A FALL SUNDAY

It promises to be another beautiful Fall day here in the Ozarks.  Hubby and I took the weekend off to slow down a bit and give him time to recover from a bad outbreak of poison ivy. 

I have been busy in the sewing room working on Christmas gifts and items I need to turn in to Reggie, my quilter, before the end of October.  After that date she won't accept anything else until January. I'm thinking of making a few table runners and embellished Christmas stockings.  I already finished a quilt for our neighbors and I'm working on another one for a special friend.

Meals have been real simple around here lately.  I made a large pot of chili last week and we enjoyed it as bowls of chili with toppings, chili dogs and finally as chili mac.  Today I will be making a batch of stuffed peppers (red) that will give us two meals plus a meal for the freezer for later.  In the Fall and Winter we enjoy homemade soups and stews with homemade bread and rolls. 

Life is especially good right now.  I wish the same for you and yours.

HAPPY FALL!

Fall is slowly edging out our summer days.  The trees know it's time to begin turning colors and the hummingbirds have all but moved out.  Last week they were eating two quarts a day and now we seldom see one at the feeder.

It will soon be time to change out the summer quilt for a warmer Fall one and before much longer socks, sweatshirts  and flannel shirts and pajamas will become my uniform ~~~ I can't wait!

Our food in the Fall is a little heavier.  Homemade soup, stew and chili, huge pots of beans cooked with ham will be on our table almost every night along with skillet cornbread and homemade rolls. 

In the sewing room my thoughts have been on Fall.  I'm working on a small Halloween quilt that can be thrown over the back of the sofa or on a kitchen chair.   I love the colors of Halloween. What are you making for Fall this year? 

I love reading your comments.

Happy Fall Y'All!!

A LITTLE SHOPPING TRIP ~~~~

We live in a very small rural community but we have a nice fabric store geared mostly to quilters.  This week the quilting cotton was $2.99 per yard so a trip to town this morning was very much in order.

Despite my self-imposed fabric diet I had to sample just a few of their offerings. 

Two darling Halloween prints.  I've used the bat print before on table toppers I made recently.  The cute ghosts with the toothy smiles are really cute.

 

 

These Christmas prints are so pretty.  I'm especially fond of the gray/purple/gold combo.  Nice for table runners for girlfriends.

 

 

 

 This print reminds me of Cotton & Steel fabric.  I will make a jellyroll quilt and incorporate a little of the fabric into the strips and use it again in the border. 

 

Not to be outdone, this darling Happy Haunting layer cake came in the mail today. 

I see lots of happy hours sewing in my near future.  I think I did very well without breaking the bank.

What are you making for the holidays??

CURVED LOG CABIN

The Curved Log Cabin I made for our neighbors for Christmas is finally done.  It took a few days for me to hand hem the binding but I enjoy the process so much it was worth it.

I wanted to make a Christmas quilt that wasn't totally Ho-Ho-Ho.  The fabric I chose is the luscious Incarnadine line by Robyn Pandolph.  The cream fabric is French Vanilla by RJR.  I seem to have a knack for falling in love with discontinued fabrics, but after a bit of internet searching I was able to come up with enough fabric to make two quilts.  Yes, I will be making another one for us.  The machine stippling was done by my LAQer Reggie, who always does wonderful work.

The Curved Log Cabin pattern is a basic log cabin with half of the strips 2.5" (prints) and the other half 1.5" (cream).  This particular pattern was built on the center square adding strips and trimming them as I went along.  I prefer this to having to cut stacks of pre-measured strips.  As long as the seams are a consistent 1/4" everything works out well. 

This is where I have to say something about the fabulous Stripology ruler I bought recently.  If you cut a lot of strips for your quilts I can't recommend this tool enough.  It's a little on the pricey side ($50) but worth every cent.  Yesterday I cut three yards of fabric into perfect 1.5" strips in 20 minutes without measuring anything!  The bonus for me is that the edges are clean cut rather than pinked, which I really prefer for accuracy. 

It feels odd having a Christmas quilt done in August but I prefer this to burning the midnight oil the night before the gift is to be given, which I've done so many times in the past. 

Wishing everyone a sweet weekend!

HEAD START ON THE HOLIDAYS....

I've been binding a few pieces I just got back from my quilter, Reggie.  I posted pictures of these items before quilting and here they are quilted, bound and ready to mail off. 

 

My daughter has a birthday this month and she wants the topper with the gray inner border as part of her birthday gift.  I made both toppers from half of a layer cake pack plus a little black and white and borders.

The curved log cabin I posted pictures of is in the process of being bound.  The hand hemming is torture on my hand so I have to take a day or two off from hand sewing.  Someone asked me if I got arthritis....I said no, I just got old!

Happy sewing everyone!

ANOTHER SUMMER FINISH

It's been a while coming, but I finally finished the Pinwheels On Point & Fence Rail quilt this morning.  I had to take several days off to give my hand a rest.

 

 

I used one jellyroll plus assorted pieces of Civil War fabric from my stash.  I loved making this quilt.  It was stippled by my LAQer and friend, Reggie.  The border was made from the trimmings from the pinwheels.  I just squared them up and sewed them in rows.  The white is French Vanilla by RJR.

Thanks for looking.  I would love your comments.

Peace & Plenty to you and yours ~~~  Barb

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

Our rain has stopped for a while and we are playing catch- up with outdoor chores.  The grass is almost tall enough to bale, so it will need two cuttings rather than one.  Our weeds really took advantage of the rain and have doubled their size since last weekend.  If you need me you will find me on a mower under the big hat.  These are our Dog Days that are hotter than blazes and we lay around like lazy dogs.  Actually this is the time most snakes shed their skins, so they have a tendency to strike at almost anything.  We are extra cautious with the Girls during this time.

So, did I take advantage of the down time to sew?  Maybe just a wee bit..... I worked on organizing my stash shelves and added the inner borders to the Halloween table topper.  It was going to be a quilt but the size was going to be awkward so I opted for two toppers instead, both for gifts.  I bought twenty 10" squares for this project. 

It's time for our breakfast.  I cut up some fresh peaches to put on top of our waffles with a smidge of whipped cream.  This treat will be served with bacon and sausage.  I didn't say it was healthy ~~~ just yummy!

Enjoy your Sunday everyone!