Halloween Postcards Finish

Halloween Postcards

It's a finish!

45 x 60

I finished the top back in May 2021.   That year  I  made three different tops with big prints using the Double Sawtooth pattern from Quilter's Cache. It's a good pattern for big prints because the center of the block is 9.5 inches. 

With this quilt I also used up almost all of my Halloween fabrics. Some went into the pieced backing I made at the same time I made the top. 

I quilted it on my DSM (Brother PQ1500SL) with swirls in black thread. I really wanted to use orange thread but didn't have any and had plenty of black. I usually use lime green thread to quilt on black but decided to see how black thread would look since I have a few other quilt tops with black backgrounds that need quilting. 

I said I was going to try to get bigger quilts finished the rest of the year; however, this one in the to-be-quilted pile I'm trying to reduce already had a pieced backing made and since it 'tis the season it went under the needle. 

This one will go to my granddaughter Isabelle who was born on Halloween. She will be 20 this year! 

And sew on...

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Oct. 28 -- A roll of batting magically appeared at my door. I did manage to track down the sender. Thanks, Teresa! Now there is now excuse for moving forward on getting some twin sized quilts finished!

Oct. 29 - I early voted!   That triggered a few memories... I remember the first time I voted was 1972. At age 20 I was able and very excited to vote that year because the 26th ammendment (1971) lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. McGovern and Nixon were the candidates for president.  At around the same time in 1972 Iowa lowered the legal drinking age to 19 so I was able to sit in a bar and order a drink. So, lucky me...I didn't have to wait for my 21st birthday in order to vote or drink.   I also remember reading The Making of the President 1960 by Theodore White in my American Government class in high school and was rather surprised to read that a lot more than votes went into the making of a president. 

 

Bramble Blooms II Update

Audrey from Quilty Folk is hosting a Quilt Along (QAL) called Bramble Blooms - an "informal, structured, yet unquestionably improv. style of QAL" that will include prompts for making a series of 3 quilts. 

Our first step of the Bramble Blooms QAL was to make three piles of fabrics for the three quilts in the series. All three of my piles started with orange and lime green bits and pieces. Each of the three piles had more greens added plus an additional color. Bramble Bloom I had purple added. Bramble Bloom II has pink added. Bramble Bloom III will include aqua/turquoise. 

I completed the top for Bramble Blooms I and now am working on Bramble Blooms II. 

I completed the Bramble Blooms I center piece  back in May. 

" BBII: First Border Prompt

Putting together the first border in the 2nd Bramble Blooms quilt. Making connections with the first BB quilt but trying for a new look."

The first border contains 8 inch Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs) but instead of lime green and orange like the center piece the blocks are made of other greens and pink. AND instead of alternating the colors of the blocks in the layout like I did with the centerpiece I matched up the greens and the pink/orange in the second border. Doesn't really seem like a border but that's how I introduced pink into the quilt and I was not really feeling inspired to do much of anything after thinking about it for a long while. 

" BBII: Second Border Prompt

Sewing the second and last border onto the quilt. Considering making it with random pieces of fabric in a simple yet improv. style. Adding applique motifs in the same style as the first BBI quilt. The choice to include bias vine, including a tutorial for making your own bias vine without any special tools. "

Ok. So, I've never added an applique border let along an improv appliqued  border. So, I've never made a bias vine or bias binding for anything.  I know it is recommended that the applique be done before it is added to the quilt; however, I don't think I can do that so I've gone and added the border - that lime green, pink and white floral. I'm thinking I will applique some vining roses going around the corners. That means I will make some bias vines for the first time and add some needle turned rose leaves. And then, I hope to add some ruched roses if I can remember how to make them from those days long ago when I used to do quite a bit of crazy quilting.  If my ruched roses don't turn out then I might try some broderie perse roses.   So, if I get as far as rambling roses in my corners then I might add some butterflies to the rest of the border. Or not. 

So my next step is to make a bias vine. I've cleared off my little 18 x 24 cutting mat now I just need to gather my vine fabrics and go for it. 

And sew on...

***

CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

October 27 - Beautiful pink sky at sunrise. 

AND I finished a book! - I Will Close My Eyes by Amy Fillion.  Barbara, Martha's best friend since the age of 3 passes away. 101 year old Martha remembers their lives together.  This is not the usual type of book I read; however, I have to say it was light reading and a pretty good book that covered a lot of different life issues and how they were dealt with by different characters. 

 

Bits and Pieces

It's been a busy couple of weeks; however, in bits of time  I have worked on a few Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) blocks. 

I had accumulated a lot of brown 2.5 inch width scraps. I've been making quarter stars to be turned into full stars later on. I think this is the last of my longer scraps so now I need to see how many stars I can make from the quarter star pieces. 

