagerly waiting for Club #9 to begin. I think I heard it will be ready come November?? No matter, I'm itching to get working on Jo's small projects. This stars in a log cabin setting has such great color. I don't think it photographed well, but I'm showing it off anyway:



This version of Hattie's Baskets was made by another friend, and received a third place ribbon. She was so excited- congratulations Linda!


Another of Jo Morton's basket designs. Love the paisley border on this one:


Another quilting buddy made this one. Isn't it gorgeous? The bird print in the setting triangles and outer border just makes me swoon. Another congratulatory wave - this time to Liz:



And here are a few more smaller quilts:


I love the cheddar in this brown, cheddar and blue:



And these Pinwheels!

Seen enough yet??
How about tomorrow I share some of the larger quilts that I particularly liked!
Don't want to overwhelm blogger tonight! Besides, I have some 9-Patches to work on for my Sew Along with the Charming Girls group! Time to get the machine fired up for a bit.
Happy Stitching to one and all.

Karen

No photos today, but...

I did spend most of the day at the sewing machine! Last night I finished re-piecing a candle mat from a new project book by Holly Taylor. Now, I should mention that it was all pieced and ready for binding, but something didn't look quite right to me. It took a couple of days before I realized that I used the outer border fabric in the "twist" instead of the red "main" fabric. It was a matter of wordy semantics. When I think main border fabric I think "outer" border. What about you?? Oh well, since I was partially under the weather, I'll give myself a break. So, my seam ripper and I got totally re-acquainted and I had to rip off all the outer borders, remove the wrong twist pieces and do a bunch of resewing. It was totally worth the effort! At least it is almost done and will be ready to be used in the shop's booth at this weekend's Empire QuiltFest in Clifton Park,NY. Today I did all the (machine) quilting and got ready to bind. Wouldn't you know-- I don't have the intended binding material here. Either I never cut it, or I left it at the shop over the weekend. Darn it all. Now I will have to "rush" to make sure it is done for Friday night set up. Thankfully it is just a candle mat and not a quilt!! I'll get it all done tomorrow evening. Happily, I was pleased with the outcome of the machine quilting this time around, but made a mental note that I enjoy hand quilting so much more. I hope to do more of it this winter.

I'll fire up the camera this weekend and take a photo (or two) of my latest endeavor as well as my Jo Morton 9-Patch.

Now it is on to the Acorn and Oak Leaf block for Sunday's get together with some quilty friends. I don't think I'm going to have 4 other blocks done this month, but at least I can have this assignment finished, since I was the one who chose it!

No Quilting Today

It was such a beautiful fall morning. With a day like today there was only one thing any respectable New Yorker could possibly want to do--hop in the car and go apple picking!
This past weekend was the annual Apple Festival at this particular orchard, and the aftermath of the hoards of folks tromping through was evident....



but there was still lots of good picking to do in several of the sections today. We got to choose from the Romes, Crispins or Red Delicious. First born and I decided we'd pick some of each and fill our bag full of yumminess. The Tree below is a Rome apple, and it has lots of good pickin' left on it:




I tried to encourage First Born to climb on high, but she was convinced the ladder would collapse and drama would ensue. So she posed instead! OK, I admit, I made her do it!



and she payed me back,and shot this one with her camera:



Once we filled our bag, we headed off hoping to find just a pumpkin or two (or three if lucky!) in the completely picked over pumpkin patch. It was still a great view, even if hundreds of pumpkins were snatched up by festival goers Saturday and Sunday.





We managed to find two cute pumpkins, all the while being overcome by the smell of apple cider donuts baking in the shop. After paying for said pumpkins (and lugging them and our apples to the car), First Born and I made our way towards that wonderful smell, mouths watering in anticipation. What is a day of apple picking if not to end it with cider donuts for home?

