October Goals

Thankfully October isn't as busy as September was, but I do have events so I am keeping my goals light again.

RSC15 - the color for the month is BROWN.  As you can see, my browns are on the light side - even my yardage on the shelf.  But I only have one woven heart and two houses to make - all my other RSC projects have the 'block count' I need.

I think I will use Slow Sunday Stitching to finish up those demonstration melon blocks and maybe even get them put together.  I am planning this to be a full hand stitch project - even the piecing.

Another mini project for Let's Book It.  A print out saved so long ago.  It is really hard to photo, but here is the Free download for this pattern.  Yes, those are really tiny paper piecing squares.

We set up our two women show today (Oct 1st) and hopefully that won't take too long with all the helpers.  That runs all month and we have a reception on the 10th.

My Blog Anniversary is on the 16th, with give away to be announced.

Our neighboring local quilt guild is having a quilt show the 17th-18th and I have one quilt (Catalicious) for that - so need to get it there and pick it up after.

And I am participating in the Halloween Haunts Blog Hop - my day is the 26th.  My projects are finished, but I have to photo them - if the rain stops.  Yes, over 6 inches of rain the last couple of days and Storm Joaquin will hit over the weekend - may need a boat. 

Yes, I am slowing down and starting to take my 'Keep it Simple' to heart.  I want to just have November and December a clean up time at a relaxed pace.

Sewingly Yours,

Sharon

The End of Sept - Hello Fall

I am so glad that September is over.  I have learned (the hard way) not to over book myself.  BUT I did enjoy the adventure and companionship on those quilty journeys.  And, I totally missed there was a designated 'season' change day.  Here in the NorEast, you just go with Mother Nature - not the day on the calendar.

My goals for the month were small:

RSC15 - a month of a color I seldom use and actually bought fabric so I could play with my block making projects.

Slow Sunday Stitching was actually done on my weekend travels.  Demonstrating hand quilting on that home spun star quilt and there is a tray of 'melon' (or you may know them as pumpkin seeds) blocks to demo needle turn applique.

 

Let's Book It was completed with this table topper - a small project that fit in with the busy schedule.

I did get in some pedal to the metal sewing time at our quilt guild's Sit and Sew day.

I think I got four more of the Heritage Star blocks done.

Got a late start on Kaaren Johnston's mystery quilt - it still looks this way.

And I tried to work on the Goosey blocks to keep up with the snippets - didn't get far with this one either.  But this is a fun, long term project so I am not concerned.

Have you found yourself reviewing your projects?  Changing the color fabrics and patterns to follow the changing season?  Even the food has changed - fruits and veggies of the season leading to comfort foods.  We've had some really cold nights and the hot chocolate came out to take the chill off.

And now I am thinking - when will the first day of snow come,

Sewingly Yours,

Sharon

Let's Book It - Sept 2015

This is the project sheet I pulled from one of my binders - you know, all those saved 'I'm going to make this' files that you printed off - and then forgot.  This Pie Plates Patterns called Pinecones and Pinwheels and I did find the old  PDF HERE.

I pulled just from the scrap bins for this one as it doesn't take a lot of fabric.

I wouldn't normally use raspberry and aqua together, but is the colors in the 'confetti' print background - as well as the green and brown I used in... .

 

pine trees.  I like this tree pattern and can see using it else where.

I tried to get a close up of the quilting but the background fabric just caboo'ed the camera.

An overcast day and a photo on the porch - not the truest of it's color, but at least it's not blurry or shiney.  Finished size - 20" square

This month's Vintage Sewing Machine Pin is paired with the Square in a Square charm - in pink and green

An InLinkz Link-up

Sit and Sew

Although we only had 8 ladies stop in for our guild's Sit and Sew - they all accomplished much of what they had in their plan for the day.  This is Steff's (in the lite sweat shirt) Wounded Warriors quilt that she was able to get sandwiched and basted using the many tables we had available.

Gloria and her Wounded Warrior quilt in progress.  She got all the way to the last border.

Sharon working her Wounded Warrior quilt and Ida seeing what everyone was working on.

Sharon got the sashing on her guild challenge BOM - same block but used a fabric representing each of the months for each block, so cute.

Kathy came a little late as still recouping from travels - she won a ticket to go see the Pope in NYC - of course we had to hear the details.

But she did get all her strattas done for her Wounded Warriors quilt - and then the bobbin ran out.

I didn't make my challenge as I found I had enough layer cakes for two quilts - all of the blocks got done though. It was good to just chain away with the sound of machines and quilters. These will be my guild charity quilts for the year - not due until April 2016.

Emily playing with a huge pile of 5" squares to make blocks for charity quilts.
Ida is way down in the corner (my other picture came out blurry) and she made her two charity pillowcases.

And Ginny took the time to do some hand quilting.

Thank you ladies for a marvelous day,
Sewingly Yours,
Sharon

Finding Time

With all my travels, programs, meetings, and prep for the big month - I have been able to find a little time to stitch here and there.  A few Goosey blocks to add to the box.

