I'm blaming this on the rain...

We need the rain...my lawn needs the rain, my flowers need the rain...but it makes me sleepy and a bit grumpy and leads me to making impulsive decisions to start a new quilt when I have lots and lots and lots of UFO I should attend to. Oh well, it is cheerful and  it brightens up my design wall...

The pattern is a free one from Moda Bake Shop called Four Squared and you can see it here. The fabric line is Dottie. The pattern takes a jelly roll and a charm pack and I scored both of them on Missouri Star as Deals of the Day so I'm considering this a bargain project. The tone on tone white has been in my stash for a very long time and is properly aged and ready for sewing.

When I unrolled the jelly roll the first thing I noticed was there was NO YELLOW....oh my goodness, shocking!!! a travesty!!! I instantly remedied this by grabbing a couple of yellow polka dot fabrics from my stash. Whoa...crisis averted, breathing returned to normal. And then as I began to sew strips together for the 16 patch blocks I spied a stack of assorted polka dot fabrics that cried out to be included in this quilt...and who am I to deny their request? By including my polka dot fabrics I've eliminated the black and brown strips in the jelly roll. I want to keep this quilt all happy happy happy!! (Again I'm blaming this on the gray rainy day that desperately needed an antidote and not the crazy voices in my head... did I say that outloud? oops!)

Did you notice that a polka dot chicken snuck in? She is a bossy little hen... a bit like me...LOL!

And to go along with that quilt I have a finished top.  This one was really a quick sew...

This is from the cover of  Quick to Stitch Precuts magazine and is called Summer Harvest, The fabric line is Malka Dubrawsky's From Outside In. It finished about 62" wide and 67" long. Not sure how I'm going to have it quilted but I might display it on my living room wall.

Here's an arty shot...

I think this pattern would look great in batiks or those gradated solids that are popular or in lots of leafy greens starting light at the top and getting darker at the bottom...kinda Jack and the Beanstalk!

Again this week I'm linking up to Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday and Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday... yes I am chronically late for the Monday gig.

Hope your week is going well... forecast here is for  rain like every day this week. Its gonna get soggy  and gray around here... I may need another infusion of happy colorful fabrics...the perfect medicine for the grumps.

happy stitching-
carol fun

Throwback Thursday and Home Improvements...

Well I was just thinking the other day that it would be fun to do a Throwback Thursday post for the quilts of our past...the one's we made before blogs....before the internet... before civilization as we know it commenced...LOL.  I considered how to add a linky thing to my blog but this morning I found that Krista of Krista Quilts is doing one on her blog so that's where I'm linking up...you can find it here.

As it is a glorious Fall day I thought this quilt would be oh so appropriate to show...my Debbie Mumm Falling Leaves quilt. The leaf pattern was a Thimbleberries one fron eons ago.

A long long long time ago when you had to go to physical fabric stores to purchase one's stash I was BIG into Debbie Mumm fabrics (and I still like them ... A LOT). This quilt is a bit of a charm quilt in that every one of the 56 leaves is a different Debbie Mumm fabric.

I have a rather obscenely large stash of Debbie Mumm fabrics and I'm a bit melancholy that she doesn't produce fabric like she use to. All of the fabrics used in this quilt are Debbie Mumm...I'm a bit, a little,  heck, a whole hell of a lot OCD about using ONLY Debbie Mumm fabrics in my Debbie Mumm quilts. That quilts..plural...as I have a few, a bunch, a whole lot of Debbie Mumm quilts I've made in the last 25 years or so. The sashing is a leaf print and the cornerstones are acorns.

I love the squirrels that run around the border...

Even the back of this quilt is Debbie Mumm fabric...isn't that a great feather print?

Now I wish I hadn't use all  that yardage for a back as you can hardly find any Debbie Mumm fabrics anymore (although she did do a small Christmas line this year). But back in the stone age I just assumed she design fabrics forever.

As since I dragged this quilt out to take pictures on my front lawn I thought I'd show some of the home improvements I've made this summer. Here's my little house on the corner of the block.

