So much to sew!

Earlier this year I traded some of my Kansas Troubles scraps for some of Sandi's batik scraps. Today I was determined to finish sewing my Orca Bay together and get it off my design wall, but I needed some leader/enders to use during the process. So I pulled out these luscious colors--most of the HSTs were already sewn by Sandi and arrived at my home that way. I find it interesting that though my fabric tastes lean heavily in the direction of warm "dark and dirty" repros and scraps, I still can't resist the cool, glowing beauty of batiks.

I happened to have a FQ of the black that Sandi had used in the HSTs, so I used that to help make the 4-patch blocks and make the border. Haven't sewn the borders on yet, but it was fun to watch this little piece come together while sewing this big piece together...

I need to decide how I am going to border my Orca Bay (aka Sunset Over The Men's Dept.), but that will wait until next year. I just wanted it off the design wall in one piece before people start finishing Easy Street.

I was eight blocks behind on the Barrister's Sow-Along. I got two of them sewn and four others cut and ready on design boards, waiting to be sewn. Wednesday Randy should be posting more, so I will be falling farther behind, but at least this is the last month I can lose ground, so it won't get too much worse.

And the mail box has kept on giving. This little tree sits in my sewing room on top of the cabinet for my Mom's 60-year-old Bernina. Beneath the tree I have placed several of the pincushions I made recently. Most of them will be gifts anyway, and they look like little packages sitting there. Next to the little stitched piece my sister made years ago sits a beautiful pincushion that arrived this week from Mary of Quilt Hollow. You can also see the charm pack for Metropolitan Fair that I hadn't found locally. DD#1 had it sent to me. Finally, I forgot to get a photo, but you've all seen the latest edition of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks. Denise was blessed to win multiple copies and she shared the wealth. So fun to be blessed by the thoughtfulness (and talents) of others. Thanks to all!!

The little scrappy pineapple pincushion pictured above is my latest attempt at that thing I don't like to do (foundation paper piecing). I just love the results it gives. I haven't sewn this one closed yet and you can see the colorful pins along the bottom edge doing temporary duty. The pineapple block (pre-border) finishes about 2 inches. The problem with this one is that I used too high a quality of paper as the foundation. It loosened the stitches when I tried to remove it. Maybe if you enlarge the photo you can see the stitches showing along the seams. Made me sad. : (  So I pulled out some dollar store paper and printed a few more foundations. I will be trying again soon.

Still plenty of holiday preparations going on. I have pieced the backs for my grandson's gift quilts. Now I need to get them basted and quilted! Life is never boring, that's for sure!
Hope you are finding time to relax and stitch.
Until next time,
Janet O.