October was really a great month. In addition to the weather finally cooling down and the leaves changing, I finished up a few longer-term stitching projects and went to another great retreat in Shipshewana, IN. The Threads of Mine retreats have been in Shipshewana for 16 years, and I've made it to 15 of them (just missed the second year, when I was helping run our guild quilt show). It's always a nice weekend to enjoy dedicated time for sewing and catch up with friends who I only see once a year.
Let's start with the quilting this time. Before I went to retreat, I had to finish two challenge projects for this year. Our group purchases fabric from the sale room at Lolly's, one of the two quilt shops in town, and everyone gets 1/2 yard. We have to make a project using that fabric. I picked the fabric this year, a pretty tulip print from Robin Pickens. I decided that it would make a great spring table runner and dug through my books until I found one that would work. I wound up making the Sorbet table runner from Trendy Tables by Heather Peterson. The challenge fabric was used in the border and binding.
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| Sorbet Table Runner made with challenge fabric |
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| Here's our group with all our challenge projects (you can see that I really am tall in this picture!) |
Our second challenge was given by Ruthie who hosts the retreat. A nearby quilt shop, Clothesline Creations, gives all the retreat attendees a Villa Rosa pattern as a gift and she and Ruthie challenge us to make a fabric from it before the next retreat. I still haven't made the one from the first year, but I enjoyed making this year's challenge, a top called Acrobatic. I chose Halloween fabrics for mine and I made it for my nephew who loves Halloween. I was able to gift it to him last weekend at the family camping trip and he really liked it. He said it will stay out all year.
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| My nephew with his new quilt |
I took lots of projects to my retreat and I worked on all but one of them. I was very happy with the results. The first project was a quilt kit that a friend gifted me years ago and I finally got around to making the top. It went together pretty well and I really like the finished top. I'll have to dig through my holiday fabrics to find a backing for this one.
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| Sentiments quilt top |
After the quilt top, I decided to work on a quick and easy project, so made a travel pillowcase with fabric I picked up earlier in the month at Love it Sew, a quilt shop near Indy. The white accent strip came from my stash.
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| Travel pillowcase |
The next morning, I started a baby quilt. I used flannel fat eighths that were from a kit I bought in 2002! The kit was intended to make a rage quilt but I decided I didn't want to do that. Luckily, there were plenty of fabrics to choose from. I cut them into 8" squares and sewed them together to make a quick and easy quilt top.
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| Baby quilt top, made with flannels |
The next project was a camping themed project bag. I used a little different construction method than I've used in the past and it worked pretty well.
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| Camping themed project bag |
Another pillow came next. My mom gave me the kit last year for Christmas and it was another fun and easy project! I currently have added french knots for the eyes, but I think they are too small so plan to pick up some buttons for the eyes.
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| Reindeer Pillow Cover from Sweetwater |
The last project I worked on is one that Lois had started to cut out when I inherited her fabric. It was from the 2006 book Nine Patch Pizzazz. It took a little time to figure out what she was planning and I had to make some additional blocks to make it work the way I liked, but I was able to get it to a finished center with one border when it was time to leave. I'll add two more borders - a narrow purple and wider green - to finish off this top.
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| Nine Patch Pizzazz quilt top |
Whew, that was lots of activity for quilt retreat! I am really happy with all I got done while also enjoying time with friends, good food and good shopping.
I finished four stitching projects this month - two quilt start & finish and two projects that I've worked on and off for just about the last year.
First up is Greta the Witch, a quick start and finish. I have had the pattern and fabric together for probably more than a year and finally decided to stitch it early in the month. It just took a couple days of stitching to be a finish. She's done on a green evenweave with one strand over one. I think the evenweave is probably 28 count. The pattern is from Doodles; they used to come in little cases with the pattern and button. They don't even have specific called-for colors - it just says to pick the colors you like. I stitched Vinny the Vampire a few years ago and will finish her to be a companion to him as a little pillow.
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| Greta the Witch |
My next finish is one that I've been working on since last Thanksgiving season. It's called Give Thanks and the pattern is by Autumn Lane Stitchery. I love the colors in this one and plan to finish it in a hoop.
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| Give Thanks by Autumn Lane Stitchery Stitched on 28 ct. Sand linen with called for DMC threads |
The next finish was also a long-time piece - I've been working on this cute squirrel for almost a year and decided after a great suggestion from my mom to finish it without doing the corner sections so that I can finish him as a stand up. I loved this pattern when I first saw it and I love it as much now that I've stitched it.
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| Gathering Acorns by Cottage Garden Samplings Stitched on 36 ct. Vanilla Latte by Be Stitch Me with called for threads |
My last finish was also an impromptu start in October. I've had this Lizzie Kate kit for a while (I picked it up at a stitchers sale a few years ago) and thought it was finally time to get it stitched this year. Isn't it cute? I love the little owl with button/bead eyes and the pops of purple and teal. This one will also be finished as a pillow - the finishing fabric and trim were part of the kit.
Whew - how did I get all that done in one month? I had stitching time almost every night of the month and spent quite a bit of time sewing on the weekends, plus 4 1/2 days of dedicated time at retreat. It was nice to get some older projects out and finish them and to start some new and fun quick projects too.
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| Halloweenie by Lizzie Kate Stitched on kit linen with called for threads, except the purple which is Colour and Cotton Nightshade |
Whew - how did I get all that done in one month? I had stitching time almost every night of the month and spent quite a bit of time sewing on the weekends, plus 4 1/2 days of dedicated time at retreat. It was nice to get some older projects out and finish them and to start some new and fun quick projects too.
While in Shipshewana, I did a little shopping. I took along a panel and a layer cake with the goal to find complementary fabric for them. I had luck with fat quarters in the boat (a real rowboat!) at Lolly's and with yardage to go with the layer cake at Clothesline Creations. I also couldn't resist a super cute mini-charm pack (2 1/2" squares) and a fat quarter from the same line. My plan is to make them into a project bag.
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| Fabric purchases from Shipshewana-area shopping (and the pattern challenge for next year) |
Here are my stats for the month:
Stitching time with Kate at Life in Pieces: 27/31 days with crafting time = 87% - I am on track to finish my year with somewhere in the mid-80s, which I will be happy with. It's been a big year and I am glad I've found ways to fit in crafting time.
Fabric added this month: 5 3/4 yards
Fabric used this month: 10 7/8 yards
Fabric added year to date: 15 1/2 yards
Fabric used year to date: 24 3/8 yards
Net fabric used: 8 7/8 yards
My stash usage isn't that impressive for this year, I've mostly been working on smaller projects which means not as much fabric used. I am glad to have a big usage month this month, especially with the shopping.
Project Completion tracking:
Stitching projects: 0 FFOs this month, +4 finishes = 46 projects waiting to be FFO'ed (I better put some time to this in the last two months of the year, my goals is to finish the year with more FFOed than finished and I am behind at the moment)
Quilting projects: +7 projects started, -5 projects finished = 8 projects to be finished
Thanks for stopping by and reading about all my adventures in October. It was a great month and I am looking forward to the last two of the year as well.
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