Our day:
Seven pounds of apples
Two pumpkins
One dozen cider donuts
One home made apple pie
One jug of pressed cider- direct from the orchard's cider mill
One teeny jug of maple syrup
One jar of pumpkin butter
One jar of white chocolate peanut butter (omg- so good! And we know because we taste tested all 3 options)
Three strands of old buttons
One great old lunch bucket from the corner flee market shelves
A stop at the winery display to see the offerings (when is wine tasting??)

I'd call it a successful and relaxing morning.
Tomorrow (after a trip to the repair shop and work) I'll quilt- maybe!!

Wow, another entry!

This blogging without obligation thing is sure freeing! I've written 3 posts in about as many days.
I won't pat myself on the back too hard, as I don't know if I can keep up with myself *smile*.
My thought for today is to share the projects I've chosen to work on in October. As of today all I need to do is finish up some quilting stitches and bind a little piece done with Jo Morton's fabrics (photo to come). I've re-made block one of Prairie Flowers, Encore. Just 8 more to go,and I'm not seeing an October finish for this one.




I've finally chosen the color pallet for the quilt along over at Charming Girls
http://cottoncharmquilts.typepad.com/charmingchatter/2009/10/lets-quilt-along.html


I really wanted to work with something a bit different than what I'm doing now- meaning no repros. I have collected some sweet red and whites and think that this is the project for them. I'm hoping it will be a very light and airy project- and instead of the lap size, I've decided on the smaller version- mainly because I was only collecting half yards and I'm not 100% sure I'd have enough for the larger version. But I'm subject to changing my mind yet again-stay tuned!!

So there you have it. Photos and all. Tomorrow is a play date with DD who will be coming into town tonight. I may not have much to share until next week. But there are no blogging obligations- remember!

New beginning

A few years ago I started (and almost finished) Prairie Flowers from a booklet by Jo Morton.
I pulled it out a few nights ago and said to myself--yuck!
Well not technically a real yuck, but just not "me" at this point and time. So what is a girl to do?
Well, this girl packaged it up, will offer it to someone who might love- and finish- it, and I pulled all new fabrics and chose a new setting option. I am now working on Prairie Flowers , Encore.
I'll have block one done this weekend and will post a photo.
Fall is truly here and I feel the nesting instinct kicking in- I want to hunker down and sew.
I have to decide on a definite color scheme for the sew-along over at Charming Girls. The cutting directions are up, and I've ear-marked Saturday for that. Seeing that I just realized that today is Friday I'm already feeling a bit "behind" lol...
Watch for photos......................

Blogging without Obligation

somewhere out there in blog land, I read about blogging without obligation- complete with a badge for your blog! Now that is for me, I thought....
No obligation. Blog when you can. Looking at the last post on this my "quilting" blog shows I don't have much in the way of blogging obligation! Truly-- how many months has it been??
The honest truth has been that quilting has not been high on the priority list. It became an "obligation" to work on something. Too much work quilting, not enough home quilting.
All that took on a positive change when I made a conscious effort to push past "tired" and go to a meeting of a Jo Morton club at a fairly "local" shop. What a wonderful evening. I took my needed-to- be- bound Emma's Quilt, and even shared it at show and tell. Many of the women around the table were known to me as customers from the shop at which I currently work. Chatting and sewing took on a life of its own and I found myself loving every minute of it.
Quilting does hold onto a (happy) piece of me- and I really wanted to grab hold of that and go back to all those projects sitting about in various stages-- you know the ones: tucked away, sealed in their own special holders, just waiting for the time I'd decide to let them loose and turn them into the beauties they knew they could become.
About the same time, I ran across a new blog- The Charming Girls Club. What fun I thought.
But I knew myself. If I can't carry through with the "obligation" of blogging, could I really add some "obligatory" quilting to my life? A few questions to the club founder, Kelly, and all my "fears" were put aside. I was ready to commit to becoming a charming girl.
So here we go...I'm a day late I do believe, but I am still going to commit to finishing a small project this month....a little Jo Morton 9-Patch complete with half square triangle borders.
I can do this. And if I don't....
well so what!
According to Kelly-- no lashes with a wet (quilting) noodle.
Sounds like just the right fit .