I made a few Boo Boo Patches from gray 1.5 inch scraps. 

And I now have met my goal of 300 - 4 inch finished Windmill blocks for a 15 x 20 block layout which will make for a 60 x 80 inch quilt. 

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

A Finish! Peacock Feathers

It's a finish!

Peacock Feathers

60 x 80

If you are interested you can read about the making of this quilt from beginning to quilt top 2017 - 2021 on my December 2021 blog post. 

The tumblers were cut from 4.5 inch width strips with the EZ Dresden ruler. The scraps were left over from making a Peacock Fan quilt (in the quilting queue since 2017). 

Back in 2017 peacock fabrics must have been the rage because I remember there sure were a lot of different ones in the stores. I think I must have bought a 1/4 to 1/2 yard of dozens of them. 

I quilted it on my DSM (Brother PQ1500SL) with squiggles and loops in a variegated thread. 

The binding is scrappy - different purples from the leftover binding box. The backing is half peacock feathers and half dotty. 

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

October 18 - I treated myself to some new fabrics. It's been quite awhile since I've bought any fabric. I received an email from Marshall Dry Goods that they had a new line of "vintage florals" for $5.99 per yard. I had to look. Then I had to buy some - a yard of about a dozen different florals. Most featured roses. I do love roses! 

October 19 - Shipped 6 quilts to the coordinator for Quilts Beyond Borders and Wrap-A- Smile. She will get them to the programs where they are needed most.  And speaking of shipping....I ship packages using the free Pirate Ship software. I have found it easy to use, compare costs and print labels. Then all I have to do is drop off packages at a UPS drop off location. 

October 20 - Finished a book! - This Savage World by Anna Housego.  Historical fiction. A woman in England is sentenced for theft to transportation in 1790 to Australia leaving behind a young daughter. 

October 21 - Received a box of scraps from Donna! 

October 22 - I bought new work boots.  The bottoms had started to come off my boots so I duct taped around the top of my shoes hoping to get through the rest of the gardening season that way. BUT while digging with a shovel the duct tape broke, snagged on the shovel and sent me tumbling. I went on line and ordered new boots that same day. 

October 23 - Finished a book! - The Innocent by David Baldacci. Mystery thriller. #1 in the Will Robie, government assassin, series. It was definitely a mystery thriller. 

October 24 - Finished clearing an area of invasive honeysuckle for a new goth/moon garden. More on that later. 

October 25 - Rain!  We haven't had much lately and are in a severe drought area.  This is the first time in over 30 years that my little man   woman made pond has run dry. It had several inches of mud in the bottom so I dug all that out and put in my veg garden.  

 

A Finish!

It's a finish!

60 x 80

This top has been around since 2020. That's the year I decided to try to empty the small bins of scraps I had sorted by scrap width.  For this one I used the longest pieces from the 2.5 and 4.5 inch width scraps and made 5 patches of 2.5 x 4.5 rectangles. 

I tried to keep the 3 pieces of the 5 patch the darker color butt that was not always the case. 

I was trying to empty scrap bins so it was "anything goes" and truly scrappy. 

I quilted it with vertical lines down each side of the seams. 

The backing was given to me - a vintage fabric - It's A Small World c. 1964 by Walt Disney. I had to look up "It's A Small World". It debuted for the first time at the 1964 World's Fair in New York and showcased Disney's new technology audio-animatronics. And coincidentally I attended that world's fair and is the only time I've been to New York or a World's Fair. This 12 year old girl did go on the "It's a Small World" ride that year. I also saw more fascinating audio-animatronics in action in the "Great Moment's With Lincoln" exhibit.   Just an FYI - the Ford Mustang, picture phone (video conferencing) and push button telephones also debuted that year at the World's Fair. 

"It's a small world after all"...

The binding is scrappy and came out of my leftover bindings box. 

And now it's ready for donation. 

And in 2021 I did manage to empty my 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 inch width scrap bins. I failed to empty my 2 inch width scrap bin and it is stilll full to this day.  After that I started making blocks to use each size of scraps with the intention of using scraps as they are made or received. And I started keeping scraps by color hoping the scraps in those scrap bags would only be scrap chunks (less than a FQ and bigger than 6 inch width). The intent then has been to empty those scrap bags - each month cutting off pieces of chunks in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month to make those same blocks I'm making to use each size of scrap.   So far my chunk scrap bags are still full thanks to scraps from friends.  

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Oct. 16 - A big beautiful Hunter's Supermoon cast it's glow over the land and lots of stars were twinkling in the sky. 

Oct. 17 - Butterflies! Some are still around. I saw this Eastern Comma (I think) basking on a hydrangea leaf in the garden. 

