Thursday's Three Free Patterns, Halloween Talk, Sharing Quilt Backs, Special Video

 Autumn turned this maple tree into quite the marvel. 

Now those limbs are bare. And for a short time, we will enjoy our golden leafy carpet under foot on our walks.

Someone asked...yes the Swedish BungyPump Walking poles are fabulous in my opinion. You do get a workout- I can feel my heartrate rise, and I do believe my upper body and arms are getting stronger.  I usually spend 15-20 minutes walking  with them as many days of the week as I can get in. Not affiliated in any way.

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week was a favourite costume of ours. All I remember is having face masks as kids.  Those made of a stiff plastic like material that made your face overheat and sweat so much. Not pleasant. I always wanted a rabbit as in those days, my nickname was Bunny. No fancy treat bags either, an old pillow case to carry about. Gosh it all sounds like Olden Days doesn't it especially compared to the Halloween animatronics items available today. 

Speaking of Halloween, I went to see Halloween Ends with older grandson and I enjoyed it for what it is. I did not find it scary. Fun to see Jamie Lee Curtis again. 

I will not be able to meet my OMG for October, that is hand quilting Plaid Tilda. However, I am pleased with how much is quilted and how it is looking. It's over 3/4's of the way finished. I haven't shown the back before. I'm happy my stitches are catching the fabric through those layers okay. I like these pretty fabrics.

Remember the Super Scrappy table runner.  The hand quilting on that is done.

And I'm likewise happy enough with the stitches...here's the back as well. Not perfect, by any means! I'm no Gretchen or Karen! I could go on there with naming wonderful hand quilters. Check out Sunday's Slow Stitching party post at Kathy's Quilts and you will see lots of wonderful hand work including Kathy's!

Time for Thursday's Three Free!

Linda, the Texas Quilt Gal, alerted us to this free Mystery Autumn Stitchalong from Joy at Days Filled With Joy. Every Friday for 4 all together, Joy will release an embroidery pattern, free for a limited time. 

I'm sharing this idea because I just don't think of fussy cutting motifs enough or using fusible applique either for that matter. And the projects those techniques could be used in are endless. This one below is part of the free cache at Connecting Threads and is called Acorn Park Triptych. I love little scenes like this. Perfect for small scraps for a pin cushion or needlebook maybe too.

Gay at her wonderful Sentimental Stitches site shared this lovely free pattern called Friendship.  Available as a PDF download.

Interested in applique basic techniques? Erin Russek at her blog, One Piece at a Time, is sharing a series of posts showing how to applique. Her instructions are very clear with large photos to follow along. She also has a page of free patterns with tutorials. Great stuff!

I am ending this post with this wonderful video from Karen at Just Get It Done Quilts called My Dutch Textile Tour.  Karen and her mother went to Holland to visit the grave of her grandfather who died fighting to help liberate Holland in the Second World War. Along the way they visited several textile and quilt shops. While I had tears in my eyes during some parts, I also was thrilled to see the Petra Prins shop, which as Karen says, was like stepping into Quiltmania. 

Hope you enjoyed your visit here today and maybe found a little bit of inspiration-there are so many talented folks sharing their skills with us. What a time to be be a stitcher!!

Great to be able to share this post with Quilting Patchwork Applique, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, Stitching Stuff,  Sum of Their Stories and Kathy's Quilts.

Quilt Block Test, Thrift Store Find, Attic 24 Crochet Latest, Another Great SAL, Autumn Love

Saturday, Sunday and Monday were glorious days that showcased perfect October weather. The sun shone all day and warmed the earth. It was pleasant enough to sit on the veranda and stitch.

 I watched leaves gently letting go and kept thinking of the word golden. Ned joined me, keeping a sharp eye on the squirrels and sniffing the air, enjoying autumn in an entirely different way. 

It was perfect to be crocheting and I didn't mind the extra warmth of wool in my lap. I listened to this audio book, Miss Eliza's English Kitchen. A Novel of Victorian Cookery and Friendship by Annabel Abbs.  I am enjoying this one very much.

