My Favorite November Photos

It's that time of the month that I go through the photos I have taken during the month and choose my favorites to share with you.  I decided to intersperse the colorful ones in between the gray ones instead of presenting them in chronological order.

 The cardinal gets all the attention, but there is a squirrel and lots of other birds also in the shot.

Counting pumpkins. There were lots more.

We had a little bit of snow this month.

Week 47 Already!

15 Minutes to Stitch: Week 47

This week,  I added more rounds of more Courthouse Steps and seeing the stack of finished blocks grow is satisfying to see.

I also completely emptied out the closet in the studio to feel the sparks of joy.  Since it was empty, I also painted it.

I am now thinking about where I want to keep the board games that I want to keep, but for now I am keeping my focus on the studio.  Once I go through the other bedrooms, I am sure I will find a good place in the other bedrooms.

It took me a year to go through the first floor, and I am giving myself plenty of time to go through the upstairs a few minutes, a few decisions at a time. It's easier for me to do it this way so that I can do it right the first time, instead of regretting things later.

• 15 Minute sessions of stitching this week: 7 out of 7
• 15 Minute sessions of stitching this year: 289 out of 328 days
• Success Rate: 88%

Linked with:
Kate's Life in Pieces 15 Minutes to Stitch 

Another Week, Another Weekly Post

Time to check in for my weekly recap of stitching for 15 minutes a day.  I did well this week, actually stitching every day, sometimes for more than 15 minutes. I stitched more rounds to the courthouse square blocks, aiming for the 8" size.

After watching the impeachment hearings, I am thinking about changing the name of the quilt to "Not as Outlandish as It Could Be."    Some of my centers start out as triangles instead of squares or rectangles, so they are even more wonky than the crooked blocks shown here.  If I am up to it, I might add some wonky lettering to this.

15 Minutes to Stitch: Week 46

This week,  I added more rounds of more Courthouse Steps. I had to steal some fabric from another container of scraps, mostly because I thought I was using the same scraps too many times. It's like clothes. When I was working on the lights, I thought I had plenty of scraps but didn't have enough lights, yet when I was working on the darks, I thought I had plenty of scraps but didn't have enough darks. I think I should organize the scraps again like I did last week. That worked out better.

• 15 Minute sessions of stitching this week: 7 out of 7
• 15 Minute sessions of stitching this year: 282 out of 321sessions
• Success Rate: 88%

Linked with:
Kate's Life in Pieces 15 Minutes to Stitch 
Oh Scrap!

Incoming Goodies

I hope this post doesn't feel like an advertisement, because nobody is paying me to say anything, but I wanted to share these with you.

First up is some fabric my sister found at Aldi's. Thanks Sis!  I think these would look great in the Sawtooth Star quiltalong or the Little Miss Sawtooth quiltalong both of which are held by Melanie Traylor at Southern Charm quilts. I really like the soft colors she uses in her quilts.

Next up is some beautiful dyed fabric I received from Katy from KatyQuilts. Thanks, Katy! These are so soft and beautiful. These are nice and bright. I find that I use bright fabrics most often. Remember that photo I showed of the artwork I saw at the library in October? I think these fabrics would look great in a quilt recreation of that artwork.

There is also an applique quilt I want to start, an applique pattern by Tamsin Harvey. I have purchased fabric for it, so just need to decide which one I want to do, and give myself permission to start it.

Lastly, I wanted to share Today's Quilter magazine.  It is a magazine that comes from the UK and when I received an offer to subscribe, I didn't hesitate.  I really like this magazine since the quilts in the magazine are different from the ones we see in the states - usually more complex, and they always provide a free gift with the magazine.  This time, the magazine didn't wow me, although there are some cute things in there, but that free gift with the nutcracker quilt did. It reminds me of a scrappy Christmas quilt that was one of the first buy by the block quilts I had seen way back when I first started quilting.

