Live Simply!

I signed up about two years ago to do the Live Simply BOM from Buttermilk Basin! I love her simple sweet designs.   Of course I am behind with finishing the blocks. I think I have five done and they are not the ones needed to display for the next few months. I had been working on the embroidery for two and only had to quilt and bind them!   Since they are 6.5" by 8.5", that was not too much of a chore.  So I got them both done today!   I am smiling!  This sweet owl  belongs to August!  

This sweet squirrel is September's block.  I have hung it up because I think the squirrel will work from August through November!  I am furiously working on October's block so that I can hang it up for at least a few days.  I think these are so cute!  The background is flannel.  The binding is cotton and the animals are wool.  It's so much fun appliqueing wool and flannel.  

A Tunic!

Things are a changing!  There is a chill in the air and the leaves are turning bright oranges, yellows and reds!  I am thinking of the cold weather ahead!  Last year, I saw a super easy tunic to crochet on Cozy Things blog.  What you do is measure your widest part, divide by four and make 16 granny squares to that measurement.  Stitch them together and edge the ends and voila, you have a very cozy tunic.  I am amazed at how well this fits.  Of course it is made to size.  Forgive the very awkward selfie!

Well that is better.  I had some help on this one.  I like it so well I am making another one in greens.  It is like wearing your robe, just not as tacky!  

This is the view out my front door today.  It is rainy and cool.  I am so very grateful for the rain as it has been a very dry summer here in NH.  See the leaves?  They are so vibrant.  The color is lost a bit in the picture.  I am a resident peeper and go out just to see the leaves!  FABULOUS!

It is funny how your diet changes when the weather starts cooling.  You start thinking of soups and pies and stews.  This pie is so easy to make.  You make your favorite stew and then place a piece of flaky pastry on top and cook it in the oven for 25 minutes.  Heaven on a cool evening.

A Basket out of Strings.

I have two SCARY big bags of fabric scraps.   I am working on the crumb quilt with fabrics from the bags.  I feel like all I have done is manage to fluff them up and make them look fuller!   I came across strings which really are to narrow to make anything with,  unless. ...... yeah, why not make a basket with wrapped cotton washing line!

I just love this basket!  It is so amazingly colorful.  I tried to pic a good assortment of colors and patterns.  I used 100 ft of washing line, so definitely more than 100 ft of strings since they are wrapped.   This just may become my knitting basket!  Beats a packet from the store!

Fall Decorating!

We have finally had a bit of cooler weather here in New Hampshire!   So I decided it was time to get some of those fall decorations out of the basement!  I usually make a seasonal quilt or wall hanging as the seasons roll around.  This one is not new, but I really like it.  

This crow quilt is also an oldie!  He makes me smile!  It looks like his cart of sunflowers is a burden to drag along.  

Crows are so representative of fall to me.  They are such funny characters.  I dotted a few around and about the house.  These two adorn my coffee table on a small "crow" quilt.

I made the pumpkin head dolly a few years ago.  She is guarding the basket of pumpkins on the window ledge.

I have "Beautiful Fall" hanging in my entrance hall.  I love the colors in this quilt and of course I could not resist making it because of the crow!

The two pilgrims and glass pumpkins are on the mantle this year.  I love finding new spots for the decorations each year.  It helps having a new house!  Every spot is different! Do you enjoy decorating for fall?

A Crumb Quilt!

No good can come from trawling Pinterest!  I came across a crumb quilt and then started looking at other ones too.  Soon my head was filled with Possibilities.  I have two huge bags full of crumbs.  So what is a girl to do?  Start a crumb quilt of course.

A good starting point was to grab a strip and then attach some crumbs to the strip.  Next, iron them open and trim them off with straight lines.  You need straight lines otherwise your block will not lay flat. 

Then you build onto the pieces with strips, or make a strip out of crumbs.  I chose a 6.5" block.  When you have a piece of created fabric which is big enough, cut out your square.  If there are any interesting trimmings you can stitch that to a strip of fabric to build another block.  I work on several blocks at the same time so that I am not jumping up and down like a yoyo to and from the ironing board.  I have added sashing to the blocks already.  I plan to add a cornerstone too, when I put the rows together.  I have made a bunch of blocks and have just managed to fluff the fabric in the crumb bag to look like even more fabric!!!! This is a very fun exercise and I have enjoyed making the blocks immensely.

Working on a Tumbler Quilt for Fall!

In my endeavor to use fabrics from my stash, I thought it would be a good idea to find all my fall fabrics and make a Tumbler Quilt from them. I ironed and cut out many many tumblers.  Some fabrics are better quality than others, but they are all going in and being used. I love the way the colors mix. I really enjoy stitching tumblers to.

Here is the stack of tumblers neatly cut out and stacked.  I am using a 5" tumbler template.  I cut 5" strips of fabric which I stacked and sub-cut into tumbler shapes.  Next comes sewing those tumblers into rows.  I tackle them by chain piecing them.  I sew groups of two together, then groups of four together etc, etc.  Got seven rows put together and I am loving how it looks.

A Cute Halloween Quilt

I have been painting inside the house. I am currently busy with the kitchen.  After 10 days of solid painting I really needed a break.  So on Wednesday I had a sew day.  I have been building blocks from a Halloween layer cake.  I finished them up and then put the blocks together. I am really thrilled with how this turned out. The pattern is from "Block" magazine. Of course I had the inspector of works, come along to find out if I had done a decent job!!!

Here I have all the blocks laid out and ready to stitch together.

The Inspector of Works arriving for quality control.

Yes Momma, it is a lovely quilt top - well done.