Catching Up...

It's been such a looong time since I posted, and I'm not quite sure where to start.  Let's just say that Life has been busy!  And so have I.  It was a long, hot, smokey summer and a very busy autumn, with a visit to my sister, a quilt show and a visit to California, as well as having bronchitis, holidays and generally Life.  But I'm here now, with a few things to share.

First off, I have a finished quilt to share!  This one was a few years in the making.  The blocks were started as samples for a quilt show demonstration 4 or 5 years ago.  These 16 Patch blocks are made with a Quick and Easy 4-patch method I learned from Billie Lauder on 'Simply Quilts' many, many years ago.  I couldn't find that episode to share with you, but I found this video on You Tube that shows the same method. (They are showing a scrappy method, but it's the same concept.)

Chex Mix
75 in. x 95 in.
hanging at the quilt show

I used my collection of plaid fat quarters to make this, and I picked out the brightest ones I had.  My son talked me into using black for the consistent color, instead of white, and I'm so glad he did.  These are all woven plaids and they fray something crazy.  I could never have hidden all the stray threads on the back side of the quilt top with a white fabric!

I was actually supposed to be working on a different quilt, but this one really caught my attention instead.  I managed to get the quilt done in time for my local quilt show this year.

i initially wasn't going to add a border to this quilt, but then I decided that all those seams at the edge should be contained.  The idea of an all-black border sounded boring, so I came up with the idea of  a strip of the plaids in the middle of the black border for something different.  This photo shows a close-up of the border corner that was also suggested by my son.  Something a little fun.

My quilter, Shari, had carte blanche to quilt however she thought the quilt needed.  I like what she came up with!

Here's a photo of the fabric I used on the back.  I love the way it looks and wish I'd bought more of it!  I think this is the first time I've used extra-wide (108 inch) fabric on the back - no piecing!!  Warning to my Future Self - it did shrink up quite a bit when I pre-washed it.

Going back in time a little bit, here are the Halloween placemats I made at my California quilt retreat in October.  I didn't have a pattern, just an inspiration photo from Pinterest of a table runner.  

I quilted 2 of the placemats the same, and did something else on each of the other two.  I was trying to be done in time to use these on Halloween, but I didn't quite make the deadline.  I still needed to bind them, so I didn't use them.  I am ready for next year, though!

Here are the placemats as the background to show off the little hand-made ceramic jack o'lantern I made this year.

I used up fat quarters for the backs.  I'm trying to reduce my stash, as it has gotten out of control.

And here is my favorite pumpkin that my DH The Potter made for me a couple of years ago.  It is one-of-a-kind.

I whipped up a little whole-cloth baby quilt a couple of weeks ago.  Cute baby fabric, lovely flannel on the back and simple grid quilting made it quick, fast and comfy!  It went to a local facility for a new baby to have.

I won the Wine & Chocolate Basket at our local quilt guild meeting this month!  It's a beautiful Longaberger basket, perfect for a picnic!  I also got some yummy chocolate candy, which we're all enjoying, and a bottle of wine for The Potter.  For me, there's some fabric!  I got a 5 Yard Quilt kit (with 5 yards of fabric, of course), a tablerunner kit with 3 yards of batik fabrics and a Layer Cake of batik fabrics!    Sweet!

In case you were wondering what a potter's kiln looks like, this photo is for you!  My DH was getting ready for the state fair this summer and was making lots of mugs.  This is only one layer in the kiln, out of 3 or 4.  Just a few mugs!  These mugs have gone through the bisque (the first) firing, and are ready for him to add the glaze and fire them again.  He sold a LOT of mugs at the fair!  You can see more of his work on his blog - there's a link to that on my left side bar.

We've been having some cold, frosty nights here lately.  I snapped this photo of my frozen geranium leaves the other morning.  (No, they will not survive this weather for long, poor things.)  I thought they were so pretty all frosted.

I hope to be more regular in my blogging again.  I've missed it and I've missed visiting everyone else's blog too.  I guess that will be my New Year's resolution!