First Friday Freebie #21

After four days of rain and an unseasonal ‘nor-easter thrown in for good measure, we have our fingers crossed for blue skies and sunshine today.  Although yesterday dawned bright and cool, we had to fire up our furnace and build a fire in the wood stove for the first time this season.  We even had a few wet flurries of the white stuff.  Yikes! 

I think that autumn has officially arrived!

To celebrate the season, this month’s First Friday Freebie was designed to showcase the fading days of summer and the start of autumn…my favorite season!  Watermelon, sunflowers, crows, wasps, pumpkins, birdhouses, flowers and of course the alphabet are included in this sampler.

The finished mini quilt measures approximately 21” x 19”.

To download the PDF file containing the photo, instructions and line drawings, click HERE.

Enjoy and happy fall, y’all!

A productive weekend…

In spite of the weather.

It was another rainy weekend here in paradise which put the start of our fall outdoor clean up on hold until the sunny, dry weather returns.  But you don’t hear me complaining now, do you?   *wink*  In actual fact, it was a perfect weekend to stay indoors to put the finishing touches on my Civil War nine patch quilt.

Remember this?  Just in case you don’t, you may read about it HERE.

I received a phone call on Thursday evening to say that my quilt was ready to be picked up. 

My original plan was to send my quilt to Mary at Quilt Hollow but plans had to change because the cost of return shipping from Nova Scotia to North Carolina was astronomical.  The gals from my guild recommended Donna, a local gal, who is a professional longarm quilter.  Thanks for the wonderful job, Donna!

The colors of the quilt are much warmer than they appear and the photos don’t do the quilt justice because today is another day without sunshine.

I had initially planned to do a scallop or wave border but when Mr. Painted Quilt saw it, he asked me to leave it just as it is.  He hardly ever voices or offers an opinion on anything that I make but this quilt really caught his eye and I couldn’t find it in my heart to override his wishes.  So I went with a straight border and I’m not unhappy with the way it looks now that it’s finished.

I’ve always wanted to make a scrappy nine patch quilt and this one is even more special because each block is made by someone different who took part in the same Civil War nine patch swap that I did.  Thanks again for hosting, Julie!

To take the photographs, I just laid the quilt down on our bed over our everyday quilt.  When I flipped up a corner in order to show you the backing, this lump appeared.  Any guesses as to what who it is?

Frankie, of course!

And just this morning I made and sewed on the label.  The finished quilt measures 91” x 81”.

Now I can officially call it a FINISH!

More lemons…and some roses too!

It’s always nice to talk about the positives rather than or before the negatives, so here I go.

Have a look at what arrived in my mail box today!

The most stunning doll quilt from Julie.

Isn’t it amazing?  This is the second doll quilt that Julie has made for me and I love it just as much as the first one.  We did a one-on-one swap a while back where I sent her a pair of my hand knitted socks and she sent me a gorgeous mini quilt. 

Here’s the first one she sent me, hanging in my studio on the wall to the right.  Gorgeous, huh?

I now have to find the perfect place for this one.  Thank you so much Julie.  Your gift arrived just at the right time and really brightened my day!

Because of what is going on in my life at the moment health-wise, I think that I will make only mini or doll sized quilts for the next little while.  That is about where my level of concentration is at the moment,  so whenever I get the urge to piece a quilt, a mini is indeed what it’s going to be!

In my last post I talked about this amazing new solid cheddar fabric but I neglected to tell you where I purchased it.  I received several emails asking that exact question and I’m happy to say that I ordered it online from Sew Unique Creations.  Their service is excellent and so are the products they carry.  This cheddar fabric is from the new line called Centennial Solids.

Perhaps you have read about the new BOM that has been popping up around blogland.  Just click on the button below and you will be magically transported to Canton Village Quilt Works where you can read all about it.

Sherri at A Quilting Life designed September’s block and here is my version made from Civil War and reproduction fabrics.  Needs a little more ironing, wouldn’t you say?

Also, many of you asked where I purchased the acorn pillow pictured below that is on the love seat in our den.  I found this at a country/prim shop about 8 or 10 years ago in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on one of my travel teaching assignments.

I’m certain it was made off-shore and I doubt that there’s a pattern available.  It is made from wool felt and measures about 10” square.  If you’d like to try your hand at making one for your own personal use from the photo, feel free to copy it to your files.  Just remember that you can’t claim it as your own design though.

And now for the lemons.

I received the pathology report from the surgeon who performed my last surgery and the results came back positive again…and they still cannot locate the primary source of the cancer.  I spoke with the chief medical oncologist yesterday and he has scheduled another PET scan for the 12th of December…so you can see why I’m having difficulty concentrating on anything these days.  It was his suggestion to wait 3 months to see if the cancer manifests itself somewhere else in my body.  Until such time as it does, they cannot treat the unknown.  We also have to allow the two incisions to heal properly before the next scan. 

Let me tell you that I can certainly redefine the meaning of STRESS!

Thanks so much for caring.  Giant hugs to all of you.

Catch Up Sunday

It’s a foggy, dull and overcast day here in paradise as you can see from this view from an upstairs window but I’m not complaining.

Mr. Painted Quilt is away for the day fishing with his buddies which leaves me and my shadows sidekicks, Frankie and Mac, alone to do as we please.  I love these kind of days because it seems like I can get so much accomplished.

First on the list…clean and organize my studio.  Aaahhh…so much better!

A place for everything and everything in it’s place.

Now everything is neat and tidy and I can easily see things at a glance.

Things were getting a little messy because as I’d buy new fabric or wool, I would just let it pile up on the cutting table instead of putting it away.  Are you like me and just love to look at and fondle new fabric…like the ones below?

Blue shirting fabrics for a new blue and white, two-color quilt that is in the planning stages…

Along with these yummy Civil War and reproduction fabrics.

And I couldn’t resist this new solid cheddar fabric…all 5 yards of it!

I went to the farmer’s market in Annapolis Royal yesterday but because it was pouring rain, only the diehard vendors and customers were there.  I bought a bushel of tomatoes along with some fresh brown mushrooms, green and red bell peppers and garlic. 

I froze some of the tomatoes and the others are simmering on the stove as I write this. 

Home made spaghetti sauce for dinner tonight!  Are ya coming?

Did the boys help?  I don’t think so! 

Here’s Frankie catching some zzzzz’s on top of the warrn dryer…

And Mac’s curled up on the loveseat.

I’ve been a little remiss in telling you about some of the wonderful surprises that I’ve received in the mail recently from dear blogging friends.

Karen sent me this incredible miniature pieced heart pin which I’ve attached to my guild name tag.  I just can’t imagine holding such tiny pieces, never mind sewing them.  Thank you so much again, Karen.

When I opened the package from Miche’le, my heart skipped several beats. 

You all know I love pin cushions and this cross stitched one has become my favorite.  Of course I would never use it as a pin cushion but I keep it beside my sewing machine just to admire.  More thanks and hugs to you my Kiwi friend!

The spaghetti sauce needs stirring and the dryer signal just sounded so I’d better get back to my chores. 

Oh, and in the meantime, I’m diligently working on October’s FFF!  (First Friday Freebie).

Fall Decorating…cont’d.

For the most part, the downstairs decorating is done and I’d love for you to accompany me on a little tour of our home.

Let’s start with the heart of our home…the kitchen.  Here is where we enter into the kitchen from the mud room at the rear of the house.  We always come in through the back door and so do all our friends and guests.

The Hoosier rests between the back door and the entry to the pantry.  Can you see the little tree in the yellow ware bowl on the top right and the set of vintage Halloween cookie cutters?  It is so much fun to see all these things again.  I didn’t decorate last fall because of packing for our move to Nova Scotia.

Even the pantry needed a little hint of fall so I added an orange berry garland along the top shelf.

Lots more stuff can be found in the eating area of the kitchen too!

The kitchen also opens into the main floor den.  The living room is just beyond the stairway in the distance.

Here is where Mr. Painted Quilt and I spend a lot of time reading.  The fireplace two photos down is directly opposite…

and the loveseat is to the right.

I added some chenille corn and a Japanese lantern garland to the trencher.

The dining room is just off the den.

Lots of fun fall and Halloween stuff in here.

Even the restroom has a few reminders of fall.

It can’t be fall without candy corn…in all shapes and sizes.

Wool pumpkins and a little woollen pillow…perfect!

The air outside is very fresh and cool today but the living room is bathed in sunlight.

All I need now are some freshly cut flowers from the garden and potted mums to add  to the mix.

There’s still upstairs to do and that’s one of the many items on the agenda for this weekend.

I think it just might be cool enough to light the fire tonight.  Are you coming over for a cup of hot chocolate or tea?  The kettle is always on, you know.