Pattern Testing

I recently had the opportunity to pattern test for Emily of Em's Scrapbag.  If you are not familiar with Emily, she does an amazing job with scrap quilts.  Her patterns always help to make a dent in the stashed fabrics.  This is called Shooting Stars.

She recently showed her finish on her blog.  I love how the same pattern can look so different.  While hers is soft and quiet, mine screams fall in showy reds, oranges and yellows.  Scraps!  I enjoyed sewing the pattern so much that I added a few more squares to make a larger finish.

Don't you love the zig zag effect that is achieved?

While I would not normally use grays with these colors, this was a fabric that I had in quantity sufficient to make it.  I like the way it worked out and I really like the design in the fabric.

I couldn't decide what color of binding to use so used a scrappy red, yellow and charcoal.

For the backing, I used and extra wide backing fabric from Backside Fabrics.  This is a new to me shop and I was so pleased with their service.  The shipping was quick and they have a marvelous selection of wide backings.  The best part is that my backings came torn across rather than cut.  I always tear my backing fabrics to be sure that I have a straight of grain cut.  Needless to say, that means I always order more than I need to accommodate the loss that is achieved from tearing across.  I will definitely be using them as my source for the extra wide fabrics in the future.

Halloween was here and gone in a flash.  I added two more trick or treat bags for the youngest trick or treaters in the family.

As well this week I worked on my November MCM Bee blocks.   This is for Nancy. I am not an improv quilter so this was a wee bit of a challenge for me.  Her quilt should look amazing when finished.

These blocks went to Cindy as our final month in our Spelling Bee.  I really like her selection this month.

With the shorter days and cooler nights the poinsettia is starting to blush red in the leaves.  It won't be long before they are red.

I was a bit lucky this week as I received a note from Jeanna that I had won her giveaway.  I get to have some fun shopping at the Fat Quarter Shop.  Thanks so much, Jeanna, for the great giveaway and thanks also to the FQS for their support for all quilters.

Catching Up on Some Fun Sewing

Being away from the sewing machine for several weeks meant that I had to make up for lost time.  ;-)

One of our granddaughters has a birthday tomorrow and her request was for doll clothes for her 18" doll.  Of course, I LOVE sewing doll clothes.  I used to enjoy sewing for my own dolls and I was taken back to those olden days while I stitched these outfits.

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought this was necessary.

I had such fun with this little day outing dress with the waist bag.

Of course every doll needs some soft lounging p.j.s and a matching robe.

I also caught up and mailed off my bee blocks for October.  First off was for our MCM Bee.

Finally for our Spelling Bee.

Bring on November!!!

Linking up with Val's Quilting Studio

Linking up with Freemotion by the River linky Tuesday

Linking up with Quilt Fabrication Midweek Makers

Linking up with Busy Hands Quilt

Finishing July

As another month comes to a close, we move closer and closer to Christmas.  Have you enjoyed all of the great Christmas in July posts and projects?  There are so many great ideas which I am sure that I will wish I had done when December rolls around.  ;-)

What did I accomplish this week?  Well....I did finish the horse quilt in time for the birthday next Monday.

 The back....

I did the quilting with a star and horseshoe pantograph.

The same group that worked on our Round Robin will now be doing a Row by Row Robin.  I have finished my first row and my spacer rows, but am considering maybe replacing the black spacer rows with two white rows instead.  My thought was to alternate dark and light, but I'm not sure that I care for that idea.  I might alternate with a checkerboard row.  Any thoughts?

My #spellingbee block went out to Simone this month.  I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the colors in this one and made the first word in purple.  Fortunately, one of the other bee-ers recognized my mistake before I sent it off.  It was taxing on the mind to make purple in coral.

A young couple at church had a little baby girl so a couple of burp cloths were sewn up this week.

I had company in my sewing room yesterday when I went to sit at the machine.  This was what I put my hand on when I went to pull out my chair.  It scared us both half to death, but its colors were so pretty - orange and iridescent green.  I did manage to capture it and return it to the outside where it belongs.

I did get some really fun mail this week.  It came from a giveaway that Elizabeth had.  I have loved looking through these Uppercase magazines.  There are so many exceptionally talented and creative people in the world.  Speaking of talented....Elizabeth is someone who fits into that category.  Her work never ceases to amaze me and she tackles it with such precision.

We enjoyed our nephew's wedding last weekend.  It was a perfect day for a wedding with a beach reception.  I managed to grab a shot of a few of our "children" and a couple of their spouses.

So.....that has been my week.  How was yours?


Linking up with Finished or not Friday.

Stitching and All

First of all, the winner of my Crafted Applique giveaway is Linda at Chirp.  Congratulations, Linda.  You will enjoy this book.

This week has been a week of bits and pieces of everything.  I've been doing cross stitching on my never ending Nativity project in the evenings.  I did a lot of it while we were on vacation so have continued to work on it in the hopes of finishing it this year.  I need to finish the second shepherd and then onto the last one.  I am feeling like it is getting close now.

