Autumn Joy Top Completed

I am speechless.  Autumn Joy is finished.  I so enjoyed this project.  It was challenging and tested my patience more than once.    Here I am showing it off just 1.5 hours after sewing on the final border at UFO club. Now that is right at the wire.  Brought it home and it’s back on the design wall.    I am still enjoying just looking at it hanging there.  I feel a real sense of accomplishment with this quilt.  It will hang until I get the backing put together to take to Vickie so she can add her miracle quilting and add a new layer to its beauty.

 

Autumn Joy represents so many things I am grateful for.  I am blessed to be able to spend my free time sewing and quilting, playing with my kittahs and my puppy dogs.  I am just blessed period.  My sister is coming for Thanksgiving and I am very thankful to be able to spend this time with her.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Sissy

pssst…… being the nerd that I am, I have already put together a list of projects that just need a few finishing touches to be completed during December.  And I almost forgot to put “clean my sewing room” on the list.  I wonder what that means since it wasn’t first on my list?  Oh well…..

 

 

 

 

 

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Quilting Retreat For One :)

Saturday, November 21, 2015 6:00 AM Central

What a wonderful weekend I have planned for myself.  Staying cozzied up in my sewing room with ambitions of finishing Autumn Joy and piecing my Storyteller’s BOM.  My very own Quilting Retreat for One!! The only difference is not having the companionship of other quilters and someone cooking my meals for me.  It’s a good thing I enjoy my own company. Living in the country does have it’s drawbacks as far as ordering take-out.  So I’ll just have to nuke something when I get hungry.

I live on 73 acres but work in town.  This weekend is the annual Christmas Parade.  Town will be crazy.  Timing wise how perfect for me to stay home in my sewing room blissfully working away on my UFO that has taken me more time than I could have ever imagined. I’ll just have to miss Santa this year.

I had allotted one month for this project but have been working on it now for four months.  I am pushing myself this weekend to finish it.  UFO group is Monday.  That is my deadline.  Yikes.

My sewing room is in utter chaos.  That drives me crazy, but until I finish Autumn Joy I have no plans to tidy everything up and put it all in its place. Creative clutter can be inspiring!

Will keep all posted on my accomplishments.

Sissy

 

A New Block – Mr. Scarecrow

I have gotten started on the second to last block.  Mr. Scarecrow.  He is a delightful fellow and I am progressing well towards his completion.  I struggled this past weekend with one particular item on the block.  It would have been fussy piecing and I finally realized I was dragging my feet because I did not want it on my block.  My dilemma consisted of two tiny houses set in the background for depth perception.  I decided that those people don’t live there anymore and the houses would just have to be relocated for rural revitalization.   Make room for more pumpkin patches!

I am proud to say I survived the past two days rainfall without incident.   I was able to cross my two low water bridges without any problems.   Yay!! I  made the right decision to purchase a 4 wheel drive.  I stood on my deck last night and listened to the roiling waters from those creeks.  If I can hear the water from where I live then that means no crossing the low water bridges.   Apparently, I got through just in time and I am very thankful for that, for not only to be able to sleep in my own bed, but I needed to make my dishes for our church dinner tonight.

Happy Stitches…..

Sissy

Cat on a Quilt

Autumn Joy Quilt block, Cat on a Quilt is finished.   This block represents my house.  I always have a cat on a quilt.  I have adopted a new rescue kitty.  I have named her Yum-Yum.  She is a flame point siamese., so the name is in reference to  “The Cat Who …. books”.  She is settling in nicely.  For a siamese she is pretty quiet.  She has only voiced her opinion when the food bowl becomes empty. When I showed a friend the finished block she exclaimed it looks just like Yum Yum.  So there you have it.  My first picture quilt.

I really let this block intimidate me.  The finished block looks so less intimidating.  But when you see the drawn pattern and all those lines going in all directions, I just went O.M.G.  But I eventually tackled it and made it my own.  I am pleased with how it turned out.  I have hand washed it and it is currently drying before it takes it place on the design wall.

Now, just two more blocks and this awesome quilt will be ready for the quilter.

I also have my Saturday Sampler quilt to set together now that the year is ending. We met last Saturday for our final block.    That is on my to do list to finish this year.  It WILL NOT become a UFO.   And of course, I signed up for the 2016 Saturday Sampler Group.  Samplers are so much fun.

I got two of my quilts back from Vickie Clancy, my personal quilter,….. tee hee.  She does such wonderful work.  I have to get the binding on them and they are finished.  This girl is moving right along.  The year is coming to a close and I have accomplished many goals, and emptied many tubs as well as put to rest some aging UFO’s.   I am very pleased with my accomplishments so far this year.  But as Yogi said, It ain’t over til it’s over. !!!!

Sissy Malone

A New Day New Goals

Getting off to a good start today.  Almost got accomplished what I wanted yesterday.  Had to baby my pesky back a bit which cut into sewing time.  Gotta love daylight savings time in the fall back portion.  I like gaining that extra hour in the morning.  In my youth I was a night owl.  As I have gotten older, I am a morning person and love the quiet time of the early start of the day.  My internal clock usually wakes me up around 5 a.m. I  then head to my sewing room with cup of coffee in hand catch up on the morning news and sip and sew.   It’s my time when I become a person people can actually be around otherwise it’s not pretty.  Total grouch without my “me” time or maybe the coffee makes me more amenable not sure, but I don’t mess with what works for me.

What I got accomplished yesterday:

My star points are getting better.  My first time piecing the background for the applique.  Challenging for me but doable.  I just have to trim it to correct size.  I have already hand washed it, dried it and pressed it.

The Apple Basket Block I just have to finish stitching the apples and add a bit of embroidery and the hand work will be complete.  Then I will hand wash it to get the starch and glue out of it and dry and press it.  My favorite part of this block is the cute little folk art type blackbird.  For some reason his simplicity really spoke to me.  He’s just so cute.

Next up is a cat sleeping on a quilt block.  It is very challenging for me in the sense that it  also has a pieced background and the detail is unbelievable.  I almost need a paint by number chart for this block.  Just kidding.  But as always in applique there are layers and I just have to figure out the layers and how best to approach them.  Hopefully I can have it figured out today.

Have a wonderful Sunday  Happy November 1st

Sissy