You see the little U loop of wire above the window box and to the left of the second story window.. that cost me $1000. Turns out someone somewhere in past disconnected the electricity to my house by cutting the line and then they just smooshed the ends back together and covered it with a wad of black electrical tape. I had 3 electricians give me an estimate on the job and all agreed it was very unsafe and they were surprised the local electric company hadn't seen it and cited me for it as it is a code violation.

And you can see that I've been busy with my flowers... ignore the fact that the bushes need to be trimmed...suppose to happen next week.

I've got mums in my flower box...which is also a home improvement this year as the old window box literally fell apart. I went out one morning and the side had given way. This one is solid PVC plastic instead of wood that would rot. Should last a millennium.

And I had  new house numbers put on the eave, and my front porch floor painted, and a new light fixture put up and I had the ceiling of the porch painted blue... sky blue... that's what the color was called...I picked it for the shade of blue it was and didn't see the name till I got it mixed at the paint counter... it was meant to be!

I spent a chunk of change on the outside of the house this summer but it lots of projects were a one time deal so next summer shouldn't be quite so expensive.

Hope you are having a lovely day... the weather today is one I'd love to bottle and live with for a long long time.

happy stitching-
carol fun

Why I shouldn't sew when I'm hungry...

Have you seen this magazine?

It is called Quick-to-Stitch Precuts and I bought it earlier this summer at Kroger's but you can still get it here on Amazon. I was totally smitten with the quilt on the cover by Lori J. Miller and it just so happened that I already had the layer cake she used in my stash. It is called From Outside In by Malka Dubrawsky. I don't know if you can find a layer cake of this one anymore...when I Googled it I could only find charm packs and FQ bundles.

Anyway it is rare that I make a pattern using exactly the same fabric show in the picture but I'm making an exception for this quilt. I am using a different background fabric...she used a linen and I substituted a Moda Grunge...I LOVE Grunge! I started sewing  these 10" blocks together a little before dinner time and whipped up a dozen...

Hmmm...whipped...dozen... made me think of food...my stomach was growling! As I was sewing this block I saw cookies... I can't decide if they are oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip...oh now I know which kind they are oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips! Need to make some of these this weekend.

Oh I see cinnamon rolls...I wonder if there is still a Cinnabon in the mall?

Mmmmm... donuts... I hear Homer Simpson talking... I really should eat something... I think I'm starting to hallucinate...LOL!

What to eat? What to eat? Breadsticks??? Italian food is always good.

Okay... gotta stop sewing and go get something to eat...when I looked at this block I see those little burgers they steam at White Castle... they have holes in them... you can see them here... I can't eat them...LOVE them but they do a number on my lower digestive tract that we aren't going to talk about.

Sooooo... I turned off the machine and told my son to get his shoes on and we went out to dinner...had Chinese food...I wonder if I'll see wontons in any of the other prints?

And this is why I shouldn't sew when I'm hungry!

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced and Patchwork Times...lots to see on both of those blogs.

Hope you have a tasty dinner.

happy stitching-
carol fun

My Ohio Adventure...

Well I teased on Sunday about my weekend adventure... and I warned you it wasn't spectacular... I didn't go on an African safari like Karin of Lovin' Life at the End of a Dirt Road... really she did that! Go here and read about it...and I haven't been living in Paris and Alaska the way Debbie of And Sew Forth has, but you can read about that here.

No, I had an adventure in central Ohio, a mere 90 minutes north of my home. I went to the Homer Laughlin Fiestaware Sale on the grounds of the Ohio Expo Center and Fairgrounds. This is the first time they've had a sale like this outside of West Virginia and it was a blast!

My older son and his bride along with my younger son took me there on Friday as part of my birthday present. We had to wait about an hour to get into the sale but it was so worth it. During that hour you could see the dishes and watch other people pawing through the crates and the anticipation was palpable. Lucky for me, my daughter-in-law loves Fiestaware too and we both did quite well for ourselves.