It is reminding me of my mother, a life long cook and baker. Also a life long recipe collector even into her 80's when she admitted she knew these dishes would not be made by her. But she couldn't resist noting them anyway. Pinterest gave her joy in that way.

Lucy at Attic 24 has revealed her newest project and free pattern, The Fireside Blanket. I love it but am exercising restraint as this year I have a few requests for Christmas stitching.  But isn't it pretty!

I also got a little bit distracted by Karen's Magic Circle blocks as a possible way for me to use up yarn scraps.  Crocheting circles would be a nice break from these very long stripes.

A couple of weeks ago in this post I shared a free pattern from Kristy at Quiet Play to make the paper pieced tree block called Red Herring. She has updated this past pattern of hers to this link now to be found HERE. Thank You Kristy!

I've given it a whirl. I wanted to see if I enjoyed stitching it enough to make a wall hanging. Foundation paper piecing is a little tricky at the start. It is reversal kind of sewing and you have to get in the mindset.  The second one went a lot faster than the first. I decided to turn these two blocks into a mug rug. Photographing it against wood seemed appropriate too, :D.  I will be sharing this with Joy's Table Scraps post...a party to encourage us to scrounge through our scraps and make something!

It also gave me a chance to show you my latest thrift store mug. It was made by the English Mug Co. and it had the tiniest little chip on the bottom rim- I used  sandpaper and rubbed it smooth and almost invisible. It was an "as is" item so just $2.  I love the design and colours-pink and turquoise together...the design reminds me of holly for some reason. I looked it up and found out it is fine bone china and the pattern is called Rosie's Garden.

  I would love to do a hanging in these turquoise greens but deeper ones, more teal I guess...alas none in my stash so more thinking about this. A little shopping might be in order.  I'll share this with Saturday's So Scrappy linky party. 

Anybody joining in the free Sewcialites SAL offered by The Fat Quarter Shop? 

This week I have grandson for one of those PA days the schools run.  We have a couple of appointments of the dreary kind (for me)...accountant/tax stuff -my eyes glaze over when they talk, and they're always so nice, I feel bad I'm not listening.  And my stitching fingers are flying on Plaid Tilda trying to achieve that October OMG. Down to the finale!

Oh and I have to buy Halloween treats...we get no trick or treaters here down our long laneway (might be a little scary if we did!- some of us have seen those movies) but I buy our favourite chocolate bars just in case. 

Autumn is turning out to be an enjoyable and productive season for me. Hope you are feeling the same even if our Autumn is actually your Spring!

Happy to be linking this post with Linda's To Do Party, Brian's Blog,  The Inquiring Quilter, Quilt Fabrication, True Blue Quilts,  Creations, Quilts, Art,  Alycia Quilts, Wendy's Quilts and More, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, ChrisKnits, Sew Can Do and My Corner of the World. 

Thursday's Free Three, Panama Pyramids, Tidy Up Time, Autumn's Beauty

Veranda view of the tree line edging our side, ball playing lawn. October 19. Leaves falling now and sorry the photo is not focused but I had to share for the colours, especially the purple Smoke Tree.

I've started my decorating for Halloween. LOL Need to add deep dusting to my chore list! Though I am peculiar in that I do abide the odd spider here and there in this house.

So happy to get a few more of the Panama Pyramids finished. Parked in front of the tv every night with Hubby is when I get hand stitching done. 

  LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week is Halloween candy favourites. I'm not a big sweets fan so the candy didn't appeal as much as the bags of chips would have. However, I remember well the molasses toffee kind of candy in their Halloween wrappers. There was not the variety of candy and not the little mini bars either back then. You remember these or were they a Canadian thing? Which treat did you love getting tossed in your bag?

Thursday's Three Free

First up is My Favorite Quilt Store and their wide selection of over 800 free quilt patterns. My computer prevented me from uploading from their site for some unknown reasons but I went through a number of the quilt patterns and took note of four when I had to stop that. :D

Lots to see at Caroline's site, Sew Can She, including videos and tutorials. She has a great bank of free patterns too. Like this one...you might know Dresdens caught my eye.

              

And Christen at her site I See Stars Quilting has collated in one post links to 13 Free Modern Quilt Patterns. Like Caroline, Christen has a extensive web site with loads of articles, patterns, videos, etc. to spark your creativity. 

