October Neutrals

I decided I need to spend October figuring out what each of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects needs so that blocks can be sewn into quilt tops.  This week I started with the Jacob's Ladder blocks.  The last time I shared them, I only laid out sixteen of the blocks, like this:

There are two blocks made in each of the eight main colors.

But I have also made two additional blocks, a brown and a light blue, that didn't have a partner.

So it's time to decide how to fit these two into the design!  When Angela posted earlier this week that October's color would be neutrals, I started hunting around in my stash for something I could use to make another brown Jacob's Ladder block.  There were still some brown batiks left in the pile I used for this year's SAHHR quilt, so I chose from there.  This one with the butterflies is really a favorite!

Of course, it's not just brown, it also has some 

gold, gray, and black in it.

Add in another batik that reads as brown, and I ended up with these pieces and parts.

So there are now two brown blocks, but I still have to decide what to do about a partner for the light blue block.  Still thinking about that one!

Sharing at SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday.

I Like Thursday #503

It was my birthday earlier this week, so younger son made me a cake.  It is a sourdough chocolate cake with buttercream frosting.  So yummy!  He made it on Saturday and we are still enjoying it!

Judy sent me some happy squishy mail.  Thank you, Judy!  That was so unexpected and kind of you to do.

We were doing some fall yard clean-up which included cleaning out the flower pots.  The marigolds were about at the end of their season, but I cut a few to bring in.  They're one of my favorite flowers - and a good bridge between summer and fall color!

I just finished this book today, The Calamity Club.   It was really good!  I love a story where women band together to help each other, and this is a story like that.   It's a pretty long book, but worth the read!

LeeAnna's question of the week is about the seasons changing - what is our favorite thing about the shift from summer to fall?  And I have to say it's that change in the temperature when you finally feel like you need a sweatshirt or a quilt to cover up in.  We've had some days like that this week.  They've given me the chance to wear the new hoodie I bought in Michigan!

Hope you're having a great week!

Joining in with Not Afraid of Color for I Like Thursday.

Midweek Update

I've stuck to my plan from last week's midweek post as to what I wanted to work on over the week.  I added a purple house to A Year in the Neighborhood and continued working on a project I'm doing for a blog hop in October.  But the main thing I wanted to accomplish was finishing the last blocks for my mini Lala's Irish Chain.  And I did!

I've always been fascinated by Irish Chain designs, and there are many ways to make them.  When Melva started the QAL for her version of the design, I was working really hard to finish up my Patchwork Hearts quilt, so I couldn't really fully join in something new.   But making a block or two here and there for something small seemed doable.

This is 30x30, so a small baby quilt or tabletopper.

I just had fun giving this design a try!

I would love to get right on quilting and finishing this one, but my Pfaff is making a funny noise, and I'm thinking she needs a spa date!  I'm going to have to get out the back up machine, which will be good for piecing blocks, but not necessarily for quilting.

On Sunday, I shared that I started a new daily hand stitching project, and my plan is to share updates on it regularly.  So far - just a few days in - it's been easy and fun to keep up with it.  The September designs are leaves, so I've played with different colors and stitches inside the leaves.

September 26, 27, 28, and 29

Sharing at The Inquiring Quilter for Wednesday Wait Loss.

And at Alycia Quilts for Finished or Not Friday.

Hello, Autumn!

 

is fully finished!

And, even though it's not quite the new month, it is officially Fall, so the October and pumpkin decorations are out, too.

I also stitched some pumpkins on the Gail Pan Autumn embroidery this week.

I've been prepping for a new, year-long daily slow stitching project.  Inspired by Julierose, I ordered a piece of fabric from Spoonflower which was designed by Karen Turner of stitchinglife.uk.   This is made for stitching on daily, as Julierose calls it, a Calendar of Life.  

On her blog, Karen describes this practice as a stitch journal or intuitive daily stitching.  Here's what my cloth for the project looks like - 30 x 32 inches:  

The fabric is white - what you're seeing that looks like a pattern is a quilt I laid out underneath this cloth when I was pressing it!  It's 3 boxes x 4 boxes so = 12 months.

A close-up:

And I started here - September 26th!

Can I keep up with stitching one motif each day?

Time will tell!

Sharing at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.

And at Melva Loves Scraps for Sew and Tell Monday.

A little purple house...

The last full week of the month was the week to sew up a house for my Year in the Neighborhood project.  I had actually used some purple in the July house to go with the hummingbirds, so my goal was to make this one look different from that one.

July house: 

September house:

Okay, yes, I did repeat the columbine fabric - 

because it looks so good with the purple! 

This month's tree is supposed to represent early fall.  The aspen leaves are turning in the mountains, the elk are bugling, but there's still lots of green.

I'm up to 10 houses now.  I think this needs two more - an Autumn house and a Christmas house.  I'll work on those next month so that I can start figuring out how to put this together.

And I finished off the purple month of September with one more Gameboard block!

I've really enjoyed sewing with purple this month - hope you have, too!

Linking up at SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday.

And at Quilting Learning Combo for the Quilter's Cove September link-up.

I Like Thursday #502

A few more photos from our trip to share!  We spent last Thursday on the shores of Lake Huron.  This time I took off my shoes and waded in it!  This was the beach right by the harbor in Cheboygan (not to be confused with Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which we did at first, lol!)  We enjoyed watching the ferries go back and forth to the islands across the way.

It seems that every town we visited had a lighthouse with a walkway you could take out to it, so we went out on each one!  This was one of our favorites, in St. Ignace, Michigan.

We went across the Mackinac Bridge four times and so we saw it from every angle we could.  

And, finally, just before we left to drive back to Grand Rapids, a beautiful sunrise over Lake Huron!

LeeAnna's question of the week is about our favorite books, movies, and TV shows.  That is a hard question for me to answer, because there are so many!  

• Books - it's probably a tie between historical fiction and murder mysteries!  I've read many of both.  Over the years there have been many favorite authors and books.
• Movies - we don't watch many movies, but favorites have always been the Star Wars movies, Lord of the Rings, and things like that.  The most recent movie we saw was Project Hail Mary, and we loved that one!
• TV shows - British detective shows are our favorites there.  Several years ago, you could get a free subscription to Acorn TV through our library, and we watched "Foyle's War" that way and loved it.  Since then we watch just about any British detective show we can find.  "Beyond Paradise," a spin-off of "Death in Paradise" is our current show.

Hope you're having a great week!  

Joining in with Not Afraid of Color for I Like Thursday.

Midweek Update

Wherever we travel to, I enjoy finding a local quilt shop to visit.  On this trip I found the Quilted Moose in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.  It was a fun little shop in an old house, and I came home with these fall-themed fat quarters.  

I have an idea for a tablerunner made with these -

hopefully I can get started on it soon.

But there are other things on my list this week to work on now that we are home.  Before we left I had been making a couple blocks at a time for a small version of Melva's Lala's Irish Chain design.  I have six of these blocks made, and I'm planning to make three more, one connecting block and two patchwork blocks.

In October I'm participating in a blog hop hosted by Carole at From My Carolina Home during her Fall Fortnight event, so I need to get going on my project for that.  It's started, but now it's time to move it along.

And this is the week of the month that I usually work on a house block for my Year in the Neighborhood project.  It's part of my monthly Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects, so it will be a purple house for September.  It's started, too.

 

There's plenty to choose from this week, and I'm ready to get back to it!

Sharing at The Inquiring Quilter for Wednesday Wait Loss.

And at Alycia Quilts for Finished or Not Friday.