Happy fall!

 

I grew and dried the hydrangeas myself!  :-)  

Fall foliage

It's been a very unusual year.  Nothing has seemed "normal" as we rattle around our houses, cleaning closets, finishing UFOs, trying new recipes, Zooming (ugh!).  Yet the seasons continue to change as they always do.  What a relief!

Every day the leaves in our neighborhood get a little brighter.  This tree of many colors was spotted on our usual walk yesterday, and it will surely be different today.  As we soak up the daily news, I feel increasingly lucky to live here where our politicians, regardless of party affiliation, are reasonable, kind, and thoughtful.  This steady leadership and the season's predictability help us cope with the chaos beyond our borders and the uncertain future.  

Table runners

 I am packing up a medium flat rate box to send to Mom tomorrow.  There are six mug rugs, three sets of four coasters, six reusable gift bags, a pair of Halloween socks (for fun), a Christmas face mask, and two table runners.  Phew!   I have to say, the latter turned out pretty well.  Most red and green Christmas fabric looks great together.  Log cabin is my favorite quilt block, and I return to it again and again.  Making the blocks with 1.5" strips, I ended up with 8.5" blocks finished.  The star runner's blocks are 12", starting with a 6" saw-toothed star block.

Mom can keep anything she wants or give stuff away to friends, neighbors, caregivers, etc. over the next few months.  It may seem early, but I wanted to get these done so I have time to make a few gifts, too.  In fact, I just made another table runner to keep and three sets of coasters for friends (maybe with a bottle of wine and a few other goodies).  And what can I make Chris' friends Ted and Marad who will no doubt overwhelm us once again with gifts?   Pillow cases?  Grocery bags?  We'll see!

I took a trip to Joann Fabrics yesterday for a grape vine wreath (on sale, of course) and some other things to make a wreath with dried hydrangeas from our little bush out back.  I have never dried hydrangeas before, but found via Google that it can be done fairly easily just by setting them out in vases with a little water.   Wait a week or so, and voila.  I usually hang a quilt on the front door but thought I'd try something a little different this fall.  And I can always change the ribbon to a Christmassy one if I don't put it together soon.

On my trip to Joann's I ran into Betty who showed me some nifty toggles for adjusting face masks.  She offered me a couple for the mask I made Mom, so I'll return to the shop today to pick them up.  Mom has been my mask guinea pig during the last few months.  If she likes the toggles, I'll order some online as it doesn't appear we're going to stop wearing masks for a long while.

Today, after grocery shopping, I'm hoping to finish sewing the neck down on my brown sweater and weaving in many loose yarn tails.  Then I'll be ready to tackle the dreaded knitted front ribbing.  This is definitely a complicated pattern.  I think I'll go back to scarves and hats for a while before taking on another year-long knitting project.

Finally - photos

I finished this Rainbow Scrappy Star throw a few weeks ago but wanted to wash out all the blue quilting lines before showing it.  I made three or four blocks every month for the rainbow scrap challenge, and it is a good-sized throw that I quilted using my Elna Excellence 720 and a walking foot. The white background gives it a clean, contemporary look, and all of the colored fabrics were scraps, many of them from my 2" square box.  I did use some small prints for some of the backgrounds, just for a little variety.

I am a little disappointed that the colors in the 16 patches ran through the back in some places, but at least they didn't get on the front of this quilt. 

 The three color catchers came out perfectly clean.  I think that with more washing that dye will come out, but I don't want to wash this quilt too much before it is actually used.  I'll save it to give to someone who needs a quilt.  I love how soft it feels after washing, and I love the striped binding.

This month's RSC20 color is red, and I made a couple of red star blocks for the next rainbow scrappy quilt, too.  I'm using gray scrappy backgrounds for this new RSC quilt.  Those scraps sure tend to multiply!

Working ahead

I volunteered to coordinate the guild's Block of the Month program this year.  We aren't meeting until it's safe - maybe we'll get together this spring, and maybe not til next fall.  The church we meet in is closed right now, and very few guild members feel good about meeting in person anyway.  The BOM is a nice project to do at home, and I've added a twist.  Everyone who wants to can contribute to and enter a lottery, and then mail one block each to the winner each month.  All the blocks will be 6" finished, so they'll be easy to mail.   I'll draw a winner at the end of each month using a random number generator.

September's block is an easy nine patch, and quite a few people have already made their blocks and entered.  People can, of course, make as many blocks for themselves as they wish.  At the end of the guild year, they should end up with a sweet little sampler, a memento of the year without meetings.  I started keeping a box of scrappy blocks a month or so ago, and I think there are now about ten nine patches, a bunch of string blocks, and some crumb blocks.  These will all go into a quilt(s) sometime.

I decided to make each month's block seasonal and a little more difficult, so October's block will be a maple leaf.   Fall is already in the air here in Vermont, and, by the time October rolls around, leaf season will be at its peak.  I wonder how many tourists will venture into the state?    

Fall colors aren't my favorite, but maple leaf is one of my favorite blocks and I particularly like this arrangement.   Instructions for a 6" block are all over the internet, so it will be easy to send links to the guild members at the beginning of the month.