And for my slow stitching friends. From Tiny Modernist Cross Stitch, a very cute turkey to cross stitch. Love those plummy reds in the feathers.

It's been awhile since I shared the talented Kathy Schmitz's work, some of which I enjoyed stitching 10 years ago! when I lived at the farm.  Kathy Schmitz Here is a cute freebie from her, perhaps to get your Christmas stitching started. She calls it A Wish and it couldn't be more appropriate for these times.

                                          
It looks like I have dusting to do, but first up is go through my makeup drawer. You'd think that wouldn't take long, but I do have skin and hair stuff I badly need to sort. Then to that spare room. I feel like I'm not on top of all the collected "stuff" lying around or tucked away. So Tidy Up October continues.

Hope you are feeling calm and happily busy doing what pleases you whether it is spring or autumn outside your door. 

So happy to share this with So Scrappy, Quilting is More Fun  Than Housework, Kathy's Quilts, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Quilting Patchwork Applique. 

Decisions- To Do and Cross Stitch, A Finish and A Book, Red Quilting Lines Too

 I woke up this morning with deep thoughts but they have become shallower as the morning moves on. :D My early morning walk in almost darkness and light rain helped. Making a few notes in a journal helped. Ned wanting to play tug also helped and good for my weak hand grip too I'm thinking. 

Writing this post will definitely brighten my mood. For starters I'm sharing this enjoyable book below. I saw it on one of your blogs, very sorry I've forgotten who, and knew I needed it. Wonderful words and neat illustrations. I plan to share this book with younger grandson, Robbie. Things to Look Forward To... 52 Large and Small Joys For Today and Every Day by Caldecott Medal winner, Sophie Blackall. It's important to learn that it is small things that sustain us, that move us forward in bad times, that help us appreciate this world of ours which, in my opinion, is a kind of paradise surrounding us. 

Here is a wonderful interview with Sophie talking about this lovely book and the need for anticipation and enjoyment of small things in daily life. 

A small thing amazing me these days are these milk pods letting go their seeds.  Good for butterflies.

And this treat every autumn- the very old Golden Maple as viewed through the basement stairs window putting on its stunning fall display. It always makes it seem the sun is shining even when it isn't.

My Jackrabbit journey is done; do you like his little smile? A pleasing finish!  A very enjoyable stitching project. Pattern from Cottage Garden Samplings. #3 in their series called A Year in the Woods.

Now I'm going to pick up stitching my Rosewood Manor Autumn Quakers where I left off last November. Then I'll choose my next pattern. Maybe something for Christmas first and then I'll consider a project more personal and sentimental maybe for Mom.

These Valdani threads are beautiful deep colours and cute names...Proud Turkey, Chocolate Brownie, Old Brick. 

 Last time I think Autumn Quakers had an appearance here on the blog was in the post I've put in the sidebar. 

I've stuck with the cheery red Perle cotton for the hand stitching on my Super Scrappy coffee table runner. Thank you all who approved that choice! All done in one direction, now on to the other with this hopefully finished this week in between working on Plaid Tilda. I haven't forgotten that is my October OMG. As always, I especially enjoy seeing the fabrics up close.

After all the turkey and fixings got eaten, the fridge was emptier than usual. A good time to give it a scrub which I did and replaced the shelf liners. It makes me a little bit happy every time I open the door now. In keeping with small things! Doesn't take much folks! 

I'm going to tackle the spare room this week which is a good one because I keep donation stuff, Christmas stuff, wrapping paper, gifts I've tucked away, etc. in there. That will help me take stock. 

Also brightening this old woman's mood, your lovely comments and emails. They are sustaining in their own way too. Sincerely, Thank You!💕

Hope your week is off to a great start too. I am linking this post with the wonderful linky parties....Texas Quilt Gal, True Blue Quilts, Alycia Quilts, Creations, Quilts, Art, Whatever and Wendy's Quilts and More.

 

Many Free Patterns, Favourite Snack, Quilting Tilda

                     

Happy Thursday friends! The season is moving forward with news of snow flurries north of us. Here we are comfortably still in autumn with all the little things in nature changing, some faster than others as my photo captured here.

