THE NEW YORK BEAUTY EXPLOSION

 I have been playing around with some New York Beauty blocks for the past 2 weeks or so.  I started out with just going to make 4 blocks, but somewhere along the way I have morphed into a completely different idea with the entire project.  

I got the first 4 blocks done and then decided to add a couple of half square blocks and some of my Tim Holtz Elements fabric had pretty butterfly prints on them, and then things just sort of took off from there.

I added 2 more New York blocks.

And then another, and I am thinking I need 3 more now too.

Working with the Elements fabric is so much fun.

Now just to figure out what blocks I want and fabrics I want to include in the last 3 blocks and somehow get all these odd filler pieces sewn together and manage a perfectly square top.  I also found I needed couple more pieces of Elements fabric, so I am waiting for them to arrive. 

I know, really just a few more!

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FALL PUMPKIN IDEAS

I have been enjoying working on fun projects over the last two weeks.  Once I had some time I realized I have multiple patterns and fabrics bagged up that were set aside to work on someday.  Over the last couple of weeks I decided someday is finally here.    

Earlier in the year I purchased this pattern and decided to dig it out along with some orange scraps I had bagged up with it.

I decided on the wall hanging size and over the last couple of days have two of the three rows of the quilt top done.  I don't think I ever make anything that I do not in some way modify the pattern a bit.  I did decide to modify the lattice between the two rows.  I just found in my mind that the fussy vertical lattice in the pattern was just too much.     

Last week when I finished my summer mini quilt block for my kitchen wall I thought my pumpkin pattern scaled down to size would make a great fall one.  This has turned out to be lots of fun, and they go together in an afternoon start to finish. 

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MINI WALL HANGING AND NEW YORK BEAUTY BLOCKS

I finished all the blocks for my Rosemary & Thyme quilt.  Now just to get all of them up on the design wall and sewn together.  Now that is finished I can get a few mini projects handled and out of the way.

When I first saw a picture of the Rosemary and Thyme pattern on Facebook I thought I could master it by myself.  That did not work very well and I realized that after wasting a lot of fabric trying to figuring it out I would just buy the pattern and get over it.  But this block was my attempt and I didn't want to toss it.  So I took some time this week to make it a little wall hanging and put it up on the brick wall in our kitchen.

I have been working on these New York Beauty blocks.  Dee Christopher does a class every Saturday on the internet.  I get her classes by going to Alex Anderson's site but they are also offered  free on The Quilt Show site under Learn.  These little babies are paper pieced and I have had a wonderful time making them.  I have a lot of Tim Holtz Elements fabrics which I really love.  Not sure how I will finish it but I do have one more block to make, the blocks are 9.5" and I am sure I will do a border around them so maybe in the end 24" to 30" square.

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THREE GIFTS

 My oldest daughter is back in town from Colorado helping getting her husband's brother to Stanford Medical Center here in California for some medical appointments.  She always brings at least a couple of finished quilts and sometimes even a fun project to work on while she is here.  

This quit is a gift for a childhood friend's mother for her birthday coming up this week, I believe she said that Millie will be 96.

My daughter's quilter is really good, they selected this light background and it really shows off the red quilting so nicely.  

Our neighbors across the street gave my daughter some fabric when she was here in December visiting us.  She made this quilt as a gift for her.  It is really pretty long, great for someone tall.

Again her quilter did an amazing job with some really lovely quilting on it. 

The last item she brought was a 36 by 40 inch quilt top from left overs of the red quilt above.  It will be gifted to my charity group along with a binding we prepared for it of black and white dots fabric.

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ROSEMARY AND THYME

Summer has arrived it was 99 here yesterday and this morning 79 at 7am.  Wonderful weather to stay in and sew.   That is just what I have been doing.  I have been on to the second one of my sewing projects I have laid out for myself to accomplish during the next few months.  I tend to get bored after working on any project after a week or more so always have at least 2 or 3 going at any one time. 

Off and on I have been working on my Rosemary & Thyme pattern by CottonStreetCommons.com I purchased earlier in May.  I have blocks 1 and 2 competed.  These have just a bit of appliqué which I love doing.

This is the first of block 3 completed.  I have four more of this block to make and then on to make 4 of block number 4.  Just about ready to set them aside for a week or so and move on to yet another one of my other 2 projects I have lined up.  

But I really do finish projects.  The is my finished curved piecing blocks.  All six blocks completed and cut  at 8.5" and joined together to make a table runner of 16" by 24".  It is off to the quilters now.  

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