 

Does A Fox Really Smell It's Own Hole First?

It's a top!

Fox Holes

40 x 60

Actually, it is Foxes in Holes in the Barn Doors. 

I had a few different fox fabrics so used them as centers for Hole in the Barn Door blocks. There are many variations on blocks by that name. I used the one found at Quilter's Cache. 

Someone gave me that red fabric with black swirls on it and I immediately thought it looked like barn siding so that's what I used for the "barns".   I have lots of small green chunks of fabric so those became the block backgrounds. I then added a two inch (finished) sashing between columns to bring it up to the size requested for kid's quilts. 

And so now I think I will be making a series of different Hole in the Barn Door quilts in order to use some large print animals. 

And sew on...

CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Oct 12 - Finished a book! - Lilac Ink by Jean Grainger.  Jean Grainger is an Irish author who has written several different series of Irish historical fiction books. I've read several but not all of the series. (I had to look up the plural of series. It is series.) Lilac Ink is the first book in a new series and I'm ready for the second book. I like reading books that take place in Ireland since my paternal ancestors were all Irish.

Oct 13 - I made a big pot of vegetable soup. It was delicious - full of homegrown vegetables - tomatoes, potatoes, onions, peas, green beans, lima beans, carrots, cabbage...

Oct. 14 - BOGO perennials! I picked up 22 perennials deeply discounted. I knew there was going to be frost Tues. and Wed. so waited until today (10/16) to plant them. I think (hope) they will be able to get their roots established before we have several hard freezes in a row. A few plants went into the native wildflower garden. A few went into a shady area. A few went into the cottage garden. 

Oct. 15 - Some roses are still in bloom! Since I've found Bobbex and used it as directed the deer seem to stay away! 

It's A Finish!

It's a finish!

60 x 78

Sawtooth Stars 

with Square in Square centers. 

Back in 2021 I started making 3 inch Square in Square (SIS) blocks (aka Chips) from scraps as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) project.  All of the SIS were made with black and white corners. 

I usually make blocks from scraps until I have a big pile of them and then decide what to do with them. This is the third quilt (and the largest) made with those SIS blocks and I probably have enough for one more small one. In one quilt I alternated the SIS with squares. For another quilt I used the SIS blocks as the centers of Happy Blocks. 

For this quilt I used the SIS blocks as centers for Sawtooth Stars. I used tone on tone scraps for backgrounds and gave the stars black and white points. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine (Brother PQ1500SL) with vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines through the star points.  I used a variegated thread. 

The backing is a rainbow plaid and the binding is a soft batik that is mostly black and white but has a few other colors in it too. 

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

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CELEBRATE! (My word of the year)

Oct. 9 - Scraps and some vintage state flower blocks received from Teresa.

Oct. 10 -- My brother Steve who lives in Bonita Bay, FL and his daughter who lives in Naples, FL are safe and suffered no damage from hurricane Milton. My brother lives only about 40 miles south of Ft. Meyers where they thought it might be hit hard so he went down south to stay with his daughter in Naples. They experienced the high winds and power outages and some flooding in the streets that quickly receded but they had no complaints. 

Oct. 11 - I was hungry for apple pie so made one. I have always made my pie crust with lard but it seems to be harder to find in the store these days. Supposedly lard makes for a flakier crust.  Instead of a top crust I like my apple pie with streusel (crumb) layer on top.  Pie is yummy; however, since hubby cannot eat any (he has G-tube) I have to eat the whole pie. And of course each piece has to be warm and be a la mode! 

 

A New Top!

Monkey Wrench Top

86 x 93

5 inch blocks on point

Monkey Wrench blocks were sewn together randomly.

Several years ago one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) projects was making Monkey Wrench blocks from scraps in three different sizes - 5 inch, 7.5 inch and 10 inch.   

I have finished several different comfort quilts from both the 7.5 and 10 inch blocks; however, this is the only one made from 5 inch blocks. 

There sure were a lot of points to try to match up in this one. 

And how did I manage to iron, sew into rows and then sew rows together and miss that oopsie until now? 

And now I suppose it will be awhile before it gets quilted. 

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Oct. 6 - Finished a book! - The Huntress by Kate Quinn. Fictional story about the several people who band together to hunt for a WWII Nazi murderess. The Nazi murderess is based on two real women, one a female camp guard named Hermine Braunsteiner, the other an SS officer's wife named Erna Petri. This is the third book I have read by Kate Quinn. The other two were The Rose Code and The Alice Network.  

Oct. 7 - Hubby John had bone biopsy on Oct. 2. Results today show no cancer or dysplasia!!!!! 

Oct. 8 - My brother Kerry's 69th birthday.