I try not to share my purchases, etc. because I don't want to encourage acquisition for those who are trying to cut down their stashes, but I couldn't help myself this time. This post is mostly to remind me of new quilts I want to start, but won't because I want to stay focused on finishing some things.  I started lots of new things at the start of this year, so maybe if these are still on my mind next year, I might start them then.

Linked with:
Scrap Happy Saturday

Courthouse Steps

The courthouses are being built one step at a time. Bonnie had recommended making a few blocks at a time, but it is easier for me to make them in an assembly line process. 

I sorted my scraps by size - first round is about 2 inches and less than 4 inches in length, second round is between 4 and 6 inches, third round is between 6 and 8 inches and the final round is longer than 8 inches. This kept me from using up the longer lengths when smaller ones were available. It also made it convenient to find the right size scraps.

When I am done with that round of the blocks, all the trimmings and any leftover scraps are thrown away. Remember when I was personifying my quilts by making generations quilts? I am thinking of these blocks as Day of the Dead quilt. These fabrics won't be able to make any more children since the leftovers are being thrown away. They are the last of the line. Yet they are a joyful bunch and showcase a great history of other quilts that have been made with these fabrics.

Then I realized that I had more scraps in the shoe box. Apparently I hadn't sorted all my scraps by sizes so maybe there will be another generation quilt after all, if I have too many blocks to fit into one quilt!

15 Minutes to Stitch: Week 44

This week, I finished binding the Drunkard's Garden. If you haven't seen it yet, please do!

 I also started the first couple of rounds of more Courthouse Steps.

• 15 Minute sessions of stitching this week: 7 out of 7
• 15 Minute sessions of stitching this year: 275 out of 314 sessions
• Success Rate: 88%

Linked with:
Kate's Life in Pieces 15 Minutes to Stitch

Quilt Reveal: Drunkard's Path

It's not called Drunkard's Path for nothing. The drunk took a long time to find his way home. Year's in fact. This quilt was started sometime in August of 2003. I don't know the exact date, but counting from August 1, it would be 5,960 days.  I was using low volume backgrounds before the term "low volume" was coined.

I called it Drunkard's Garden then. It is a rectangular lap quilt, but not as rectangular as this picture shows.. It is rainy out so not a good day for a photo shoot, although it is better than yesterday when there were lots of shadows everywhere.  The backing is blue, similar to, but not exactly the same as, the binding fabric.

I'll have to take it out for a walk and get more photos but I wanted to share this finish with you.  It changes the quilt stats significantly.  Before I enter the finish date on this quilt, I have finished 77.37% of my quilts, taking an average of 229 days to make a quilt.  After I enter the finish date of this quilt, I have finished 78.10% of my quilts, taking an average of 282 days to make a quilt. The average number of days to make a quilt didn't increase as much as I thought it would. My small quick quilts this year and throughout the years helped a lot with this average.

I'm not sure what is next on the quilt list.  I would love to work on quilting another top, but there are lots of scraps that need taming.  I might do a little bit of both until one or the other takes over.

Linked with:
Off the Wall Friday 
Finished or Not Friday 
Oh Scrap!

Binding Drunkard's Path

Another week has gone by so it is time for another weekly recap.  This week, I have been focusing on sewing the binding on the Drunkard's Path quilt. I am more than halfway done of the hand stitching part.

While there is no big profusion of flowers in the garden, there are a few flowers that make it worth the effort to look. I have a new retaining wall by the front porch which really helps spruce up the place too.

15 Minutes to Stitch: Week 44

This week, I've been binding the Drunkard's Path quilt while listening to Radium Girls book on tape.  It is a disturbing book because radium poisoning has awful symptoms, and because it is hard for me to know that people can be so cruel.


I've also started writing my Yearly Recap post. It involves me having to read my own blog to see what I have been up to all year. It looks good so far. I want to make sure November and December also have some good showings. Having the Drunkard's Path quilt finished will help a lot with that.

• 15 Minute sessions of stitching this week: 7 out of 7
• 15 Minute sessions of stitching this year: 268 out of 307 sessions
• Success Rate: 87%

Linked with:
Kate's Life in Pieces 15 Minutes to Stitch