Putting all my chickens in a basket

Oh my goodness - aren't these little guys just too stinking cute??



These adorable chicks were made by my friend Lois, in Nebraska. They are a birthday gift and I LOVE THEM. She knows what I like -- the chicken wire basket in yellow would definitely go home with me if I saw it anywhere.



And those tail feathers are perfect! I'm not sure how she made these but they are stiff - maybe dipped in starch or glue? I have them sitting on my sewing table so I can admire my new chickens. Thanks Lois -- you have made my day!

Weather here has turned rainy -- glad I spent time on the screen porch when I did. Now I'm headed back to my sewing studio to work on my Charming Stars quilt - only one block to go and then sew them together.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

A charming design wall for Monday

Oh my- these blocks are like potato chips - you can't make just one! This pattern is Charming Stars from Moda Bake Shop.



The fabric is the Rooftop Garden line from Moda. I don't know who designed this line but I love it. I was unaware of this collection until I saw the charm squares at Fabric Shack but it was instant love. (There is no rhyme or reason as to the open spots I was just slapping them on the wall!)



Rich deep colors and I love the pop of hot pink and blue. And I can NOT resist a good dot and this shade of cheddar makes me drool. I have enough for this quilt and I wished I'd bought more but I know there is none left at Fabric Shack because my dear friend Stephie bought all that was left on the bolt. Smart shopper - LOL!



I don't have a border picked out yet. My first thought was one of the colorways with the patchwork square pattern but now that I have it started I'm thinking one of the less busy prints would be better. When I get the blocks together I'll take it up and audition some choices.

Okay- it is Monday- my day to spend driving in circles- hope your week is off to a good start.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

There's No Place Like Home for a Sampler Sunday

It has been a beautiful Fall weekend and there isn't any place I want to be more than at home. I spent some time sitting out on my screen porch enjoying the weather and that's where I took these pictures of my sampler for Sunday.



This is "There's No Place Like Home" by Drawn Thread. I love the little ceramic heart button in the center.



Little Fall and Winter scenes side by side with...



Spring and Summer. Looking at this piece reminded me that I have at least 2 other Drawn Thread pieces in that black hole of a basket that contains my WIPs. I should go and give them a look and see if they should come out and be stitched on. I did find a sampler I had forgotten about the other day and couldn't for the life if me remember why I hadn't finished it. It doesn't need a lot of stitching so I've been working on it for a couple of evenings. I'd love to get it to the framer while there is still a 60% off coupon. That should be good motivation for the week.

Hope you have a great week - happy stitching!
carol fun

Swooning over Halloween

On Monday night I got my Halloween Swoon quilt back from my long arm quilter and all I can say is WOW! My pictures do not do her work proper justice. She filled this quilt with goodies. Here it is lounging in the shade in the my backyard.



And here is a close up of one of the blocks to give you some idea of the quilting. She outlined all the motifs in the border and then randomly added designs over the blocks.



Here are some pictures of the back which showing the quilting off better - there is a giant pumpkin with some spiders...




and a giant spider web and you can also see a devil and a cat...



It is like a "where's waldo" puzzle. I found a pitchfork, the word "boo", and lots of spiders and ghosts and a giant bat. She is a very very clever quilter. Her name is Cass Plott and her business is called Pink Flamingo Quilting. She doesn't have a website but if you are interested in her work I can forward her email.

Now I need to get a sleeve on it and get it hung in my family room. I LOVE this quilt and I'm so happy that I got in done in time for the holiday. Usually I get my best ideas 24 hours beforehand and it is too late to execute them. I know I'll enjoy this quilt for years to come.

So back to the sewing machine. I have 2 more quilts to bind. Lucky me! Have a wonderful weekend and happy stitching!
carol fun

Finally got my Halloween decorations out!

Well the boxes have been sitting in the family room for almost 2 weeks but yesterday I finally got motivated and put out my Halloween decorations. Here is the mantle in all its pumpkin finery!



I had forgotten about this little wall quilt and rediscovered it while looking for something else. I made is years ago and have no memory of who's pattern it is. I do vaguely remember it was paper pieced.



I thought the witches were kinda sweet - not spooky.



And I stitched the pumpkins is lots of different orange fabrics. The candies were made using lame -- does any one else remember working with lame?



I always loved the sparkle of lame but it was a bear to sew. I would very very carefully apply a woven fusible and then cut the pieces out. I melted a lot of lame in my time. I remember buying it once at a fabric store and the gal cutting it asked what I was going to do with it. After I explained she quipped that while it was pretty, cutting it was like "chasing snot across a table" -- ahem... and I'll leave you with the visual- sorry!

It is a gorgeous day here in Ohio. I'm totally enjoying it by sitting on my screen porch to write this post and then I'm going to cross stitch. Days like this will soon be gone and I am going to soak up as much as this one as possible.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

A Flurry of a finish for Design Wall Monday

Yesterday evening I was able to get the borders on my Flurry quilt and I'm sure glad I didn't wait till today to do this as all I have done is run in the car. I swear days like this are the reason I can put 500 miles on my car in a week and never get more than 10 miles from home - sheesh! Anyway back to the quilt....




I added 3 rounds of borders and it ended up being 64 X 78 inches - a little bigger than I planned for but not only will it look good as a wall quilt it could be a twin size bed quilt too. It was all going pretty smoothly until I realized that the border fabric is directional (duh .. it is pretty obvious) and I didn't want the ornaments laying on their sides on the top and bottom, so I had to piece the fabric together. I think I did a pretty good job because you have to really look for the seam and I'm not telling.



I like the last package I did- little tossed Christmas trees. All in all I'm very happy with this quilt and I'll drop it off to my long arm quilting gal tonight. Deadlines are good for me, if it wasn't for the last minute I'd never get anything done.

Now off to do another pick-up/drop-off trip for my son and then back to the guild meeting. I feel like a polka dot chicken with its head cut off, running in circles - LOL!

Happy stitching-
carol fun

Sampler Sunday

Oh my goodness, Sunday is almost over and I've busy all day. I'm glad I finally have a chance to sit a spell and show you another sampler for Sunday. This is another Ewe & Eye & Friends and is titled House on Hollyhock Hill.



I love hollyhocks but have only had spotty success with them in my garden. No luck this year so I'll definitely plant some more next year.



I like the look of the satin stitch siding on the house and I'm really pleased with my arrangement of mine and my sons' initials on the left side. My own little crossword puzzle.

I got some stitching done yesterday on a BBD piece and then had to frog quite a bit of it last night when I realized I'd used the wrong color- arghh! I hate to frog but I know if I don't the mistake will be there forever. It looks much better since I corrected my error. Maybe I can do a little more work on it before I'm off to bed.

Hope you have a productive week. I've got a quilt guild meeting tomorrow night and the rest of the week looks like it could have some sewing time.

Happy stitching-
carol fun