October Schnibble

Here is my finished quilt for A Year of Schnibbles! When I first saw the pattern for October I just knew I had to make it red, white, and blue. I love this color combination and I am often drawn to quilts made in almost any variation of those colors.



I did a very simple straight line diamond pattern for the quilting. I wanted to enhance that diamond shape that the red stars all make together.

I was delighted to find that I already had a label printed that matched my quilt.

This quilt was a true stash buster. It is made 100% from scraps in my stash and the backing was a piece of fabric I had left over from this quilt. I wondered as I was making it if that cream with colored stars background fabric I used would end up being too busy with all the other prints but I think it turned out great in the end.

I had to get a funny picture of the quilt with the fall leaves since the quilt is more suited for the 4th of July. (notice that leaf that fell just in time for the picture!) Looks like I am way ahead of schedule for next summer!

Debbie Macomber

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to read. It is rare for me not to be in the middle of a book and I go through them rather quickly. Now, that doesn't mean that I am a fast reader, just that I spend a good amount of time reading. One of my favorite authors is Debbie Macomber. The first book I read of hers was The Shop On Blossom Street about a woman who opens a yarn shop. I was drawn to it because of the knitting aspect but continued to read the series because of the characters and the relationships that Debbie creates in her books. When I finished that series I went online to see if she wrote anything else. I found out that she has been writing for a long time and has written SO many books. I love her series books the best. The Cedar Cover series is based on her home town of Port Orchard, Washington which isn't far from where I live. I also like the Promise, Texas series and Dakota series. She also writes Christmas books too, which are fun to read during the holiday season. My wonderful mom reads her too and buys her books and sends them to me after she reads them. I have bought a few too but usually I don't even know there is another one until I get one in the mail.


So when I found out that Debbie was going to be at a local yarn shop to visit and sign books I was so excited. I didn't think I was going to get to go because she was visiting right when my kids get out of school and then we have soccer practice. But my husband, aka my knight in shining armor, worked from home so I was able to go see her!!

She was so nice and so funny and such a joy to meet. You guys would have been so proud of me, I didn't act like an idiot or forget how to speak or anything. I think it helped that I sat and listened to her speak for a bit so I got used to being in the same room with her.

She signed my copy of Summer on Blossom Street, the latest book in the Blossom Street series. I forgot to mention that she is a knitter too and has pattern books that go with that series. I have the yarn all picked out to make Alix's prayer shawl.

Debbie is so generous. She brought a gift for everyone of her latest newsletter, a bookmark, and recipe cards with some delicious looking recipes. I can't wait to try them!

Lists

Do you, as I do, feel that making lists helps you clear your head and make your seemingly unachievable amount of tasks seem manageable? I have been in a frenzy of list making lately as not to feel overwhelmed. Before I put pen to paper I can get a little stressed out but once I write down what I need to accomplish I will often look at my so called unachievable list and I will think, is that all? Funny how that is...


So Christmas is (a very short) two months away and since I have decided this will be a "hand made Christmas" as much as possible, I have much to do. I am currently matching up project ideas with recipients. Lists again. Do you ever worry that all the love and time you put into a hand made gift won't be appreciated? I do. Maybe I should buy some of these gift tags to go with the gifts.


So...I am loving the mystery sock I am working on. This weeks clue was the foot of the sock. It is turning out very beautiful and I am very happy with the yarn I chose. Maybe these will be a Christmas gift...we'll see.



Here is a sneak peek my October Schnibble. I have a few borders to add before I layer, quilt, and bind it.

I am dragging my feet a little getting it done. The knitting has taken over!

schnibbles win & a mystery sock

Are you enjoying the Quilt Festival? I am! It is going to take me a while to get through the whole list but it has been worth it so far. Some of the stories about the quilts are so touching. I updated my quilt festival post to include a link to my sister's quilt festival post. She picked a quilt we made together and talked about our sister quilts. She even has pictures of us together. You should check out how short my hair used to be!!


I am having so much fun participating in A Year of Schnibbles. The patterns are fun and I am loving having (and will continue to have) a cute finished quilt every month. I was so surprised to have won one of the giveaways the first month! And from the quilter who designs the Schnibbles patterns no less! The very talented Carrie sent me this incredible gift.



Thank you, Carrie!! And for this month's Schnibble we are making Cindy Lou Who. When I saw this it just sang, make me in one of your favorite color combos, patriotic!! So red, white, and blue it will be.

I am very excited to be participating in Through the Loops mystery sock pattern for Soctoberfest. Every Thursday she puts up a new clue. I am not likely to have the leg of the socks by tomorrow so I am a touch behind but I am sure I can catch up.

I am using some precious Koigu sockyarn for these socks. After discovering how pretty the cuffs were, I can't wait to see what the leg will look like.

Quilt Festival

Amy of Park City Girl is hosting another Blogger Quilt Festival! Genius idea, don't you think?



I chose this seasonal quilt for my entry into the festival. My sister, Tina, and I picked this pattern out of an American Patchwork and Quilting magazine to make together. It measures 26"x51" and I think we made them back in 2003. It is one of our sister quilts. She lives in San Diego and I live in Seattle so we got together to work on them. So she has one just like it at her house with her fabric choices.

See that little bit of fabric peeking out of the scarecrow's pocket? That's the fabric Tina used for her scarecrow's overalls and she has a piece of my scarecrow's overall fabric in her scarecrow's pocket.

I think this was the first time I made a bias strip that I used for the vine. And Tina taught me the applique technique where you use freezer paper as a template, starch on the seam allowance, and an iron to turn the edges under. And I think it was my first time using hand applique. Up until then I used fusible web and machine stitching for all my applique. I hand appliqued the pumpkins, the vine, the leaves, and the crow. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I remember Tina helped me with the crow's beak. Man that was a pain! Don't I have a nice sister?

Thanks for stopping by!

edited to add...

My sister just posted her festival quilt over on her blog. If you would like to read more about our sister quilts then click on over for a visit!

Labels

I have had a few questions recently about my labels so I thought I would share more about them. I am really bad about putting full blown labels on my quilts so this was my solution, a quick and easy label I can stitch into the seam.


I use fabric sheets that are made to run through your inkjet printer and are color fast. They are easy to use. After you have run them through the printer you just peel the paper off the back, run the fabric under cold water, and then set the color with an iron. I buy mine at JoAnn Fabrics with a coupon because they aren't cheap.

I designed the labels on my computer making sure to leave space for folding them in half and a seam allowance. They measure just under 2" square. I wanted the flowers different colors so that I had different choices when I pick one out for a quilt.

From here I just cut them out and there's no need to turn edges under. I just fold them in half and stitch them into the seam as I am machine sewing my binding onto the quilt. Once they are in the quilt they wash up nicely and don't fray.

They are pretty tough to stitch through when I am hand stitching the binding down but I just get out my thimble for that part.

I hope this is enough info for you to make some of your own labels. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. If I don't write you back it is because your e-mail is set to "no-reply comment" so when you leave me a comment I don't have any way of contacting you. I found some directions here to make sure bloggers can e-mail you back when you leave a comment. You might want to check even if you think you are all set.