Sandra made this lovely quilt in red, white and black, and she didn’t want any quilting over the embroidery in the four bird blocks. We decided on semi-custom, and I used the pantograph “Champagne Bubbles” for most of the quilt and then filled the background of the bird blocks with a smaller circular filler design.
It’s November, and the vegetable garden is barely done. The weather is truly unbelievable this year, unfortunately not in a good way. I pulled everything before the big rain, and now arctic air is in the forecast, so that was the right decision, not much time left to clean up everything. But I still found two cucumbers growing on the vines, and I have lots of green tomatoes ripening inside. And I have so many carrots that I don’t know what to do with them… I have peeled and chopped and blanched and frozen so many over the weekend that my fingers seem to be permanently stained orange. If you are local and want some carrots, let me know, I have plenty.
This month’s block is the most complicated of the whole set. Feel free to simplify as much as you can. I debated taking out the bees but I think they are cute, and if you don’t want to fiddle with the small pieces, be creative. Find some bee buttons. Or fussy cut some bee fabric and appliqué. Or maybe embroider them. You have options 🙂 I really like my little beekeeper bunny and had fun putting it together. The pattern will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store in December when the last block is released.
EDIT: The month of free download is over, and the block has moved to the pattern store where it is now available for purchase. If you just need the finishing instructions, they are still available for free download.
Für die deutsche(n) Version(en) mit metrischen Maßen bitte dem/den Kauflink(s) unten für die englische(n) Version(en) folgen und beim Checkout angeben, dass die deutsche Version gewünscht ist. Ich verschicke dann per email die Anleitung(en) in der gewünschten Sprache.
Wer nur die Anleitung zur Fertigstellung sucht, kann diese nun auch auf Deutsch kostenlos herunterladen.
Debbie didn’t make just one cat quilt but brought me three for quilting, all are going to be gifted to the cat lovers in her life. For two of them we chose the paw print panto “Puppy Paws”. The third one had musical cats, so to mix it up a bit we went with music notes for quilting.
Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville has lots of ideas on how to use up scraps and is particularly fond of the “leaders and enders” method. Back in 2013 she came up with a leaders and enders challenge featuring the spool block. Lisa put together this scrappy top with tiny spools, and I quilted it with a simple pattern called “Celtic Scroll”. The quilt is so busy that it didn’t need any elaborate quilting. Didn’t it turn out just wonderful?
What a great show! It was a lot of work, especially for me with all the different hats I was wearing as guild president, merchant, doing the registration and having quilts in the show but it was also a lot of fun and quite successful. I think we had the most visitors to one of our shows ever, we ran out of ballots for the viewer’s choice, and the number we printed was based on previous years. We had quite a stack left over from the last show four years ago. The merchant’s mall was quite busy too, a constant stream of visitors coming through. I didn’t have much time to look at the quilts in the show but I came early on Saturday morning to take a few pictures. Click on the images for a bigger view.
If you have been wondering what happened to me, it’s all good. I just haven’t had time to post here because our quilt show has been keeping me very busy. I not only did the registration for the guild and printed all the lists and cards but also foolishly registered a quilt that wasn’t even halfway done yet in early September. But I finished everything right on time, and the show will open tonight and run through tomorrow. If you are in the area, please stop by and say hello.
This lovely quilt was pieced by Liz. It is one of those that I can stare at for hours, and my brain will come up with all kinds of secondary patterns. I just love this kind of quilt, made up of fairly simple blocks but clever placement and fabric choices give the eye so much to discover. Liz chose a simple swirly pattern called “Constance” to finish her quilt.
And suddenly it’s October, and the last quarter of the year begins. We still have summer weather with pretty hot temperatures (by our standards) forecast for the whole week. On some level we certainly deserve this because June was so cold and wet but on the other hand it is not exactly normal and we really need some rain. But it is good for my butternut squash that has struggled in previous years and is doing exceptionally well now. I have seven more on the vine that need another two or three weeks without frost to be ready. And I gambled and planted a third crop of bush beans, and the first ones are ready to be picked now. After all my complaining in the beginning I have to admit that the garden season turned out quite well in the end.
Our bunny friend is also busy in the garden this month but not tending to flowers or veggies. The garden fence needed some maintenance, so he grabbed a brush and a can of paint and is doing his best to cover it with an even coat of paint without making too much of a mess. The last blocks are a little more detailed/complicated, so feel free to simplify or embroider small details. Once again the pattern will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the November block is realeased.
EDIT: The month of free download is over, and the block has moved to the pattern store where it is now available for purchase. If you just need the finishing instructions, they are still available for free download.
Für die deutsche(n) Version(en) mit metrischen Maßen bitte dem/den Kauflink(s) unten für die englische(n) Version(en) folgen und beim Checkout angeben, dass die deutsche Version gewünscht ist. Ich verschicke dann per email die Anleitung(en) in der gewünschten Sprache.
Wer nur die Anleitung zur Fertigstellung sucht, kann diese nun auch auf Deutsch kostenlos herunterladen.
Here is another quilt suitable for Jelly Rolls, this one was made by Denise. Aren’t the colours just lovely? And if you take a step back and/or squint, the layout seems to become almost three-dimensional, with half of the blocks floating above the others in a gentle wave. Or maybe that’s just the way my weird brain works but I absolutely love it. The batiks Denise used have floral and leaf patterns, and since green is the dominant colour in her quilt, we chose the leafy design “Jasper” to finish her project.
Here is another quilt made by Lillian. Aren’t the colours just striking? I love how the black strips pull it all together. The quilt didn’t need elaborate quilting, and Lillian chose the modern design “Taj Mahal” to finish her project.