You can see the slow progress since the last time I showed it.  I'd hate to think of how many hours I have in this already. lol

Carla is the queen for our Mid Century Modern Bee this month.  Her request is for churn dash blocks.

Months ago Ida had asked me if I would join in a Round Robin with her, two of her sisters and her niece.  It was so much fun to work on a different quilt each month and send it on to the next person.  I sent off  a center bear paw block.  I forgot to photograph it before I sent it, but I cropped the picture.

This is the way it returned to me.  I love how fancy my lonely little block became a 64" square flimsy.  I hope Ida will show you some of the others as they were wonderful.  Now....to get it quilted.

My words are almost ready to be made into a quilt.  I have so many ideas about how to finish it off.

These are the words that I made for Susan for the month of May.

As well as sewing, I have been refinishing an oak trestle table and benches.  Again, I did not get a picture of it before (darn), but will post the finish when it is done.  We've had this table since our children were young and we are passing it on to our daughter's family.  It is great for little ones.

We've had a busy month already with five birthdays, wedding anniversaries, First Communion, Confirmations and bridal showers.  The college grandchildren are home for the summer so life is great and keeping us busy, but I'm still taking time to smell the flowers.

Lighting

As I mentioned in my last post, my blogging buddy, Soma, is doing a monthly series on photography.  If you have ever viewed her photos you would know how much I love seeing her posts.  This month her challenge was about lighting.  I decided to give it a try with my sewing projects this week.

First off is my word for the Spelling Bee that I have joined this year.  I am the bee queen for March and the words I am going for are sewing related.  First off is my "scissors" photographed in a bright, but shady area.

The next one is the same shot, but taken in bright sunlight at about 2 p.m.  The colors are much truer in the second photo.

Next up are a couple of mug rugs that I made for some friends who joined me for some sewing yesterday.  Both of the photos were taken in the morning light - one in bright sunshine...

....and the other in the filtered light from a patio cover.  The colors in the second one are much truer, but the quilting shows up better in the bright light.

Lastly, it is that time of the year for the kid's school auction.  As I have done for many years, I made a school uniform.  This photo was taken in filtered light....

....and this one was taken inside with a flash.  The detail is much better with the flash as are the colors.

Of course, I am using a point and shoot camera.  I am sure that the results would be much better with a better camera.  Then again....I am so grateful to have a camera where the results can be seen immediately.  Does anyone else remember when we used to have to wait a week for our film to be developed?

I am thoroughly looking forward to the year ahead with all of Soma's great hints.

In other happenings this week... I made a batch of my favorite OATMEAL cookies for the Super Bowl party.  They would have been great had I remembered to put the oatmeal in them!!!  Talk about a big mess.  Trying to clean that cookie sheet was a nightmare.  Would one not think if you were making oatmeal cookies you would remember to add the oatmeal??  Sometimes I worry about myself.

January's Block Lotto block was Birds in the Air and guess who was one of the winners.  These are the blocks that have arrived so far and I cannot tell you how beautifully made these have been.  I think I am going to have to become a BLUE person.  This month the block is Snail's Trail with browns - a color more in my comfort zone.

We've been enjoying summer here for the last week and forecast for another 4-5 days.  Of course I am loving the temps in the upper 80s each day, but it would be so nice to get some of that El Nino rain that they promised us this year.  Now they are saying that they will come in March.  After being told they would be here in January, then February I am beginning to wonder.

An Unscheduled Getaway

Have you ever wished that you could just get away?  Just imagine all that you could accomplish.  lol  Well.....I had my chance this week for an unscheduled getaway.

Last week was our annual family trip to the Sierras.  We always love watching the little ones enjoying the snow and this was no exception.  We were scheduled to come home on Sunday.  The big storm, Kayla, hit on Saturday, dumping feet of snow where we were.  It was beautiful, but when we went to get in the car we discovered that we had a ruptured brake line.  ;-(  The rest of the gang headed home while we were towed down the mountain for repairs.  Parts had to be ordered so we got a hotel.  After two days, more parts were needed that also had to be ordered.  Meanwhile, we were holed up in a hotel room and I was thankful that I had thought to grab my iPad and cross stitching from the vehicle before leaving it.  It was a long couple of days with temps in the teens, snow and ice everywhere and NO transportation.  But....that was earlier this week!  Life is now good again and we are home and back to the crazy and wonderful normal routine.

This was the view looking out of the hotel window.  Those chairs by the creek look a bit chilly to me.

Along the sewing front....I am participating in several bees this year.  One that I am really enjoying is the Spelling Bee.  These are my blocks for this month.  These should make a super cute quilt with all of the bugs.

The next bee is the Mid-Century Modern Bee.  I love that you have to be Mid century or above to belong.  These blocks are for Cindy.  These little books  (#booksforbabyquilt) are really fun.

There is a great new monthly series going on in blogland.  Soma of Whims and Fancies is doing a camera series.  Her photos are amazing and she is sharing some tips with us and allowing us to link up some of our photos as well.  Be sure to check it out.