A few years ago, my smaller guild made a table runner / wallhanging for the Vermont Quilt Festival with blocks arranged like this.  After the show, we gave our finished piece to our president, who still holds that office and keeps us together.   That group isn't meeting again this year either.  I really miss Saturday afternoons, sitting and hand sewing with those thoughtful, interesting women.  Glad we have email!

In holiday mode

 

Having delivered fall items to sell at the local florist/gift shop, I turned my attention this week to holiday/winter gifts for Mom.  She says she's not seeing many people now with COVID, but she seems to see more than I do!  I like to give her a bunch of small things that she can give people who do nice things for her, like take her out to lunch, give her rides, etc.  She also has a caregiver a few days a week and a cleaning person.   And then there are the helpful neighbors.

I bought a Moda "Chill" layer cake and mini charm pack on sale recently.  I don't know why I've been making so many blue things lately, but the glitz in this particular line of fabric wasn't as bad as some winter fabrics I've seen.  My nickname for Mom is "Mrs. Glitz" -- she often gives me sparkly t-shirts and other things.  

I started with a reversible table runner.  One side is made of log cabin blocks in blues and grays, and the other side is made with stars.   I ordered a little extra yardage for  borders and the binding via an etsy shop.  It's waiting to be quilted now.  So far, I like the result so much that I'm going to keep this table runner.  Sorry, Mom.  

Next, I finished 8 mugs rugs using tumblers and made 8 reusable gift bags.  The bags will be handy for cookies and other goodies.  Then, I made some of those criss-cross coasters my friend Suzy showed at a guild meeting ages ago.  I used some leftover layer cake fabric as well as some other holiday fabrics in my stash for those.  They are incredibly easy, and I'll make a few more for neighbors with whom we play croquet and socialize with afterwards.  I made a little tag for each set of four coasters explaining how to use them for wine glasses.  That's not wine in that glass - it's herbal iced tea!

Yesterday, I ran down to A Quilter's Garden, my local quilt shop, to buy a little more Christmas-themed fabric for a few more table runners, per Mom's request.  I'll probably make them out of log cabin blocks with my many holiday scraps.

That will be about "it" for holiday sewing, unless I get requests from family or friends, and I'm glad to have it out of the way.  Hmmm... wonder if I should make Mom a holiday-themed face mask?  Uh oh!

Keeping up with the BOMs

 After whipping up eight mug rugs out of Holiday-themed tumblers, I turned my attention to blocks of the month (BOMs).   First up were my "Sisters" quilt along blocks. I had September's Ribbon Star to do, in both the 12" and 6" sizes.

And then there were the January and February blocks I hadn't done - Dutchman's Puzzle and Star of Hope (one of my favorites).

Next I started a bunch of new Rainbow Scrappy Challenge blocks.  This month's color is red, and I decided to make "Pop Star" blocks designed by Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Co.  I'll use the color of the month to make as many as I'm inclined to make, all using scrappy gray backgrounds.  The blocks finish at 8.5".   I like the way the points float a bit, and of course that makes them easy to set together without sashing.

Somehow that rogue block joined the reds because it is a sample for my online swap group.   We haven't decided what we'll swap next year, but I thought I'd give it a try, and it's easy.

Wishing you all a happy holiday weekend.  Now that I'm retired and because we're staying home more these days, a holiday doesn't affect me too much.  I just wonder if Joann Fabrics will be open?  Guess I'll find out tomorrow when I set out for some sewing machine needles!

Whipping up little things

In an effort to keep members of our local quilt guild engaged during a time when we aren't meeting, I volunteered to coordinate the annual block swap and also the block of the month programs.  The person who usually does this is moving to New Hampshire by the end of the year.  I will miss her!

The block we'll be swapping this year is Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trips Around the World.  We usually have 6-8 people participating, but this year 21 people have signed up so far.  Guess everyone is looking for a good project.  We'll each make one block for each other person and hope to swap them in person next May.  The blocks are easy to make - here are my first four blocks.

The guild Block of the Month is going to be a little different this year.  Before, we got instructions for a 12" block and just made our own blocks to use as we wished.  Some people made whole quilts out of a block they particularly liked, and some (like me) made samplers.  This time, I am giving instructions for 6" blocks all year with an optional lottery.  If people want, they can submit one block for the lottery, and the winner will be mailed all the blocks.  This month's block is an easy nine patch with cream and any color.  I made up five blocks in an afternoon with leftover 2.5" squares I had already cut.

One will go to the lottery and the rest will join a batch of nine patches I have stashed away for who knows what.  I'm already planning October's block - a maple leaf for fall - and hope to make them more challenging as the year goes on.

Yesterday was spent sewing Christmas mug rugs.  I have a bunch of tumblers in holiday fabrics that I cut a few months ago when I made some Christmas stockings and a table runner.  Now I thought I'd make some mug rugs for Mom and me to give as little gifts.  They're quite scrappy but I have some nice yardage for the backs.  I made eight so far and will quilt them later today and tomorrow.