I'm soldiering away quilting Plaid Tilda.  It is going smoothly so far with the handling of the size of it and I haven't hit any lumps or tucks. It's interesting how fabric can behave well sometimes and other times not. I keep checking the back to be sure there are no snags and it's good to see it is already taking on that nice crinkly, cozy feel hand quilting gives a piece.

LeeAnna's (Not Afraid of Color) prompt this week was what is our favourite snack food?  I don't eat when I'm nervous but I do feel I need to be treated sometimes. Potato chips are so good but I feel less guilty about eating popcorn. Recently I found Orville's popping corn using avocado oil and sea salt. I add a splash of balsamic vinegar to mine- strange I know but, as a vinegar lover, it works for me. I add balsmic vinegar to a lot of things actually. 

Thursday's Three Free

I'm sharing a true Squirrel-ly moment.  I had found this free pattern below to share with you. From Kim at her lovely Retro Mama site.  What a great way to use up small narrow scraps, I thought.

Really easy to create and so cute. I could see the uses for it...pin cushions-yes, mug rugs definitely, maybe a place mat as I want to make some of those. But I wondered about a quilt. I googled herringbone quilts and found loads of examples and lots of tutorials to make a quilt using that block.  Fave Quilts has a whole bank of them!  But one caught my eye.

It reminded me of a block I'd taken note of years ago- 2015, in a quilting calendar I'd gotten for Christmas. It is a pattern called Tiny Textured Trees by Carolyn Friedlander, a favourite designer of mine. Her quilt looked like a miniature work of art.

 Maybe it's because I'm loving the trees on the property these days as the colours change almost hourly it seems that this one stood out. There are many variations of this stylistic tree block. For instance, there is Anne at Springleaf Studio and her gorgeous Arboretum quilt that I know some of you stitched and had me in awe. Wonderful Wanda at Exuberant Color for one.

Of course I had to chase down the one that caught my eye and found this. Kristy in this Quiet Play post from 2012 shared a free foundation paper piecing pattern for this block. I've downloaded it and will give it a whirl this weekend.

Still in a scrap busting mood...The busy and famous Pat Sloan I Love to Make Quilts had a free PDF for this scrap busting quilt that she made in 2013.  She calls it Traffic Jam. I notice quite a few folks sewed it in all sorts of colour ways. 

Since I already have a mess in the sewing room, I may as well try this. If I am to cut down on scraps, mine would have to be scrappier than this one. Generous Pat offers one of the most extensive free pattern cache on the net.Here

And for my embroidery/cross stitch friends, Laura at her The YellowBirdhouse site offers a bunch of free Halloween patterns to stitch, 18 to be exact.

Researching these links was a fun journey around the net for me. Thanks for all the positive feedback about this Thursday feature of mine.

Hope your weekend will be grand!

Delighted to share this post with Kathy's Quilts, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

Biscuits and Gravy, Scrappy Tiny Trees, Colourful Coffee Table Runner, October Photos

 

Haying time in the Ottawa Valley- as neat as it is to see these you don't want to get stuck behind it on a narrow country road..I had to wait for it to turn off to get past.

I'm a cautious driver-I will ever only pass one car at a time and seldom even that.

Thanksgiving dinner was a success.  It was nice to use the fancy glassware and dishes from Hubby's family. I enjoyed the preparation very much. I made biscuits for the gravy this time and used Melissa's Bless This Mess easy recipe for The Best Butter Biscuits. They were really good. I made two batches so we are enjoying the leftovers. They are great with a little butter and jam too. The big one in the front there is the cook's, the one made from leftover dough bits. My second batch browned nicely and the company ate those. The first batch was a little pale.

Having all the company here exhausted Ned...he was so happy to have them. He fell asleep as soon as they left and slept in till 8 the next morning. He usually wakes me about 6:30. He has stayed small for a Labrador, about a quarter smaller than Petey and his mother.I've added two more rows to my coffee table runner. The backing is a neutral polka dot, nothing exciting. I figure there's enough going on on the front.

And added the border as you can see. Also experimenting with a little hand quilting in red.

