Halloween wall hanging

I haven't been a big Halloween fan since the kids left home and we don't have trick-or- treaters, so I don't decorate for it. But as I was scrolling through my emails and checking out some quick fall projects, I ran across a cute wall hanging project by Leslie at the Seasoned Homemaker.  I want to be sure to give her due credit and the link to her project is here:

http://www.seasonedhomemaker.com/spooky-spider-mini-quilt/

I like Leslie's black and white version, but pictured more of a Halloween-oriented color scheme. I pulled some fabric from my stash, a beautiful autumn orange (with leaves even!), black flannel scraps for the spider and black with white music notes flannel scraps for the binding and backing.  I thought the music notes would make a skeleton-type frame and it worked beautifully!  I also found a yellow tinted button to use for the face and I like the touch of character it added.

Here's an outdoor pic:

and hanging on our wall with a closeup of the cute face

I also practiced my FMQ, using a great metallic silver thread for the webbing and an orange zig zag stitch for the spider's decoration.  It really was a quick project that I completed in an afternoon.

Here's my takeaway lesson:  When feeling frustrated with a project, walk away, take a break, do something fun.  I had been working on the Farm Girl Vintage blocks and had gotten really frustrated with a mistake I made on the block I was working on; which made it a perfect time to stop and work on a quick, fun project.  When I came back to my problem child block a couple of days later, everything magically fell into place and I completed the work on it quickly.  

Here's a picture of the FGV blocks on my design wall:

I am making the 12" blocks and am currently on the final row, I think LOL.  My goal is to finish the blocks before I start Christmas sewing.

But....guess what I received in my email yesterday?  There's a 2016 Quilter's Planner Sew-Along!!!! Because I already have my 2016 Quilter's Planner (and not so patiently waiting for my 2017 Quilter's Planner), I have the Scrappy Picnic Plaid quilt pattern by Lee Heinrich already.  I haven't made a scrap quilt yet, so I'm going to use up some of the scraps from my FGV blocks and join in.  Check out quiltersplanner.com for the details and join the sew along to conquer those scraps!

Home again with goodies waiting!

I'm really tired from weeks of traveling; but guess what's great about returning home after all that time away?  All those saved up packages, magazines and catalogs!

See what happens when I have a lot of down time and unlimited internet access?

First off, I was so excited to receive not one, but TWO Fat Quarter Shop boxes of goodies!  One was the September Sugar and Spice #sewsampler box full of great supplies:  a Sweet Orchard Rolie Polie Down Grapevine Lane for Riley Blake Designs, a custom FQS ruler pal, a Clover Seam Ripper, a June Tailor small spool holder, a quilt pattern, a block pattern, and a Create zipper bag.  All of these are great additions to my studio!

Secondly, I was absolutely delighted to receive an Applique package from the FQS Sewing Month Celebration Giveaway #4.  Oh my gosh, I was so excited to receive the news that I had won that package!  In it was an FQS tin set, TEN (10!) spools of  80 wt Aurifill applique thread, 16 straw needles, Poke-A-Dots Sticky Fingers, and a charm pack of gorgeous Bella solids.  I can't wait to get started on some hand applique work!

I also had a couple of boxes waiting for me from C&T Publishing.  They've been having $5 Blowout sales on weekends and I just love finding great new bargain resources for quilting and sewing. I find this especially helpful as I create by myself and, in addition to having great blogs to follow, I enjoy having quality books to pull ideas and techniques from.  I also enjoy getting deals on C&T supplies, like the kraft-tex that I've been wanting to try out - perhaps with that new Boutique Bags book ;)

Now let me talk a little bit about a great quilty experience I had during our travels.  I was able to stop in at the Threads that Bind Quilt Shop in Coos Bay, OR during our trip up the west coast.  I was perusing the shop when I heard chatting in the back and I decided to see if there was a quilting group gathered. Normally that's not something I would do; but I quilt alone so much that I just wanted to take some time to connect and see what others were up to.  I was delighted to find four quilters in the back enjoying their time together, and they were so kind and welcoming to me.  I sat down with them for a while and discussed the different projects they were working on.  One of the ladies was working on an incredibly beautiful applique quilt that is now with it's third quilter carrying on the work of the two deceased predecessors.  The quilters were also collaborating on ideas for decorating with wooden spools that someone had inherited.  I was delighted to find that I was in the presence of author Chris Malone.  I wouldn't have known if one of the other ladies hadn't pointed it out!  That same quilter, Shirley, looked me up on FB later on that evening and left a comment for me wishing us safe travels. How's that for a welcoming community?

So, I have to admit that I did return home with some fabric. row by rows, fabric license plates and other quilting goodies picked up along the way during our trip.  I have plenty to do to keep me busy for a long while - after I get rested up!

Happy Fall Y'all

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