This is my haul... I got a lid for a casserole dish ...I broke it years ago... price... a mere $4. I got another lasagna pan...I use the one I have a lot...price...$20. I forget the prices on the rest of my treasures as they were a gift from the kids  but they were a bargain...  I think that chip and dip bowl in the front was around $15. The prices were great. Now this is "seconds" and you had to look through the crates as some pieces were better than others. And my goodies do have a few flaws but they are on the bottoms of the pieces and unless you are washing them or putting them away you'll never see them.

They are now residing with the rest of my collection here...

and here...

and here...

and in several other hidey-holes in my kitchen...and to be perfectly honest...when I took these pictures my dishwasher was full of dirty Fiestaware... it is a colorful obsession!

And after that adventure I was able to pop into Cross My Heart  a wonderful stitchery shop in Columbus, and snag 6 cuts of lovely hand dyed linen for my cross stitch stash...one must replenish one's stash now and then!

And after that my sons drove me to see this building...

the Longaberger Basket Building in Newark, Ohio. This building is 7 stories tall and it shaped like a classic Longaberger Market basket. Years ago I collected these baskets and I still have a bunch of them. They were a hot item in the 90's, not so much now. The company has had some rough years and from the articles I read online, they only occupy 2 floors of the building. When we were there the place looked vacant. There were NO cars at all in the parking lot and while the grass was cut in front of the building, there were weeds growing out of the curbs in the parking lot on the side. Kinda sad...but it was on my bucket list of places I wanted to see. I got a selfie with my boys but I can't seem to get it from my phone to my computer tonight so I used this stock photo.

Soooo... I'm not a great adventurer but I sure did have a lovely day! The boys finished the day off getting me dinner at my favorite restaurant and we were all tuckered out at the end of the day. Thank you Chris and Nick and Jenny for an absolutely wonderful birthday adventure!

For now, this homebody is happy for the memories and the new soup bowls!

happy stitching-
carol fun

Maybe the best frame ever....

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I picked up my latest sampler from Bev at Joann's and I was blown away...this is called Early Morning Read by Blackbird Designs and is found in the book called Weekend which can be purchased here on Amazon.

Are you ready???

I LOVE THIS PIECE... I would have never chosen this frame on my own...I had selected a dark mahogany frame which was nice but Bev plopped a piece of this molding down and there was not a single doubt that it was meant for this sampler. I wish my photography skills were better as this is
be-youuuu-ti-ful in real life. The barn red is a perfect match for the flosses and the scroll-y design mimics the border of the sampler and the distressed primitive finish is well, the perfect finish!

This is waaaay bigger than I normally do... the frame is 2 3/4" wide and the whole piece measures 16 1/2" high by 21 1/2" wide... a real statement piece. Not sure exactly where I'm going to hang it yet, but I still have empty wall space in my little house so I will find its spot. I'm thinking this may anchor an new gallery wall in my extra bedroom.

I did a little more stitching on my BBD Feast of Friendship but not enough to show a difference. Last week was crazy busy and I was out of the house a lot. I'll have pictures later this week of my adventures... I was able to do two things are were on my bucket list...not that it is much of a list...nothing exotic but stuff I've wanted to do. I can assure you this teaser is better than the adventures so don't get your hopes up...LOL!

I'll be linking up  today with Kathy's Quilt Slow Sunday Stitching,  and on Monday with  Super Mom-No Cape Vintage Embroidery  & Stitchery.

Hope you have a great week ahead ... the weather here in southwest Ohio is gorgeous... cool temps and sunshine... a nip in the air in the morning... perfect Fall weather...my favorite time of the year!

happy stitching-
carol fun

The quilt pattern I can't get enough of...

I assume most of you know of  Jeni Baker from In Color Order and her Giant Vintage Star pattern...and if you haven't you can see her tutorial here. I can NOT get enough of this pattern!!!! I am now working on my my 4th version of this Giant Vintage Star.

The first version I did it in fabrics from the Happy Zombie... they reminded me of sheets my Mom had in the 70's.

The second time I made it out of plaid flannels for my brother.

