The Potting Shed

Stitchery Blocks

Sweet Nostalgia July Block

Fun at the Beach

Sweet Nostalgia August Block

Hide and Seek

Hocuspocusville (my 4th block)

Hermoine's Split Ends

Now that all my Sweet Nostalgia blocks are complete, I read the finishing instructions for the quilt.  Though a beautiful finish, it could send one running.  For now, I will cut my blocks down to size, maybe add the first round of fabric strips and think about a simpler plan to finish it off.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Snow Days and More

Well, actually, everything I am about to show you was completed long before the snow started to fly.  As summer turned to fall I began stitching Snow Days, the January block of the Sweet Nostalgia BOM.

 

The last time I showed you my Kansas Dug-Out, I was deciding on border and binding colour.  As you can see I went with a black border and coloured binding.  This little dug-out was hand pieced and quilted, in the ditch, with black thread.

My third Hocuspocusville block, Spooky Lou's.

And, a long time coming, but now finished my Amish Stripe quilt.  Machine pieced in 2008 and recently hand quilted with a variegated thread.

I also machine quilted my free-form quilt and decided not to square up the edges before binding.  Letting it  remain in its free-form state seemed like the thing to do.

Remember Jeanneke's Building Houses with Scraps from last year?  Well, here is my mini version.  I hand pieced a house or two each month and put it all together before the end of the year.  Once hand quilted the binding will be done in the same fabric as the corner squares.

And, what I spent most of my time working on, my Shades of Autumn POTC quilt top.  The blocks were hand pieced in 2009-2010, but I still had a long way to go added the sashing and borders.

The colour in this photo is more true to the fabric I used for the Shades of Autumn POTC background.  So, try and image this earthy yellow colour instead of the washed out white (damn the camera) in the quilt top photo above,  Much nicer, yes?

That was autumn and it's on to winter, more to tell you another day.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Thrifty, Stitchery

Wooden clothespins, a fun and thrifty way to organize your embroidery floss.  Use a fine permanent marker to record the colour number on each pin and for storing,  how about in a lovely old wicker basket, glass top canning jars or even in an old mixing bowl? 

Click on photo for larger, clearer image

And, here is my second Hocuspocusville block,  The Toil & Trouble Employment Agency.  So fabulously fun to stitch.  Now, back to the Polka-Dot Girls!

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

The Black Cauldron

You have to watch where you are walking this time of year as spiders and cobwebs seem to be everywhere.  Last Sunday it was warm enough to wear shorts and a T-shirt as I gave the garden its final weeding of the season.  Now, I wait for the first frost, and then garden clean-up begins.

The Black Cauldron

I almost forgot to show you, my first block of Hocuspocusville.  It sure is a fun one to stitch and I look forward to the next eleven blocks.  Done all in black thread, two strands and backstitched.  For a better look at the background fabric, click here.

As spirits roam the neighborhoods at night,
Let loose upon the Earth till it be light...

~Nicholas Gordon

One Ostrich to go, then I will be finished appliqueing Block 18 of the Civil War Bride quilt.  But, first it's time for a tasty treat, homemade peanut brittle.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Fall Road Trip

It is time for a road trip and I am pretty sure it will include lots and lots of quilt shops.  But, will I be able to stick to my Quilters' Diet, seeing that I have not set foot in a quilt shop or ordered anything online since spring, we will see!

With the blink of an eye, summer became fall, with a chill in the air and colour everywhere.  The weatherman predicted a dry, warm autumn, but it has been raining for days and is as cold as can be.  Still, it is going to be an excellent adventure and not even the rain can put a damper on things.

I began a new project, the time was right, Hocuspocusville, by Crab-apple Hill.  One of my favourite blocks is The Black Cauldron, so I started with that one.  Spider Soup and Worms Alfredo, now doesn't that make your mouth water?

 

Such a very busy season and I have been working overtime to see that everything on my To-Do List gets checked off.  This has left little time for quilting the past few weeks, other than stitching up my weekly Dear Jane block and cutting out pieces for a quilt called Crazy Cats.  My sister is machine piecing it, which is good, because I'm not that crazy about the Buggy Barn method.  Anyway,  if all goes well, this will be a Christmas gift for my other sister.

Now, I must pack my bags and get a good night's sleep, as soon it will be time to hit the road.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen