And Another One

A few weeks back, I spent a day at Calico Mermaid, at their in-store retreat.  10 hours of sewing, and two delicious meals later, I came home with a finished applique and the blocks for another baby quilt.  Over the next week, I put the blocks into a top, and then quilted it.  Yesterday I finished, even the binding!  wow!  I hope to get it into the mail next week.

 I showed you some UFO blocks in my last post.  I waffled back and forth about borders, then decided to make a bold choice.  oh my!  This diagonal stripe was tricky, as I needed to cut it both length- and width-wise to get the effect I wanted.

 It completely changes the feel of the quilt, but I don't mind.  I kind of like it.  It's still a "winter" quilt, but it's not as "cold" as it felt before adding the drama.

Fall has come in earnest, to our little pocket of California.  The gingkos began dropping their leaves last week.  In anticipation of the rain on the horizon, I took Babykins over to the park for an impromptu photo shoot.

 Little Helper tried to put the lens cap back in place as I tried to get a picture.  When I set her down, off she ran, squealing all the way.  Too much fun.

 The next day the rain poured down, bringing with it more gingko leaves.  This is our front yard.  The beauty is fleeting, but it sure brightens a rainy day!!

Tomorrow is December, beginning the big tick tock until Christmas.  Time to get busy in the workshop and see if I can get a thing or two under the tree before the 25th.
Happy December and Happy Quilting, one and all!

Another Baby Quilt, Done

 The above baby quilt has been finished and delivered.  Hopefully baby Celeste has already been wrapped in it.  Baby Abby received hers (the pink one in the last post) and I'm sure she's already breaking it in.

I pulled some very old blocks out of my UFO bin and put them on the wall.  It was high time to do something with them, so I added corner stones and sashing.  It needs a border.  I should dig out my Christmas fabrics and see if I have something with white and poinsettias, or anything else that might work.

 The nights have been cold enough to turn the gingkoes into gold.  Fall is final here.  Can winter be far behind?

I trust you had a delightful Thanksgiving.  We did.  I forgot to bring out my camera.  I've been so busy being Grammie that I don't remember to take photographic evidence.  Hopefully I will remember to document this Christmas season.  There's not much that can beat the wonder in a young child's eyes as the tree goes up with the lights and ornaments and then the packages begin to gather beneath it.

Am I ready for Christmas?  Not yet.  Am I ready for the Christmas season?  Always!
And away we go!

Two Finishes

I completely finished two baby quilts on Sunday.  Well, all finished, except for labels.

 I also went back to the Tiara, and successfully quilted a third baby quilt.  It still needs binding.

When I went to this year's Completed Quilt/UFO list, I was quite surprised to see that I'd neglected to mark off several quilts.  wow!  I've done a better job posting on this blog than I have on my design wall paperwork, and yet, I see that I have another finish that I didn't get posted here.

What can I say?  Life.

Baby girl, or should I say Toddling Granddaughter will be here in 30 minutes.  She's one reason the paperwork has gone by the wayside.  I guess I'm just Grammie these days, and not Quilting Grammie.  Those days will come, eventually.

Block of the Month

Guild met on Thursday.  The response to the Monkey Wrench block for November was wonderful.

 For next month, we're doing Corn & Beans.  I'm hopeful that the response to this one will be great as well.

Other than writing patterns and sewing samples, I've quilted one baby quilt and attached the binding.  Once it's stitched down, I'll have a finish.  yay!!

Been Busy

huh.  I'm not sure what happened, but I just lost my post.

To recap, last week was our guild retreat.  We went to Wonder Valley, where we sewed up a storm.  I was happy with my work space, though I ended up labeled as an anti-social wall builder.  oh well.

 I was thankful that Wendy VB left early and left her Ott light behind.  I'd forgotten to bring mine, and I spent HOURS working on applique.

 I was making chairs.  This is one of my rejects - the color was all wrong for the quilt top.  oh well.  It will go into my UFO pile and perhaps became part of something else someday.

I was also able to get two baby quilts pieced together.  I basted them last night.

 I'm hopeful that I can quilt them sometime soon.

Guild meets tomorrow.  I need to get together the pattern and samples for Block of the Month.  Busy, busy, and it's just the start of busy season.

Happy Quilting!