Assorted deadlines on Slow Sunday Stitching...

Hello all ... Fall is here... we've had warm afternoons and cold mornings and sunshine and rain... and I'm okay with all of that... the leaves are turning all my favorite colors... yellow, gold, orange, red... such a feast for the eyes... and since I don't have to rake the leaves (I have a great lawn care guy that will take care of them) I am enjoying the change of the season immensely...

Now I've talked about deadlines I've given myself for certain projects... have a Christmas quilt top that needs to be off to the long arm quilter the beginning of November... have the Year of Celebrations  monthly cross stitch design I want finished before November 1... and I have 300+ daffodil/hyacinth/allium bulbs to get into the ground along with cleaning out the flower beds... well I made significant progress on several of these projects...

First, my Christmas Quilty Stars is complete except for the borders... had a bit of a problem... when I went to do the sashings I whacked off a 16" piece ... which then made the resulting yardage too short to do continuous borders....arghhh!!!  I was about 20 minutes into putting the sashing on when this occurred to me... and then I promptly put a hole in one of the blocks... things weren't looking good... so I dug down deep and fixed the rip and boldly moved forward....No I didn't ... I threw the block on the ironing board, unplugged the iron, turned the lights off and went out to dinner... I came to my senses the next day and returned to the scene of the accident... okay... gonna need more fabric... and the store I purchased it from had no more... a search of the internet found me yardage at a shop in Maine... free shipping... and a plea to the owner had the fabric in the mail the next morning... it arrived at my house yesterday afternoon so I'm back in business... in the meantime I fixed the block with the hole, cut out a bajillion, okay perhaps it was more like 80 1.5" squares for the star points and assembled the top. Ta dah!!!

I LOVE how the little star cornerstones look... but they take quite a while to sew together... but I think they are worth it... here are close ups...

I'm hoping that Monday will give me time to get the borders on and sew the back together and get this to the post office... my self- imposed deadline for this project was the first week of November so I should beat it by several days... yeah me!!

And the cross stitch project ...November from the Hands on Designs A Year of Celebrations is stitched...

 32 ct linen... my pick of DMC flosses... left over painted linen from something I did last year... glad I saved it... now to get it FFO'd before Friday... I think that is very doable...yeah me again!!

I also finished the Prairie Schooler for November...

it needs to be FFO'd too... along with a couple of other pieces... like this Prairie Schooler turkey...

 He still needs legs and a border and there's another leaf too... I want to get the Halloween stuff put away next weekend and the Thanksgiving/Fall stuff rearranged... more self imposed deadlines...

As for all those flower bulbs... they are still in bags in the garage... it rained yesterday... A LOT ... so the ground should be softer... and I bought an auger that attaches to a drill to facilitate the process... I've pencilled this job in for Wednesday... maybe... depends on the weather ... it may rain some more... too early to know for sure... I'm thinking this project has a flexible deadline... you can plant bulbs late... as long as you can get them in the ground... I feel like I'm waaay behind on the yard work but I still have marigolds/zinnias/dahlias blooming ... and I just can't bring myself to yank them out of the ground yet...

And the yard work has taken a back seat to sewing at the moment...not sure what has gotten into me but I've spent a ton of time with my Juki... I finished Fall Fizz, got a  pretty back for it at my local quilt shop and put it in the mail...

I just took a quick pic of this before I boxed it up... not a great photo but you get the idea...

And I spend waaaayyy too much time looking at Instagram... but I find such cool projects... this one is called Enchanted Stars ...you can find the pattern here... and some versions of the pattern here... and it  just enchanted me... and I had a layer cake and a charm pack of Crystal Manning's Nova that has been waiting for the perfect pattern ...and I think this is it...

those stars went together quickly...  the grunge is Ginger Ale...  here's a better pic of the true color of this grunge which my current favorite yellow/gold background... it won't take much time to get this off the design wall and sewn together...

And if that wasn't enough I stumbled upon this project... its called Meet in the Middle and you can see it here...

 it is a free pattern which you can find here...  well you can do this with either a jelly roll or a layer cake... I have plenty of both... but I got to thinking that if a collection had a directional print, it would be sideways in this pattern if you used a jelly roll, but it it would be vertical if you used a layer cake... and my OCD wouldn't like little Christmas trees or Santas or ornaments on their sides... so I'm using a layer cake... Kringle & Claus from Basic Grey... which you can see here...

