...and the stocking were hung by the chimney with care....

I'm my own worst enemy....my cup runneth over with unfinished projects, yet I took on another. The Hub's daughter asked if I made Christmas stockings?  I never have, with 3 of my own children and 4 grandchildren, I'd never made anyone a stocking.  I'd bought the premade needlepoint stockings with their names embroidered on them. Had I taken on the stocking project, my youngest child at 23 still wouldn't have a stocking to date.

This was a little different, Kate wanted a quilted stocking - something "cutesy and girly" for her new baby girl. Hmm, ok - sure, I'm up for the challenge.  At All People Quilt I found a Joy-Stocking pattern I liked.  Didn't care for the "Joy" applique, so I left it off.  Added heel and toe caps and elfish looking trim around the top.  This is what I came up with.....

 

 

 

Yep, cutesy & girly!!

 

An Apple a Day......

When my friend Jennifer decided to make an applecore quilt for her Mother, I got really excited for her.  I’ve never made one – didn’t know anyone who had made one, so anything new to me is exciting.  Ha!  That is, until she told me the horrors of putting one together.  I couldn’t imagine such a thing…..it’s so beautiful, how could it be so bad?  Jen invited Dora and myself over for a sewing day.  She asked if we would help assemble the cores into rows with her.  I couldn’t pack up my machine fast enough, I love a good challenge!  I arrived, got set up and was ready to let’er rip! 

Before I dump on it too bad, I should mention I was on the downhill side of the worst flu I’ve ever had in my life.  Truly, I had no business being there, but I had already missed one sewing day with Jen and Dora and refused to miss another.   Ok, Jen was on to something….these were a nightmare.  There was some rippin’ going on, but it was a seam ripper and not the humming of my machine.  As a last resort I started pinning mine, as I couldn’t keep my cores together and sew all at the same time. I'm sure it was my illness! ;o).  By the time I mastered “the core” the whole day had flown by and I accomplished 2 rows of 24 cores.  Jen and Dora pieced about the same.   At this speed, I hope it’s a Mother Day gift and not a Christmas gift!

A few rows complete......

After a group effort

Back to school....

I took a fabulous road trip with Jennifer and her sister Holly to southern Illinois.  We were lucky enough to be traveling during the peak of leaves changing color.  One would have thought I would return with gorgeous pictures, but I did not.  I did take a few pics of the B&B we stayed at.  The Davies School Inn which is an old school house converted to a B&B.  Comfortable beds and plenty of room to spread out!  I highly recommend. 

Spooky spider web!

A must have for my yard next year.  So beautiful.

Did you know Hancock's of Paducah closes by 3pm on a Saturday afternoon?  I'm the last to know such an important detail......

Since we were in the neighborhood (about an hour north), we decided to buzz south to Paducah so we could ooh and ahh over the massive fabric collection at Hancock's.  Imagine the disappointment when we pull into the parking lot at 4:00 PM....  The entire car went silent.  Clearly, we were fabric junkies looking for our next fix and fell apart when we didn't think we'd get it.  Thankfully, Quilter's Alley located in downtown Paducah was still open.  What seemed utter disappointment, quickly turned into one of the best quilt shop stops I've ever had.  The shop owner and assistant were awesome.  Not only did they show us around the shop, but demonstrated new products, showed us a few sewing technics and kept the shop open way past closing.  Genuinely nice ladies! 



Finally! Some color...

...but, not much.  By the time Fall arrived, I was sure every plant in the yard would be dead.  Most were, except these beautiful autumn blossoming perennials. Granted, these are a bit scraggly looking but it’s the best my yard produced this season.  So, I’ll take it! 

By far, Autumn is my very favorite time of the year.  Since summer seemed to drag on for so long, and temps weren't cooling down fast enough for me - I decided to start a little Fall table topper or wall hanging (still undecided).  It's a freebie from Kaaren over at The Painted Quilt.  She's so creative and shares her own creations every few months.  Instead of applique, I did a simple embroidery stitch.

Scrappy September

The Carol Doak September BOM is complete.  Would I sound wish-washy if I said I'm starting to like the scrappy look of this BOM? 

When I realized I didn’t possess enough yardage for a two color quilt, I really looked forward to doing Carol’s “two color BOM” scrappy.  I quickly lost my steam when the first few blocks of scrappy turned out just “so-so”.  Not sure what happened, but I really like this last finished block.  Could I be in total denial about their weirdness?  Maybe so, but after completing the September block, I’m really starting to get excited about the finished product. 

September 2012

It's a Boy!

This baby quilt is for the Hub's son and daughter-in-law. 

I may be out on a limb here, but I decided not to do a traditional baby boy type quilt.  Let me give you some background.....the Hub's son is a big time hunter - deer, turkey, etc.  They've decorated the nursery in brown and green, complete with a hug tree painted on the wall with the letters of the baby's name hanging on the branches.  Very cute!  So, instead of using "baby" type fabric, pastels, baby blues or greens, I decided to do a mini version of a "hunter's" type quilt.  See for yourself......

The baby shower is this weekend, I'll let you know how it goes.....

It's a Girl!

I might be behind on my 'block of the month' quilty stuff, but I've been crankin' out the baby quilts!  Both of the Hub's kids are expecting babies in the month of October.  His daughter and her husband are expecting a daughter on October 19th, and his son and his wife are expecting a baby boy on October 17th.  Crazy! 

Finished top with backing and binding.

The baby's room is decorated in black and white with a splash of pink. 

 
 Is it possible to overdose on birthday cake? Myself, my brother, 2 of my children, and 1 of my granddaughter's are all born in October.   Lots of little goblins....