The pinwheel blocks and................

tree blocks for my Let's Book It project.  I spent all day today trying to find these!!  They had gotten 'folded' into some yardage that got put on the shelf during a clean up.  Geesh!!  I need to get crackin' on this project as the month is really flying by.

I found my blocks for the 'Kevin' scrappy mystery all crumbled on the shelf, too.  They were done, but a mess.  So I pressed those and put everything into a zip bag.  Now if I can find the other parts I had for this - yes, it has gotten that out of control and so not me and the way I work.

And I have been trying to find time to squeeze in my projects for the Halloween Hop coming up next month.  I would make more progress if I could get an orange kitty off the orange fabric!

I am in a real need to find time to have a finish.  Things are in bits, and pieces, and parts, and places.  Our quilt guild is having a Sit-N-Sew on Saturday and I am challanging myself (and any taker uppers) to finish a quilt - from cut to binding.  I need to put the pedal to the metal for a day.

Sewingly Yours,
Sharon

Hosting an Event

First, I have to thank fellow guild member, Steff, for providing all the photos.  Our local quilt guild - Schoharie Valley Piecemakers - was the host of the Fall Catskill Mountain Quilter's Hall of Fame.  The center two ladies are out-going President and Treasurer and the others are the new slate of officers (yes, that's me on the end trying to keep up with minute taking).  The main part of the business meeting was the vote on the slate of new officers.

Our guest speaker was Betsy Macomber (new inductee into the Hall of Fame) who is also a member of our guild.  She gave a wonderful presentation on how to prepare your quilts for a long armer.  Gave us an exercise to mimic how to create patterns home machine v.s. long arm.  And shared a lot of her templates and rulers to demonstrate what it takes to free hand guide those patterns - not easy and surely is a quilting art form that a lot of quilters do not realize.

  

This was one of her quilts she brought as an example of using these techniques along with so many other things. Examples of 'bed quilt' quilting and 'art quilt' quilting.   I think it was a real eye opener to those in attendance.  Yes, that's Ron - one of the three ( correction - FOUR) men whom are part of our guild - and they are going to be feature quilters at a local show in Oct.  And, Kathy is the other holder - she is our guild President.

Then we had a luncheon that many of our members provided the crock pot soups and lots of desserts!  If any one went hungry - they didn't go back enough.  And I was glad to see that members of the different guilds (8 of the 11 guilds in the district were present) felt comfortable to mingle, dine together, and just share that good old 'quilty' talk.

 The quilt in the corner - made by various Hall of Fame inductees to be the raffle quilt at the Catskill Mountain Hall of Fame quilt show - Fall of 2016.  All of those flower centers are the most precise little yo-yos I've ever seen and it is hand quilted.

I was so pleased with the turn out of our own members (a first experience for many of them), their dedication to put this together and to make it such a success.

Now I need to decipher my notes and get those minutes out!

Sewingly Yours,

Sharon

What a WeekEnd

This is were I spent my weekend for the Schoharie Colonial Heritage Antique Show with special exhibit of Quilts/quilters and Hooked Rugs/rug hookers.

Just going to walk you around the room before the crowd - and we did have a lovely crowd both days.  This is the rug hookers work/demo area.

And YES, that tall standing Santa was rug hooked!  Amazing!!

I loved these little round table toppers - reminded me of my gr.gram.

This is our 'quilters' work station.  ANd I have no pics of us we were busy.  Stef and I demonstration hand and machine quilt work and Sharon demonstrated and had lots of info on the Quilt Barn Trail.

Yes, I took my little travel machine and freaked people out with my little bits of frabric - working a scrappy Irish Chain.

A photo op area, but I think only one couple used this.  It also helped block off the area where Sharon had a lovely slide presentation of the various blocks on the Quilt Barn Trail.  They will have 100 blocks up by the end of this year.  The lovely Suzi Parron came to speak at one of their functions a couple of years ago (just starting) and she is coming back next year as part of her second book release - and YES, Schoharie County is going to be part of it.

The two large quilts showcased against these large walls are Centenial Quilts made by local residents.  The Red/White quilt we were very lucky to have for the weekend as it has been traveling to various shows and museums.  A Friendship Quilt that is embroidered/signed in the white squares by all the families in the town of Schoharie - date 1898.  In fabulous condition!!

The County Quilt was a communities project with a quilter from each town making a block and others completing embroiders, borders, lettering, seals.

The large wall hooked rug was made for the Brandt Raid on the Valley - info on that HERE.

This was such a cute vignette of family mini pieces - Barbara, see all the kitties?  Love, love the fat cat!!

It was a lovely weekend.  A nice stream of people that kept us happily busy, but not overwhelmed.  They talked, took part in demos, and simply soaked it all in which was just thrilling for us.  We were so tickled when the committee told us they had such a wonderul feedback on this exhibit that they would like to invite us back next year.

Now I have had my breakfast, coffee - need to get prepared to head off this morning for another event.  I hope to catch up on all the blog reads later today.

Sewingly Yours,

Sharon