I've got the half the strips sewn...

and I think I have enough of a white-ish Grunge with a light green splotch in my stash...I do LOVE the Christmas collections from Basic Grey... this will make the 3rd Christmas quilt I've made using their fabrics and I have several more  vintage layer cakes and jelly rolls from Basic Grey that are waiting for their turn to escape from their plastic bins... I'm just looking for more easy patterns...

So all in all another very productive week that I hadn't anticipated... seems like when I think the week will be too busy to sew, I do find the time... and when I think a week will have a lot of sewing time it doesn't work out that way...oh well... I do know that when I spend less time online there is more time to do lots of other things... but the lure of blogs and Instagram is strong... very strong...

Okay - I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... and allow myself  a lttle screen time to see what everyone else is up to... and after that a little time with my sewing machine... already did a family brunch so there is no big dinner to fix... want to go for a walk... the sun is shining and the temperature is 60 degrees... perfect weather in my world.

Hope you all have a great week ahead... and a Happy Halloween... at this time they are forecasting miserable weather for us... darn it... rain and cold...yuck... I haven't bought any candy yet as I purchase based on the weather... with good weather I'll get tons of kids... last year it rained too... I ended up taking one of the giant bags of candy back to Costco as I knew I'd eat the whole thing if it stayed in the house... don't need that kind of temptation...

take care -
happy stitching-
carol fun

Surprising myself on a Slow Sunday Stitching...

Hello all -- another busy week past me by but I surprised myself by what I accomplished... I had a medical appointment, and a dinner engagement (oh the scallops at Trio's in Kenwood are to die for!!!)  and a birthday get together for one of my quilty lady friends, and yard work, and errands that needed to be done so I didn't expect much productivity in the crafty time but I surprised myself... I got a bunch of quilt blocks sewn together and got a cross stitch piece almost to the finish line... and while I'm patting myself on the back, I actually made dinner at home several times too... I like to eat out... my son likes to eat out... we eat out... a lot... but with the weather cooling down I feel more inclined to cook... had several tasty meals... hope to repeat the experience again this week...

But onto crafty stuff... first I have all 16 blocks sewn for my Christmas Quilty Stars... yeah me!!! Here are the 8 new ones I made ....

and here are all the blocks... I'll probably move a few around ...

and here are some close ups from this batch...

My deadline for this is that the top needs to be in the mail by Halloween... still need to make the sashing... I'm thinking stars like I did on my son's Quilty Star but with solid fussy cut centers... and I have some yardage of this pretty Christmas fabric...

I think it will be big enough...  fingers crossed...

And I got some productive cross stitching time in and my November Prairie Schooler is just about done...

need to finish up the leaves at the bottom  and fill in the turkey tail feathers and its a wrap. I'm very happy with this one...

Now onto getting November for Hands on Designs A Year of Celebrations stitched and there is a small Prairie Schooler turkey I want to add to my display this year... I enjoy taking the time to do a Thanksgiving display... a little breathing room before plunging into Christmas...

And speaking of Christmas... I'm not going to tell you how many days there are left but it is  less than 75 but more than 50... there are only 3 weeks and 6 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year... very short season... now I mentioned that I expected Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle & Thread to come out with some Christmas charts that I wouldn't be able to resist... and she has... oh my goodness... look at these... sorry these are great pics... I couldn't get them copied from IG so these are pictures of pictures... here's a link to farmgirlloves goats IG... much clearer pictures...

must stitch this Santa!!!

and I love this snowman, although I think I'm going to eliminate the candy canes and stitch a little pine bough instead so he's more winter-y ... I don't put snowmen out till January... but I'm dying here over those checked pants...

and I love this little snowman... he looks quick to stitch...

and this piece is so pretty... I think this was a class piece at a retreat... I LOVE the cardinal  and the house...  I will NEVER EVER EVER run out of things to stitch!!!  ROFLMAO...

