Working on a finish and looking ahead...

I'm determined to get another Rainbow Scrap Challenge project to the finish line this month, so I decided the next up would be my zipper block quilt top.  (This one needs a better name!  Anyone have an idea for me?)  I had made the backing for it a few months ago, so getting layers sandwiched and ready to quilt didn't take long.

And quilting has begun!  Using my favorite serpentine stitch along the seam lines to start.

Sometimes, though, you need a break from the tedious machine quilting, so I took a little time to play with these blocks that I saw on Cathy's post a few weeks ago.  I think she called them quarter stars.  I love them because they are simple to make - four patches with a combination of squares and HSTs.  Perfect for scraps!

These:

can turn into this:

Or how about these?

Can you tell what scraps have been out on my cutting table lately?  

(From this project, and this one!)

So, I think I have arrived at my next RSC project.  These will be fun to work on while I chip away at the backlog of unfinished quilt tops in my closet!  

Sharing at SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday.

And at Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap.

Melva Loves Scraps for Sew and Tell Monday.

Midweek Update

Block #21 for Melva's Pieces of My Life QAL was posted last week and I had a chance to sew it up over the weekend.  It is a maple leaf - one of my favorite blocks to make!  To go along with the maple leaf, our reminiscing is all about Fall.

Fall has always been my favorite season!  Especially September, even though Fall technically doesn't come along until the third week of the month, because September is the month of school starting.  I loved school growing up and always wanted to be a teacher - which I became and taught at various grade levels for the 30 years of my working career.  For most of the years of my career, I taught 5th grade at our neighborhood school, which my boys also attended from K - 5th. 

   

Fall is also the time of changing leaves and beautiful colors, which we all enjoy seeing.  In Colorado we don't have a lot of maple trees, but we do have the amazing aspen trees that give the mountains such a beautiful golden color.  That's why I made my maple leaf gold!

I do have to share this photo I took while out on my neighborhood walk yesterday.  Is this a maple leaf?  I'm not even sure - but it fits right into this post!

As a teacher, I both loved and dreaded Halloween, lol!  It was a fun day at our school with everyone dressed up in costumes, all the classes parading through the school for a Halloween parade, and a party at the end of the day.  We were all exhausted by 4:00!    As a mom, it was fun helping our kids come up with their costumes.  For boys, it was so easy to use sweat shirts and pants as the base and add extra things to them to create the costume.  Here is older son dressed as Darth Vader (sweatshirt with felt pieces sewn on and a simple cape I made) and younger son as a football player with a hand me down football helmet from some friends whose boy outgrew it.

Hard to believe this is the 21st block I've made for this project - that means (I think) there are only three more!  I've also gotten the blocks for section 3 of the quilt sewn together, and ready to sandwich for quilting.  I'll be working on that step in the next few days.

Sharing at Melva Loves Scraps and at

Quiltfabrication for Midweek Makers.

My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Two of my previous slow stitching projects featured in Sunday posts were finished this week!

Fall Sunflowers

         

and Rainbow Nine Patch.

So, what to work on next in my slow stitching time?  Back to a couple of ongoing embroidery projects.   First, I prepped and traced the October heart for Melisa's A Year of Hearts project.  Seeing as it's now November, I'm a little behind, but it won't take long to catch up.  

This probably needs some coloring, too. 

And - seeing as how it's November, it's time to stitch up the eleventh little design in the Woven Wreaths project.  It's a sweet cornucopia full of fall motifs.  I've watched Kathy Schmitz's video, so I'm all set to get started!

What are you working on today?

Linking up with Kathy and the Slow Stitchers at Kathy's Quilts.

Small but Mighty!

I have another finish to share today.  That makes two this week!  (See my sunflower mini quilt here.)  Rainbow Nine Patch is one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects for 2024.  I started making the blocks in about March or so because I wanted a new hand-piecing project.  I had never made Hollow 9 Patches, but thought they'd be perfect for hand-piecing, and they were!

I ended up with 16 six inch blocks, so this measures 24 inches square.  To finish it up I also hand quilted it. 

  A sweet tiny floral print that was in my goodie box from Nann made a great backing, and I decided on Grunge White Paper for the binding.  I'm not sure I've ever used a white binding before, but I love it on this quilt!  It highlights the white centers of the blocks.

The hand-piecing and hand quilting always

make a quilt very soft and drapey.

This little quilt makes a great doll quilt, so here are Raggedy Andy and Raggedy Kevin cuddling up in their new quilt!  These guys were made by my mom for our boys when they were little so that is how they got their names.

Sharing at SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday!

And at Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!

Melva Loves Scraps for Sew and Tell Monday.

I Like Thursday #412

Happy Halloween!  I've decorated as much as I'm going to.

The mason jar design is one of Melisa's that I stitched last year and fully finished this week.  She has a bunch of mason jar projects, but this is only one I've made so far.

Some people in our town go all out with their decorating, though!  There was an article in the newspaper about this house, so we drove downtown to see it and I had to snap a picture to share here on the blog.  

Can you see the giant skeleton playing the organ keyboard that is on the roof?  And there is a giant spider (on the fence behind the corn stalks) playing the drums.  

"Bonzart and the Spinnerets!"  Apparently at night they play music, too.

I don't expect much in the way of trick-or-treaters tonight, but we have a little bit of candy if anyone shows up.  Smarties are a safe candy to have in our house because I'm not tempted by them.  Anything chocolate and I can't stay away from it!

Have a great day!

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

Midweek Update: a Finish!

I had a "Drop Everything and Make It" project this month, and it is finished!  I always enjoy Carole's (From My Carolina Home) fall projects and this year's was no exception.  Her plan was for a mini quilt/wall-hanging/table-topper that was fall and Thanksgiving themed and that hooked me right in.  While hunting around for fabric in my stash for this project, I came across a half yard of a sunflower print that I purchased on vacation in August and decided to use it as the focus fabric.

I paired the sunflowers with a cream/stars neutral, 

and a dark green with stars for the borders.

I embroidered the center design (find it HERE) and surrounded it with lots of flying geese.  More sunflowers for the cornerstones and the binding finished this off perfectly.  

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you might know I've been a little bit obsessed with sunflowers recently.  They are one of my favorite flowers, and I even grew some in my garden this year!

But now that the growing season is over with, I can still enjoy sunflowers made with fabric and thread indoors!

Sharing at Quiltfabriction for Midweek Makers.

And at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday.

Alycia Quilts for Finished or Not Friday.

 

Slow stitching this week...

There are a few days left in October, so perfect for stitching up this little Pumpkin Basket! 

I'm still working on hand quilting the Hollow 9 patch quilt, too.  I've made good progress, but still more to do.

First, though, I have some binding to stitch!  That's what I'll be working on today.

I hope to have a finish to share in my midweek post!

Sharing at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.