A Grand Day Out!

 I don't know how many Wallace and Gromit fans there are out there, but you know who you are and you will recognize my title. I just needed a day out--or even part of a day. This past Thursday I was going stir crazy. I had been home from the hospital for a week and hadn't been farther than a walk around the farm. I still can't do much for any length of time, but there is a mountain canyon 10 minutes from our home and the fall colors are at their peak. DH had taken the afternoon off, so I suggested we just buzz up the canyon a few miles and see the color. Then I realized we wouldn't be far from a very fun quilt shop on the other end of that canyon, but I didn't know if I could tolerate 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back. DH's idea was that we could stop in the canyon and I could walk around a little to break up the trip. It was a great opportunity to get some photos of the color, too.

The quilt shop did not disappoint. Along with some great CW fabrics from the clearance corner and a few Jo Morton FQs, I snatched up this pattern when I saw it.

I have enjoyed seeing the Schnibbles everyone makes, though I have never made one. The thing that caught my eye about this one was that last May I purchased a couple of pin cushions in The Gathering Place, a great quilt shop in Rupert, Idaho. I gave one away and kept one and I have wished I could find a pattern to make more. This is the one I kept and I thought with the help of this pattern I could make something like it.

So the pattern came home with me--after we had stopped for fresh peach milkshakes at the local burger joint. Yumm!! The adventure wore me out, but it was worth it. : )

The mail had arrived by the time we got home and I found a surprise from my friend, Mary C., in Washington. She had sent me shirt parts and photos of a quilt she had posted recently that boggled my mind. Thanks so much, Mary. Always fun to get surprises!

Today was the day for doing something with these treasures. First I put a couple of the shirt parts to work in the most recent Barrister's SAL block. Thanks for an easy one this time, Randy. Turned out well.

Then I went to work with the Tuffets pattern. These "tuffets" looked very much like the purchased pin cushions I bought in Rupert, except for the fact that the "tuffets" are more like little pillows and I liked the dimension of the one I bought. I put my brain in a higher gear that it has been in for a while and thought I could figure out how to make them have the dimension I wanted. So I played around and made my first one with the leftovers from my Halloween mini quilts (I knew I would end up making something with them). I followed the pattern pretty closely for my first attempt and it was much larger than I had expected. After that I started winging it and made them a little smaller.

There was some trial and error involved, but I think I have the bugs worked out now. I filled them with walnut shells, but you can use poly filling, too. I think this is my new obsession--I can see so many possibilities, and wouldn't they make great gifts?
Here they are with the one that inspired me. I think it feels right at home there. : )

So Thursday was a grand day out, and today was a grand day in--sewing!
Until next time,
Janet O.