So this week is looking good... only have 2 days, oh wait, make that 3 days I have to be some where... I'm hoping for some rain sometime this week to soften the ground up a bit... I haven't cleaned out any of my flower beds as they are still blooming and I have a bunch of daffodil and allium and hyacinth bulbs I need to plant... the forecast is pleasantly Fall-ish... I want to enjoy it as much as possible... and I want to stitch and sew and knit as much as possible...been working on scrappy socks and have a couple of new shawl patterns I'd like to play with...

Hope you have a great week ahead... time to do what you want to do!!!   I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I enjoy spending time seeing what everyone else is up to ...

take care-
happy stitching-
carol fun

Plugging away on this and that on Slow Sunday Stitching...

Hello all ... the furnace kicked on this morning for the first time this season... temperature got down into the 30s... and I am happy about that... weather has been lovely this last week and I've even seen a few trees starting to turn colors... it is my FAVORITE time of the year... now if we could just rid ourselves of the stupid time change in November I would be thrilled... leave Mother Nature alone... she knows what she's doing... at least I think she does...LOL

Thanks for all the kind words on my Halloween display... I am enjoying it... Barb asked what the name of the witch's hat quilt is... it is Halloween Haberdashery and you can find it here. 

So this last week only had one finish ... but it was a big one... and I just plugged away on a couple of other projects... first the finish...

This is my Quilty Stars quilt for my youngest son... got the binding on it and got it laundered... he picked out the fabrics ... some of which are quite "vintage" from my stash and selected the quilting panto and chose minkee for the back...

And here is a close up of the panto... it is called Windy Nights and was done by Quilting by David...

and here you can see it even better in the minkee back...

The pattern is called Quilty Stars and you can see it here... I LOVE this pattern... so scrap friendly and easy to assemble and it is a BIG block... 16" finished... and I want a quilt from this pattern for my bed... a Christmas quilt... so I started this one...

Eight stars... halfway there... now I'm fussy cutting some cute Christmas prints for the center of each one...here's a couple of my favorites so far...

And I was at Joanns the other day picking up rotary blades when I saw this fabric...

I think I can fussy cut several vignettes from this to include in my quilt... deadline for this is the beginning of November... I hope to have another productive sewing day this week... all the pieces are cut...except for that Charlie Brown print so they come together pretty quickly.

As for cross stitch I've been working on Prairie Schooler's November...

The linen is brighter than this picture... I have such troubles capturing the colors with my phone and I don't want to upgrade it ... and I swear my old phone took better pictures...  I love the alphabet "hidden" in the grass around the house... makes it a sampler ... and I love samplers... I did stitch a tiny bit on a sampler during Sampler September and it made me remember how much I do LOVE samplers... I need to get back to some of those I've started... I've been doing so many seasonal pieces the last year or so... and they are wonderful to decorate with... but I am running out of room which is probably a good thing as it might get me back on the sampler path.

Well it will be a busy week ahead... starting tonight... I'm going to downtown Cincinnati with my sons and daughter-in-law to see the sights of BLINK... you can read about it here... it is one of the largest light, art and projection mapping events in the US... it covers something like 30 city blocks on both sides of the Ohio River and includes the Roebling Suspension Bridge which was the prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge... my son and his wife went down last night with her mom and said it was wonderful ...but crowded... they had it 2 years ago and it was great then too... we won't get to see all of it because it is just too big for one night but I'm sure it will dazzle.. and the weather isn't too bad either... temperatures tonight in the 50's... last night was chillier...and Tuesday has my younger son and I headed to the theater to see Jersey Boys with friends... LOVE that musical...and Thursday my quilty lady friends get together for dinner and to celebrate a birthday... and I'm sure there are things I have to do the other days too...  I certainly want some time at home to sit on the porch... this is the perfect weather... Big Dude and I are chillin' out here right now... he snagged the easy chair and left me with the couch...

Well I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and then I have a little time before we go to dinner... think I'll work on the PS November piece... hope you have a productive week... and hope you get some lovely Fall weather... it makes me sooooo HAPPY!!!

happy stitching-
carol fun

Halloween Happenings on Slow Sunday Stitching...

