signs that Autumn has arrived

Pumpkins

(my quilt, pattern and quilting)

 

Apples

(and apple pickers).

 

Nights cool enough to need a quilt

and turning leaves.

Happy October!

 

WINNER, learn something new every year promise, prairie points/rick rack

"What new thing have you learned this year???  That was the question that I asked you to leave a comment about. This is in regards to my out loud promise to my GGB.  There are soooo many things that you and I have learned this year - hand-stitching blackwork, machine applique two different ways (yes, that counts as two!), quilting outside the "box", being a grandma, trusting your own instincts, that blogging can be hard but exciting, teaching driving to a 16 year old, delivering kid goats, and pivoting a horse. 


For inquiring minds:  the thing that I learned that I couldn't learn, no matter how hard I tried, was playing the harmonica.  But...I will keep trying.  It might not be pretty, but I will continue to try!  he he he, sorry sweetie!
Thanks for all of your comments.  It was nice to see all the different things that we are learning!

And the WINNER is:  drumroll please.....

Jennifer!!!

Jennifer said... Hi Debra, great post! This year, I have learned to do machine applique in two ways (does that count as two things?) and also to trust my instincts when it comes to online friends...in many ways, you are what you blog...happy people usually blog happy things and the opposite is probably also true!
So, congratulations, Jennifer - email me your mailing address and I'll get this in the mail a.s.a.p.
 And now a new product review:
I played with a new gadget recently:  http://quickpointsruler.blogspot.com/  The prairie point/ric rac cutter.  When I first heard of it at market, "they" were calling it a "ric rac cutter".  And I thought - "why would I ever need to cut fabric in the shape of ric rac and then finish all those edges????"


So, a gadget-y friend and I tried it out.  We used the one that is about 35 inched long and 8 inches wide and makes prairie points that are 2 inches long.   Result?:  pretty easy to use, kind of weird cutting into the fabric strip with the rotary cutter.  You still have to cut into the fabric a little more with scissors, but easy to fold the points and iron.  And seems to make prairie point making go pretty fast!  

I am now thinking about putting prairie points around my Crazy Patch Pumpkin to finish it off.

 What do you think?  Orange or green prairie points?  Maybe alternating orange and green?
I am leaning on putting them on as an outside border, facing out.  Let me know what you think.

Now, back to quilting!
Thanks again for all the blog love.
Hope your day is going quiltingly! Or grandma-ly, or pivot-ly, or appliqueing-ly.  Oh, you understand - all the new things you have learned-ly! 

My Crazy Pumpkin Patch

I am not ready to declare the summer going, going, gone, but I HAVE been working on an Autumn project...

This is a peek at my version of crazy patchwork and one of my favorite seasons-Autumn. It's paper piecing, but not miniature, so easy to do. This pattern I designed is for a class I'm offering this fall for beginning paper piecing, so it will be great for that purpose, but I think it's calling me to stitch and bead and embellish like "crazy"! I even may add some applique...it seems a little on the plain side, even though it's crazy patched. I used a lot of batiks hoping that would liven it up. What do you think? If you were doing it, would you jazz it up, add stitching, add applique?

The class is available at my local quilt shop:

Always in Stitches, Grove City, Ohio. Jump over to the A.I.S. page to check the schedule if you're interested. The pattern is also available at "Always In Stitches". Just give them a call (614-539-7845), and they can drop one in the mail for you. That way you, too, can start some paper-piecing-crazy-stitchin' fall project. And you don't have to declare summer gone either!!