Is it really Fall?

I finally took down my patriotic decor after Labor Day, but with daytime highs still lingering in the 80s it has been hard to get in the spirit of decorating for Fall. Haven't been able to bring myself to drag out the boxes of decorations, but I did hang a few little quilty creations.

Autumn Afternoon (approx. 8x10") now has a home on this Shaker peg rack in my kitchen, along with a little Fall colored basket ornament that turned out a little too wonky to be gifted or sold, so I get to keep it!

I also got the Halloween "Lamb For All Seasons" (adapted from Primitive Gatherings Old Glory Gatherings pattern here) completed and hung (12" square). It is the first thing you see when you enter our living room. Can you even tell there is a crow on the lamb's back? With the dark green background I don't think it is very obvious. The photo makes the whole thing look brighter than it really is.

On Tuesday I signed up to take a class from Kim Diehl on Friday, but it turns out the class isn't until next month, but that is a whole 'nother story!! But it got me thinking about my favorite Kim Diehl patterns, one of which is "All In A Row". I love churn dash blocks, and there is just something about this version that grabs me. I have made a table runner in this style, but never the full quilt. Do you know what is coming next? Could I miniaturize it? Well, you know I have to try.

 The blocks will finish at 1 3/4". The 9-patch centers are 3/4". I think I will sash it with the fabric they are laying on, but I haven't chosen a cornerstone fabric yet.
                                                 

I prepared a couple of them to be ornaments, trying out a pinwheel in the center of one, instead of the 9-patch. I haven't yet stuffed and backed them, but they will be about 1/4" smaller than my pineapple, log cabin, or basket ornaments.









The structure of the churn dash on these blocks is different from the ones in the Disappearing Hourglass. The DH block is divided into three equal sections, so on the bottom one in this photo I tried the DH method. Raewyn threw down the gauntlet when she made a little Disappearing Hourglass block that was only 1 3/8". But I didn't even try to go that small, let alone smaller. This one will finish at about 1 5/8", a whole quarter inch larger than Raewyn's! See, I do make big stuff! : )






There are a bunch of these little 9-patch blocks left from making the centers for those blocks. I have a plan for them that I hope will work. More to come on that.

Kathie Holland (Inspired By Antique Quilts blog) makes the greatest little quilts. Well, she does great bed quilts, too, for that matter. I am so glad she is back blogging. I really missed her.
Recently she posted a sweet little pinwheel quilt which you can see on her blog here.
She sent me a little kit to make my own copy of it. I'm sorry, Kathie, but after making the HSTs I got carried away and cut two small HSTs from each large one. Now, instead of 6 4" finished pinwheels, there will be 12 one and a half inch finished pinwheels. I just get started cutting things down to size and I don't know when to stop. But I am loving these vibrant reds and bold blacks. And what a great border fabric. Thanks, Kathie. I hope you don't mind me messing with your design. I have really enjoyed working on this and hope to have it finished soon.

This beautiful little quilt arrived this month from Doniene. She really has me pegged where color and design are concerned. It went right up in my "Quilts from friends" corner. There was a beautiful scarf that she had made that came, too, but I just realized I didn't have a photo of it.
Such sweet gifts from a generous friend. Thank you!














Well, I am still woefully behind on my UFOs for the year. That mini trunk show in May really derailed me and I am having a hard time getting back on track. My Garden Maze Quilt still languishes on my design wall because I can't find a border fabric I like, so I distract myself with minis. I am a sorry case!

Just thought of how I can tell it really is Fall. Dad's pears are ripe and we enjoyed a lovely pear pie recently. Yummm! I shared the recipe a couple of years ago, but if you missed it and are interested, let me know and I will email it to you.



Until next time,
Janet O.






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Time Out for Family

I haven't been in blogland much the past few days. DD#1 is visiting with us from New Hampshire. We have 8 days with her and we are keeping very busy. I have tried to keep up reading blogs, but haven't had time to comment.
Haven't done much sewing, either, but I will share my smidgen of progress.
This little 8" square mini finally got quilted and bound last night.

I recently received some scraps from Kathie (of Inspired By Antique Quilts) and among the scraps were 8 big  HSTs. I wanted to incorporate them into a mini quilt somehow, so using a 1 1/2" square ruler, I cut two small HSTs and 2 solid squares from each of the large HSTs.





Maybe you can get a better idea from this photo.

I used the little HSTs to create the pinwheels in this mini. Most of the fabrics used are from Kathie's scraps--even the backing.
Now this little quilt hangs from my new sewing room shelf and keeps company with another recently created mini which you have already seen.

I completed one more of the Crabapple blocks from Bonnie Hunters book "Adventures With Leaders and Enders." My sister thinks I should name it "It's So Vermonty," because the quilt is in honor of a trip we took to Vermont one Fall, and we are big fans of movies from the 30-50s. The name she suggested is a line from an old movie. Just for the fun of it, the first person who comments with the correct old movie will get a gift bag of my herbal soap. Anyone think they know? : )

And finally, all of the strips sets have been sewn and sliced for my patriotic version of the Primitive Gatherings Picnic Quilt.  This is made entirely from Primitive Gatherings fabrics--mostly the Old Glory line, but you will find a bit of Snowman Gatherings and Little Gatherings in there as well. Just keeping things interesting.

Now I need to sew the blue and tan strips into blocks and sew the blocks together. I have made it bed size by adding an extra row to a side and the bottom and including borders. I highly recommend this pattern for a quick, visually interesting quilt. This is one of very few patterns I have ever made more than once.
We have been having so much fun with DD#1 here. Among other things, she and DD#2 had a late night learning session on Gidget. I am pleased to inform you that both of my daughters caught on to this much more quickly than I did. Here is DD#1 at work on a practice sandwich. Their "first time" machine quilting puts mine to shame. The fact that I can machine quilt at all should give everyone out there who is struggling, all kinds of hope. If there had been a dunce hat in my first class, I would have been wearing it.


My girls are pretty special. When in the world did they get to be in their 30s?? And what does that make me? We don't want to go there.
This weekend we will have my sons (they are pretty special, too) joining us for some quality time before DD#1 heads back home mid-week.

This coming Thursday I will be attending the HMQS in Salt Lake City. Anyone out there going that day? I'd love to meet you!

I may not be back to blogging until after that show, but you know there will be lots of great quilts to share--AND in less than two weeks I hit my 2nd anniversary of blogging. There will be a giveaway for all of you patient people who follow my ramblings, you can be sure of that. So stay tuned, and in the meantime--can you name that movie?
Janet O.