A Little Extra Gravy in November

For those of us who have just

finished enjoying a Thanksgiving meal 

with family and friends,

I'm thinking many of us might have added a little extra 

gravy to our turkey and mashed potatoes.

The extra gravy 

was not on my plate this year, but rather, it was

finishing the top I started only last month

with these Lady of the Lake blocks.

The pattern was designed by Jo Morton

for Quiltmania, issue 121.

I had been so faithful to my 17 UFO's in 2017 list

that I needed a diversion.

I loved the design,

I had plenty of fabrics that 

would work perfectly, so I opted

to temporarily take a side trail

and see what might happen.

The blocks went together easily

and soon became the center.

At this point, the pattern added the borders,

but it seemed to look unbalanced.

The photo in the magazine had half square triangles

on all four sides.

With a bit more stitching

the extra hst's were added

then the border, which was cut in an unconventional style. 

I only had a 3 long pieces of the border fabric left from 

a previous project.

With some careful piecing, I had just enough

to frame the quilt. 

Finishing this quilt top

seems like a little extra gravy for November.

It wasn't something I had planned on doing,

but it was just what I needed.

(No extra calories involved.)

Until Next Time-

Kyle

A Good Ending

All good things must come to an end.

Things like...

Bee Hive hairdos?

Well, maybe that was a good thing to end!

For me this week it was

finally finishing my

leaders and enders quilt. 

A 17 UFO's in 2017 project.

Happy Memories Quilt

60" x 66"

It all started last summer with a free

pattern from 

Temecula Quilt Co.

It was to be a fun summer project.

I decided it was time to dig into my scrap bags and

use only what was there.

A couple of large trash bags worth of 

pieces had taken over a large portion of a closet.

It was time to use it or

pass it on.

It took a lot of cutting,

counting,

and a long time sewing.

I used the leaders and enders approach

and kept working on it for well over a year.

There were lozenger blocks ( 2"x 6") to make along with

and broken dishes (3") and nine patches (4.5").

Combine all those different fabrics together

and what do you get?

A quilt filled with happy memories. 

A quilt made with

fabric pieces from so many past quilts.

It was a trip down memory lane.

It was machine quilted by my friend, Debi,

who kept the swirling feather pattern simple.

When it came to the binding,

it had to be scrappy too.

I found tucked away in the hidden part of a cupboard

some binding pieces

wrapped sweetly on antique wooden spools.

Perfect! 

Use them up!

Yes, all good things do need to come to an end.

Don't you agree?

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Let's Talk Some Turkey

No, I'm not quite ready to 

talk about this kind of turkey.

But rather,

about the only Thanksgiving decoration

that I usually put out.

It's my favorite.

Turkey Jack

1990's

(Sorry I can't remember the pattern.)

A long time ago 7 quilting friends

got together and made 8 of these.

We actually made an extra one to sell

to pay for the cost of our project!

The best part was that we split up the 

steps and each of us only did our individual 

part 8 times.

When the parts were combined

we each had our own special

Thanksgiving turkey.

It was a very efficient and fun way

to work on a "craft" project.

Especially, one that had so many different and varied steps. 

Some of us were better at stitching,

some were great at stuffing,

and let me say, that there is a skill to perfect stuffing,

both on and off the table, and

 we had some fantastic painters as well.

 

Here's our flock of handsome turkeys

already to head to their perspective homes. 

We certainly did talk turkey.

No foolin'.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Stolen Moments

This month's sewing

on my 17 UFO's in 2017

has only happened

 

with stolen moments of time. 

A little bit here and a little bit there.

Most of the items on my list
really don't have to be done by any particular time,
except for one.

#14 Make two new Christmas Stockings

 When my sister was 1 and 
I was 3 our mom made us our Christmas stockings.

Nothing elegant,
or Shabby Chic
just pure 50's.

 They were made out of felt,
sequins and  embroidery.
In fact, they are actually a puppet.

 So when Running Man and I were married in 1973,

 I made him a stocking to match mine.
It was the start of a family tradition. 

The number of stockings have grown over the years.

 Last year there were 11
and this year, well, there will be 13.

 With my stole bits of time
I've been sewing sequins,
and embroidering Santa faces
for the newest members of the family.

  
Each stocking from one generation
to the next shows a bit more wear.
 The colors may have faded a bit, but there
are many Christmas memories tucked inside each of those stockings.

With my stolen moments
the stockings can now be hung by the 
chimney with care,
In the hopes that Saint Nicholas will soon be there.

Until Next Time-
Kyle