Straddling, twisting. and Falling

I have my Straddling Turkey finished and hanging.  All ready for Thanksgiving here in Arizona.

Am also playing with some Twister blocks to make a table runner. 

And, beside the twister blocks is a falling leaf table runner that needs to be layered and quilted. 

It feels good to be finishing some projects though I can hear my ufo's calling my name and trying to tell me I should be working on them and not new projects!

Fall Day in Arizona

I guess the weather here in Arizona is about as close to autumnal as we are going to get?  Sunny, mid 70's and cools off slightly overnight.  Sun sets a little earlier each night but not as drastic as it in BC.  The last few nights have been incredible with the full moon - like someone left a light on outside. 

Since it is autumn and U.S. Thanksgiving is approaching, I thought this Patchabilities wallhanging was timely to make. I need more purple buttons for my grape cluster but used what I could easily find without spending a long time going from place to place shopping for more.

Two simple and one more detailed projects are completed.

Almost mid November - a long time since I posted pictures of a finished project but I have finally accomplished something!

First is my Dec La Table bargello table runner.  Appliqué has been stitched down and runner is done.

I also have my table topper and two placemats completed and they are on the table being used.

Settled in and working on a variety of projects

We are settling in, in our winter home and I seem to be scattered - working on a variety of projects at once.  Seems strange to have Thanksgiving at home and then come south where the entire country is gearing up for US Thanksgiving.  I feel the need to decorate our home with some autumn/fall projects so that is what I am working on.

I have the background made for a cornucopia Patchabilities hanging, the background for a Straddling Turkey and two placemats (waiting for topstitching around the edge) and a table topper waiting to be quilted and bound.
The autumn fabric I purchased one yard of from Over the Rainbow has turned out to be a great buy.  It was on sale and I have used it in all my current projects. 

Last project from here

This is my last project that I will get made/finished here in my 'summer' house.  Am heading to my winter home soon and have been busy trying to organized projects to take with me although I do have lots waiting for me when I get 'home'. 

I made this for my good friend who has a vineyard in CA and she asked for a hanging of specific dimensions to hang on the back of a curio cabinet.  This hanging had a tendency to be very busy looking so I had to rethink what I was doing to calm it down a little and give the eye a resting place.  Since it will be a 'big' birthday for her this week, I will give this to her to celebrate her special day and am glad that is she older than me and leading the way!

Canadian Thanksgiving

We are having a dreary day here for our actual Thanksgiving but the weather means I have been inside and doing a bit of stitching on some projects.

My Wednesday quilting group is exchanging ugly squares and I thought that it would be a good opportunity to play with a new technique.  Using the idea from Let's Twist, I made up my own ruler since my squares were 6½" not the 5" or 10" that the pattern called for.

Notice that I mitered the striped border fabric - unusual for me to do borders that way but the striped fabric told me it was necessary.

I bought a kit of fabrics from a now defunct quilt shop two years ago - Quiltopia - and it had 6 fat quarters in raspberry and brown.  I added in six more fat quarters from my stash and made this lap/twin size quilt.  I think it will eventually be donated to Quilts of Valour unless a different worthy cause crops up first.

This last project was a kit I purchased at our guild's quilt show in June.  I have been making the half square triangles and now need to play with their arrangement.  It will be a table topper and if this rainy weather continues will have this top ready for layering and quilting in the next few days.

Almost Thanksgiving but thinking about Christmas

It will be Thanksgiving here in Canada this weekend and we will enjoy the usual turkey dinner with all the trimmings.
My dh has been away on a hunting trip and while he was gone, I managed to get a few things accomplished.  My bargello table runner for Christmas is almost finished.  I need to stitch down the applique but I still have time to do that! 

For those who may not know - bargello is Italian needlepoint and I used to spend hours working with canvas and wool yard, creating a variety of projects.  Of course, that was long before quilting took over my entire crafting life. 

I also finished a small project that seems to have taken me forever.  It is kind of funky and retro and was different than what I would normally work on.  Where it will hang is another question? 

Back to my sewing machine.  I am working on a scrappy quilt using a ruler and instructions from the booklet "Le'ts Twist" and am halfway through so you may see some pictures later or tomorrow of the flimsie - if I get that far without interruptions this afternoon.