The third time I used lots of Anna Marie Horner fabrics and I'm calling this one my Boho Gypsy Vintage Star... it is currently out with my long arm quilter Terry Finnerty and I can't wait to get it on my bed for Fall.

And almost immediately after taking that one to Terry I started my fourth Giant Vintage Star... in Halloween fabrics!

This one will also be big enough to cover my double bed when it is finished. I'm using 16 different Halloween fabrics for the star. Here's a look at some of them.

And adding in some other fabrics in the borders.  I love the one with the witches underwear and I don't have much of it left. That kinda tone on tone pattern with the jack-o-lanterns is the background fabric I'm using.

Terry has a great Halloween panto that will look wonderful on this quilt.  I know it is hard to get a feel for the scale of these quilts so here is my first one which is currently on my  double bed.

It is such a fun quilt to make. If you haven't made one before I have a few hints I included in a post  I did a little while ago and you can read them here. And when this one is done I have plans for a Christmas version too... red, green, aqua and pink... it is going to be so much fun... and yes I am a little crazy... okay a LOT crazy... but it isn't the kind of crazy that my son can have me committed for ....yet... at least that is what he tells me...LOL!!!

I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday Freshly Pieced and with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times (yeah I'm late again).

happy stitching-
carol fun

Bring on the pumpkins....

Well I didn't mean to disappear for so long...but it happens. I didn't go anywhere and I didn't do anything momentous, the days just slipped away... and so did my camera for a couple of days...so that will be my excuse. A post without a picture...no way!

The weather has again turned delightfully Fall-ish. I have the windows and doors open and there is a lovely breeze blowing through the house. On the stitching front I did make some progress on Blackbird Designs Feast of Friendship.

I finished the entire building, including installing the window. Although I did see a missed stitched on one of the window frames that I have to repair. I LOVE that nice plump pumpkin but I used a different floss than what was called for... I used a mix of Crescent Colors Colonial Copper (oooooo I love that alliteration..LOL) and a touch of Gentle Arts Bittersweet.

Since there won't be any partial squares on the roof I'm going to fill in the open ones with a diagonal satin stitch... as I remember from my needlepoint days it is called Scotch stitch. I tried out a few squares and I like the look but I'll wait until I'm closer to finishing to do them all so they stay nice and shiny.

I'm having issues with the big fruit compote. The floss for the dish is very close in color to my background linen and the floss called for to outline the bowl isn't cutting it. I tried out another floss on the base outline (Gentle Arts Brandy) and you can barely see the Gentle Arts Caramel Corn the chart calls for at the too of the base, Need to play with this some more.

What I am realizing with this piece is there is a ton of very dense stitching... the house...the pumpkin...the fruit bowl...all solid. This is going to take a while.

In the meantime, this stitching and the Fall-ish weather have motivated me to pack up the summer decor and bring on the pumpkins!!! I LOVE pumpkins... the older I get the more my body shape resembles a pumpkin...no straight lines or angles on me...LOL! I'm glad I have a blog when it comes time to put out new decorations. I was able to go back to last years pics and see what I had put where. I kept a lot of stuff in the same place but I have some new stuff to add to the mix.

My shelving unit in the living room is chock full of pumpkin-y Fall-ish goodness.

On the top shelf I was able to add my BBD Bittersweet September to the display and somewhere last year I picked up that little sparkly pumpkin... glitter and a pumpkin... it is almost too much to take in...LOL!

I LOVE those seasonal Lizzie Kate samplers and this one is just so pretty. Fall colors are my fav!

That big pumpkin on the left is from Henn pottery... does anyone else remember their home parties? I bought some pottery and when they had baskets, I could not resist. And this shelf gave me room to display my Blackbird Designs Bittersweet Lane. The two "bittersweet" pieces came from Dyeing to Stitch Ladies Prim Society that I joined just so I could get these BBD releases. So glad I did.

So I have a little time before my son and dear daughter in law come for dinner and perhaps I'll stitch a bit or...

take a nap like Big Dude... I told you there was a lovely breeze through the front door and this is proof.

I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts today and Super Mom - No Cape on Monday. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

happy stitching-
carol fun