October 2023 - finishes galore

Hold on to your hats, I have 10 finishes to share with you this month. It was a great month of stitching, finishing, and finally some good quilting during our annual trip to Shipshewana for the Threads of Mine quilt retreat. Let's jump right in. 

I started the month determined to finish one of my ongoing Halloween pieces and I worked on this one just about every day until I finished it in early October. It is Block Party 31st by Hands on Design and I really enjoyed stitching this one - the bright colors just popped off the 28 ct. black cashel linen. This one will get finished in a mattress style finish (hopefully for next Halloween). 

Block Party 31st - three pieces ready to become a mattress finish

My next stitching finish was also an FFO in October. Christmas Panels is a great quick pattern by Frony Ritter Designs and I enjoyed stitching this one on perforated paper. I got lots of stitching done on flights to and from Las Vegas at the start of the month. Just two nights of stitching after our quilt retreat and these were finished. I purchased the white tags at market this year and they are featured on the front of the pattern. I glued my stitching to red felt and then glued that to the tags. I think they turned out really cute and look forward to hanging them on the tree this year. 

Christmas Panels by Frony Ritter Designs

My last stitching finish was also a stitching start at the end of the month - a friend loaned me this cute pattern from Plum Pudding Designs. The pattern is Spell Binding and it has three pieces - two pillows and this piece which will become a hat! I know this one will take a bit to FFO but I am up for the challenge. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I finished it just in time to snack on the trick-or-treater leftover candy. We only had 8 trick-or-treaters this year, likely thanks to a very cold and windy night.  

Spell Binding - future witch hat

I only planned for two stitching finishes during the month, as I had two framed pieces to pick up at a shop near our quilt retreat. My mom took these pieces up one day when she went with a frame and we selected frames by text. 

The first finish is Star Spangled Birthday by Nancy's Needles. I stitched this piece in 2021 and wasn't quite sure how to finish counted thread work, so it was a good candidate to leave with a framer. The blue in the frame isn't showing up well in this one, but it really picks up the blue from the chart. At first, I wasn't so sure about the frame being about an inch larger than the stitching but I am coming to like it I think. Most pieces of this style seem to be framed tight to the piece. 

Start Spangled Birthday by Nancy's Needles

My second framed piece is Trick or Treat by Stitching with the Housewives. I loved this witch's gingham skirt and the candy corn border on this one when it came out in 2020. I finished it then and then wasn't quite sure whether I wanted to frame it or not - I think this yellow frame is a nice complement to the yellow in the chart. My mom must have send 20 pictures of this to me with all different color frames and the yellow worked the best - it didn't overwhelm the stitching. This one was stitched on a black lugana, probably 28 count, and with the called for Classic Colorworks threads. This was my first sizeable piece using Classic Colorworks and I've added quite a bit to my stash since I did this piece. 

Trick or Treat by Stitching with the Housewives

I had planned for those to be my only FFOs for the month, but last weekend my mom and I got together and I brought along some finishing. I finished the tags you see above and also this piece. Crab Dance by Tiny Modernist will be a shop model for Persnickety Stitchers in Zionsville, IN. I looked all around the shop for a piece that would look good with this 14 ct. lilac aida. Doesn't this crab work well with it? I was inspired on the finish by Michele of Penny's Daughter Shares and stitched this piece to a piece of felt, then fringed the edges and glued it to a frame found at Hobby Lobby. I am really pleased with how this one turned out and look forward to seeing it when I go to the shop. 

Crab Dance by Tiny Modernist

On to the quilting. As I said, we had our annual fall quilt retreat in mid-October and had a nice time. My dad joined us this time and he couldn't get over the number of people, machines, and projects. He also enjoyed visiting Amish country, having dinner at an Amish farm, and going to the local museum to learn about the Amish and Mennonite people. He also took some great naps during the cold, rainy days we were there. While he was busy, my mom and I were sewing and shopping. 

My first project is one that I've taken to two or three retreats but not worked on. I decided this year was the year and it was a fun and fairly quick project. The pattern is Pumpkin Patch by Kimberbell and there were multiple designs in the chart. The pattern calls for paper piecing, which I enjoy and I used lots of fun scraps to make the pumpkins. This one will be quilted and made into a pillow (soon, I hope!). 

Pumpkin Patch by Kimberbell

The second project is also one that's been to more than one retreat. My mom gifted me this pattern a long time ago and I bought the fabric to make it well over a year ago - maybe two or three years ago. I decided to do the applique with wool felt so that it would have some texture and I had so much fun making this. I did all the applique by machine and it really went together nicely. I can't wait to quilt this one and find a spot for it during the holidays (I might be getting close to having too many holiday quilts!). 

Got Cookies? by Nana's Pretties

The last quilting finish I will share with you is a fun one. Each year, our smaller group at the retreat picks a challenge fabric and everyone gets a half yard of the fabric and then makes a project with it - we've had such variety over the years, from throw quilts to mini quilts, purses, bags and even masks during the pandemic. This year's fabric was a patterned black and white piece and I chose to pull some bright colors to go with it from my stash. I had to find the white fabric once I got started to pull the whole thing together. This is one block from the quilt called Candy Blossoms by Sew Kind of Wonderful. They make the curved ruler that you use to cut the fabrics. I've made lots of quilts over the years with the curved ruler and I really like how they turn out - this one is no exception. My original plan was to make a pillow cover, but when this block turned out 24" square, I decided that was a little big for a pillow, so I will quilt it and make it into a wall hanging or table topper. We are supposed to come with a fully-finished project, but I ran out of time to quilt mine, so it came as just a top. 

Candy Blossoms block/wall hanging made for challenge

Here's our group with our challenge projects on the table

I also worked on two other projects at the retreat, one where I pieced blocks and the other where I cut out loads of pieces - you'll see more on those quilts in the coming months as I make progress on them. Neither one has a deadline, so I will enjoy working on them a bit at a time. 

I am really so pleased with all I got done in October - it was a really productive month and I am happy to find myself back in my sewing room a bit more. I am hoping to continue this trend through the end of the year so that I can finish up some more stitching and also get a few more of my quilting UFOs to the finish line. 

Here are my stats for the month: 

Stash Reporting with Donna at quiltpaintcreate:

Fabric added this month: 8 1/2 yards (I had some fun shopping in Shipshewana)

Fabric used this month: 8 7/8 yards (phew, glad to use more than I bought!)

Fabric added year to date: 16 1/4 yards

Fabric used year to date: 24 1/2 yards

Net fabric used: 8 1/4 yards

Stitching time with Kate at Life in Pieces: 

28/31 days with at least 15 minutes of crafting time

FFO Challenge Tracking: 

Stitching projects: +3 finishes, -4 FFOs = 37 projects waiting to be fully finished

Quilting projects: +3 new quilt tops, no finished quilts = 12 quilts waiting to be finished

Thanks for stopping by - I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read and especially those who leave a comment for me. See you all again in another month. Here's hoping that the momentum continues in November!