Farewell Summer... Hello Fall

Today was officially the last day of summer but I think it left us well over a couple of weeks ago. September 1st brought rain, clouds, cool weather...



and today we officially started to burn the wood stoves again.
Hubby cleaned both of the chimneys last weekend making sure they weren't clogged with any soot from last winter and he and the kids spent the morning filling all of the wood boxes to the top.

For now we won't really do a lot of burning but just enough in the mornings to take the chill off or to warm up the house after a couple days of repeated rain which really brings the temperature indoors down. I'm looking forward to snuggling on the couch under my blankie though and watching the fireplace crackle *grin*.

While they all did the manual labor outside I took to my sewing machine and got a couple more blocks for my quilt as you go quilt finished :) I actually managed to tear myself away from my underwear making so that I could get back to what I had originally been doing *grin*.

I really do jump from project to project at lightning speed and could seriously use a task master cracking the whip behind me to get some of my unfinished projects done! Sometimes I think that blogging helps because I feel the need to show you all what I've been doing LOL.

I haven't quite decided if I'm going to give this quilt to my daughter for Christmas or I'm going to keep it for myself yet *grin*. I do have a whole stash of fabric that I bought for a special one for her so I'm sort of leaning towards keeping for myself. It would be so bright and cheery folded on the bottom of my bed :)

What projects are you working on right now? I'd love to stop by and see what you're all up to!

Hugs,
Rosina

QAYG ~ Color Therapy

I'm very pleased with how my Quilt As You Go blocks are coming along. I managed to get two more of them sewn together amidst the piles of scrap fabrics that are accumulating at breakneck speed on top of the kitchen table *grin*.

Sewing them together is a real breeze but this project has completely confirmed what I have long feared about myself but have never dared to admit....

I am absolutely HORRID at matching colors together *grin*.

Seriously I never go to the fabric store for a project unless I have a very clear idea of what colors or patterns I want to buy because being confronted by a sea of colors boggles my brain entirely! It must be quite funny for my mom or whomever might be with me on a day that I have no idea of what I want because I wander down the isles with my eyes darting over the rows of fabric like a panicked rabbit being chased by wild dogs LOL.

So maybe this project might prove to be a good therapy tool as it's forcing me to sift through total color overload as I rummage through my scraps. Either I'm going to get the hang of it or I'm going to need a serious cheater card as to what fabrics I should be putting together.

Take that strip of green linen on the top of the bottom block in the photo above. I thought it was a good idea before I stitched it to the rest of the block but now I'm thinking it wasn't such a good idea *grin*. Oh well, to late now!

Three blocks down and quite a few more to go....
For better or for worse *wink*.

~ Rosina

QAYG ~ Block 1

Okay so I was hoping to have two blocks for the quilt along finished to share with you tonight but I actually only got one done :) Oh well, one is definitely better than none! Right?

I think I just might have thought a little to hard about how I was going to put them together *grin*. So much for mindlessly slapping strips of fabric together! It actually took more time than I thought it would but it could be that it was my first one though and I wasn't quite sure what strip sizes I should use. I ended up using a range of widths from 1.5 inch to 3 inches.

I'm not sure if the 1.5 inch strips are to narrow though. What do you think? Should I use those teeny tiny ones like the green polka dot one and the orange apple print above it or should I go with the larger sizes?

To finish off this block and bring it up to the 14.5 inch size that it should be I'm going to surround it with white strips on each side. I think that it will give it a nice clean look in the end and not so crazy busy to the eye *grin*. I'll update you again on it when I get a few more finished :)

~ Rosina

Quilt As You Go ~ Quilt-Along Round 2

I'm super excited because I got asked to participate in round 2 of the Quilt As You Go quilt-along that is being hosted by the fabulous Heather of A La Mode Fabric!

There are sooo many ultra talented quilters participating and I can't wait to see how their blocks shape up. We get to do free motion quilting on the squares, one block at a time in any design we like so I'm looking forward to trying out the free motion foot that I actually bought for my machine a couple of months ago but have been to scared to use *grin*.

When I was in the city yesterday I stopped by the fabric store and picked up 2.5 yards of a gorgeous 50% organic cotton and 50% bamboo quilt batting that should be enough to complete a queen sized quilt. It is so incredibly soft it's unbelievable. It's nearly a shame to have to quilt it inside the layers later LOL.

I definitely have no shortage of scraps either. My scrap bags runneth over *grin*. We're making Wonky Log Cabin blocks and I have tons of shorter pieces for most of the block but I'm hoping that I can find enough larger scraps for the outer edges of the blocks as I think we're supposed to end up with a 14.5 inch block. I just might have to cut into some of my good stash!

I'm hoping that tomorrow I will be able to get a couple of blocks sewn together after we finish up our schooling and chores in the morning. If I get them done I'll share with you how they turn out :) I can't wait!

~ Rosina