First Friday Freebie #2

Today is the First Friday of October, so that means my second Freebie design…’Halloween Hauntings’… is available for your enjoyment, right here and right now!

Please indulge me a bit while I tell you how this project evolved.

Since Halloween occurs on the 31st of October and because I love to decorate for the seasons, I thought that a Halloween themed design would be appropriate for my second FFF (First Friday Freebie).

Initially, my original design started off as a Halloween, sampler-style stitchery and it was my intention to stop at that.

However, my mind would just not shut down and what I finally ended up with is a 33” x 33” square table topper or mini quilt.

For those of you who don’t quilt but love to stitch, you have the option of doing what I had originally intended and that is to make the center sampler stitchery only. I can envision it framed or as a wall hanging or even made into a throw pillow which really was my original intention…honest!

But these other neat sayings and images kept on popping into my head and some Thimbleberries fabric kept on asking to be included so I gave in and what you see is the end result resting comfortably on the sofa in our living room.

The PDF file containing the photos, instructions and line drawings may be downloaded by clicking here. Please respect that I have provided this design for your personal use only and it is not intended for commercial purposes. It is also copyright protected.

I hope that you enjoy making it as much as I did while creating it with you in mind.

So please grab my button, place it on your sidebar and link back to my blog in order that you can share it with those who might not otherwise find their way here. This is my way of giving back to all of you who continue to enrich my life as a result of blogging.

The button will also act as a reminder that on the First Friday of each month I will be posting a new Freebie design to share with you all. Next month’s design is almost done and promise you won’t be disappointed!

Thanks for stopping by and as always…

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

P.S. Once again, my sincere and heartfelt thanks to Robyn of Daisy Quilts for her unyielding patience and assistance in helping me with the technical stuff related to bringing you the FFF feature. I could NEVER have managed this without her.

I’m Done!

Oh happy day!  All my obligations for this year are complete and now I can start thinking about projects for me.  My swap gifts are made and have been sent out except for one which according to the rules cannot be sent out til November. Woo hoo!  I have so many things on my ‘to do’ list I just don’t know where to start…but I’m sure I’ll find something to occupy both my hands and mind.

Four more great gals sent me photos of their completed First Friday Freebie, ‘Fall is in the Air!’

The first one is from Bea who made hers into a pillow.  What a beautiful photo!  Bea is from France and she was my swap partner in the ‘Good ‘Ol Summertime’ mini quilt swap.

This next one is from Karen in Florida.  Cool, huh?

This one is from Carol Lewis.  Love that homespun border, Carol!

And this last one is from Kathy in British Columbia.  Unfortunately Kathy didn’t send me a link to her blog so I can’t pass it on to you.

Thank you all so much for sharing.

While I’m on the subject of new designs, don’t forget to come back this Friday because it’s the first Friday of the month and you know what that means… First Friday Freebie day!

I don’t know about you but I’m sure excited!

See y’all on Friday!  Til then…

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

 

What A Day!

Subtitle: Confessions of a Shop-a-holic!

What a day we had yesterday! 

Nancy (no blog) and I left bright and early to do our own quilt shop hop in NY and Vermont.  Nancy is a friend and longarm quilter extraordinaire who worked her magic on my Lemoyne Star  quilt that I pieced when my modem died about a month ago that you can see and read about here.

The main purpose of our trip was to visit  a shop where Nancy buys some of the thread for her longarm machine.  She currently has a quilt on the rack for which she needed more thread to complete. 

Our first stop was at a relatively new quilt shop in the picturesque little town of Rouses Point, NY.   Here’s Nancy pictured at the entrance to the shop.

Fibre Junction has only been open since May of this year but if you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth a visit, especially if you’re into Civil War and Reproduction fabrics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s Nancy paying for her purchases…

and here’s what I bought…

From there, we crossed the bridge over Lake Champlain into Vermont.  We proceeded down Interstate 89 to Williston and to our next stop…Strawberry & Rhubarb.

 

Nancy bought her thread and I bought some fat quarters which will be used for  some of the blocks for the ‘Aqua and Red’ swap which you can link to from my sidebar.

From there we headed just down the road, made a right turn at the first traffic lights and proceeded about 1. 5 miles to Sew Many Treasures.

I was only able to obtain one inside photo of the shop before the battery on my camera died.

Here, I bought some of the most amazing turkey red fabrics.

Aren’t they stunning?  All the way home I kept on repeating how much I ♥ these fabrics!

From there we proceeded to Yankee Pride.  This is another great shop in Essex Junction, VT.

Here I managed to find some fabric from the Sampler Collection by Windham Fabrics that was being sold at 50% off so I bought all the remaining yardage that was left on the bolt to use as backing for a future project.

Our shopping extravaganza lasted about 10 hours…and we didn’t even stop for lunch!  I arrived back home at about 8 o’clock last evening, tired, hungry and ever so happy with my purchases and especially my day.

Thanks so much, Nancy.  I can’t wait to do it again!

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

Can You Resist A Sale?

Now tell me honestly, what would you do if you received an email from your LQS telling you that they were having a 40% off EVERYTHING sale?

A. Click on ‘delete’.

B. Roll over and go back to bed.

C. Call in sick.

D. Call your bank to get an increase on your line of credit.

E. Get yourself over there ASAP!

Well I don’t know about you all but I certainly selected ‘E’ …contemplated ‘D’…and  made my way over post haste.

The shop is called Quilte Classique and is located in Pointe Claire, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal.  It is a cozy little shop located in a picturesque village setting.  I have been there a few times but because it is located about 65 miles from home, it is not somewhere I frequent that often.  

But who can resist a sale?

I did my best to help stimulate the economy and purchased some wonderful fabric from the Welcome Home collection by Lydia Quigley for Clothworks.

The colors are very warm and rich looking.  Lydia is an amazing designer and you can find her patterns at the Rabbit Factory.

I also purchased some notions which I couldn’t pass up.

Now I have to find the perfect design for this wonderful fabric.  Any suggestions?

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

I’m A Supreme!

No, not the Diana Ross kind of Supreme but a Supreme Sewer.

Stephanie from Loft Creations designs the most awesome bags.   A while back, Stephanie asked me if I would like to become a member of her Supreme Sewers, a group of bloggers who test her patterns before they are actually offered for sale in her Etsy shop.   Of course I said yes!

Stephanie asked me to test her Prickly Pear design.   I chose to make mine using the Dandelion Girl line of fabrics from Fig Tree Quilts by Moda.

 

I absolutely ♥ this design.  The pattern instructions and diagrams were well laid out and extremely easy to follow.  It worked  up quickly and I will certainly be making a bunch more to give as gifts for the holiday season coming up.

Now, if only I could sing…

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