Hello all ... well Fall has finally arrived!!! Hallelujah!!!  Friday is was a a cool 70 degrees... Saturday it did get up to 79 but there was a nice breeze... I turned off the AC (take that Duke Energy) and opened all the windows... it got so cool overnight on Friday I had to get out of bed and shut a couple... didn't mind that at all... and the cooler weather has definitely energized me... that along with the 2 hour nap I took on the porch the other day... wow is that couch comfortable... LOL

I had planned on getting my Halloween decorations out starting Monday... but I didn't actually start until Friday and really got into gear last night... I have everything out and I'm happy with the arrangements... I did keep out the pumpkins but I removed all the squirrels... I changed out the cross stitch pieces and added plenty of witches' hats and spiders and ghosts and ravens... so without further ado here are some pictures... LOTS of pictures... grab a beverage and find a comfy chair...

Let's start with the wall quilt... my favorite Halloween quilt at the moment...

88 different fabrics... a charm quilt... and the 3 tier tray...

a mix of Lizzie Kate and Prairie Schooler with assorted spiders and gourdy guys.

On the TV cabinet... first my October installment in the Hands on Design A Year of Celebration...

"priscillafied" it with ribbon and a sparkly bat... and on the other side of the cabinet some vintage looking  tchotchkes... 

aren't those giant candy corn pieces wonderful?  I saw them on an Auntie Coo coo youtube video and had to have them...

By the front door...

my Gourdy Guys wreath and Lizzie Kate Boo Club....

Over to the small yellow display chest...

I anchored it with a mini quilt featuring witches hats... here's a pic of just the quilt...

 Love the Lizzie Kate Halloween ABCs... and the little piece as I remember is a Lizzie Kate freebie, but I don't remember where I found it... darn...

And the BIG display... stuffed full of Halloweenie goodies...

At the top is my Spooky Row from Bent Creek, flanked by witches' hats...

for some reason I have a LOT of witches hats... hmmm... perhaps there is something to that saying if the hat fits... LOL.. the close up shows some witches legs I stuck into a sparkly broom...

On the shelf below,  I have one of my newest finishes (although the actual stitching was done eons ago)... Nevermore a Lizzie Kate freebie.. here's a close up ...

The Prarire Schooler Trick or Treat was fun to stitch... I loved  doing the faces of the trick or treaters in color versus the called for black... I think it adds a lot of life to this piece.

Next shelf has a mercury glass pumpkin along with Matilda Hornbuckle from Not Forgotten Farms...

And the bottom display shelf has two Brenda Gervais, With Thy Needle & Thread pumpkin headed girls... on the left is the one I did last year called Trick or Treat...

and on the right this year's gal called Boo to You...

And last but not least... The Drawn Thread Halloween piece I talked about last week... this is from her latest chart Little Bits of Halloween... I just stitched the word... used DMC and went with brighter shades of green/purple/orange... 28 ct linen... and Opalescent I overdyed with Tangerine Rit Dye... I was so happy that the sparkles still shown through...

The little bats around the A are satin stitched and the body of the spider is a button...clever little touches, dontcha think?

Yes I have packed a whole lot into a small space... I thought about doing some Halloween out on the sunroom porch but decided to wait till next year... I'd like a couple of larger cross stitch pieces to anchor a display and there are several calling my name... it gives me a goal ... along with the idea of making a couple more smaller throw sized Halloween quilts... would be a good use of my stash... another idea I should make a note of... I have lots and lots and lots of notes...LOL

Later today I want to put out my Halloween inflatables in my yard... I got a new wiener dog with a cape and a cute little witch... I'm not into the scary stuff...just want stuff that brings a smile to your face... but at the moment it is raining... yeah!! I can't wait on the inflatables... we so need some rain...

And we are doing dinner tonight at my house... I made lasagna... a family favorite...

As always I have lots of plans for next week... I want to get going on my Christmas Quilty Stars quilt since my deadline is the beginning of November for that one... and I'm going to get the binding on my son's Quilty Star quilt... David at Quilting by David did a great job on it... and there is more cross stitch I want to get to... like you guys I will never run out of projects...

Hope everyone has a great week ahead...I wish you good weather and some productive crafty time!!

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... and if you wonder what I'm up to during any other time look at my Instagram feed... you can find me here at carolfun53... IG is so easy to post to... and I spend waaaay too  much time there but I see the most wonderful quilt and cross stitch and knitting projects ... such eye candy...

happy stitching-
carol fun