I tried quite a few fabrics to find a suitable border and kept coming back to black.  A bit boring but it seems to work the best with all those colours. Luckily I had enough of this particular fabric to go around all the edge. This week I have to settle on whether I like those red quilting lines enough to quilt the whole top with it. 

I keep forgetting to show more of the tiny trees project. I have their basket beside the machine and stitch a few bottoms or tops when I finish something else. Foundation piecing of this simple kind is good for that. Here in the pale autumn sun. I should put a push on to get more sewn because the end of the year is my deadline for this project.

A bit more focused garden work needed this week. I have to lop off all the old hosta leaves, the ones that have wilted and yellowed. I'll use my electric hedge trimmer which is so much easier on my hands. This is done every fall and I think it does aid their growth in the spring...the hostas are always healthy here.  The Goats Beard bush will similarly get its' used up canes all shorn. 

A failure...my attempt to grow kitchen herbs in veranda pots was a dismal failure. Something kept pawing the soil and eating the seeds. I wonder if I could grow them inside this winter. 

Thank you for the emails and comments about the Matisse painting I showed in the last post. Many of you know so much about art and Matisse in particular. I was told that piece was an experiment in scale for him. Interesting!

Hope your week is likewise interesting and as productive as you would like it to be!

Happy to link with Texas Quilt Gal, Brian's Home Blog, True Blue Quilts,  Wendy's Quilts and More, Floral Friday Foto, Quilting Patchwork Applique, Alycia Quilts, So Scrappy and Quilt Fabrication.

Thursday's Three Free, Gardening, Quilting Tilda, Apple Love and Turkey Time

That tree canopy was where I was chasing a Barred Owl yesterday. Caught two glimpses of it as it moved totally silently through the trees. I crawled through a lot of undergrowth and bushes, craning my neck, trying to find it. No luck but happy to know one is still around.

Recent frost warnings turned into actual morning frost a couple of times so I got busy and prepared my plants to bring them inside. Here I'd moved them to the veranda and at night I throw a sheet over them.  They all grew a lot over the summer so I had to dig out bigger pots in the garage. 

I'm happily slow stitching in the evenings this week. I have a good start made on quilting Tilda. That phrase made me think of Waltzing Matilda, a song we always sang in Girl Guides. Did you sing that song too?

Nothing fancy- outlining each rectangle and x-ing each square while trying my best to keep the stitches even. The fabrics are so pretty.

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week was apples. We had several elderly apple trees at the farm and all produced wonderful blossoms in May.

My Dad ate an apple for his evening snack many years of his long life.  For decades, as a teacher, I would eat a Golden Delicious apple for my recess.  Apples are always on hand here and these days I favour Pink Lady.  I put them in salads and make Apple Crumbles a lot. Are you an apple fan too?

Below I am sharing Still Life with Apples on Pink Cloth by Henri Matisse, 1924. I especially like the background colour of pinks the yellow apples lay on but it is the bold blues that my eye goes to. I wonder if the the jug was an afterthought. I don't know- something about the scale...the apples are basically the same size as the jug. It's fun for a mere mortal to wonder about these things, :D.

So from something sublime to the very ordinary...It seems to be casserole time here in Canada with much cooler October underway now. I made this one from Let's Dish.  I substituted chicken thighs and added a bunch more vegetables- I wanted leftovers.  It turned out great. 

Thursday's Three Free

Links to Jo Avery's Autumn Apliqued Pillow Top pattern are there. Or it could be a table topper too of course. Jo Avery's lovely site is here.

A bright and beautiful Halloween quilt....a tutorial and pattern on how to make this from Jera at Quilting in the Rain found Here. 

And for my cross stitching buddies, a very cute pattern I found through Vivien's site and thought it worthy of sharing more. You can find the pattern for Loons Lakes Blueberries Black Bears from the Eastcoast Crafter HERE.

All those linked sites are well worth exploring. These talented folks share wonderful ideas, patterns, tips and further links. 

It is our Canadian Thanksgiving on Monday so turkey, not apples, is on the menu for a family get together this weekend. I love turkey; do you?

Hope you are feeling inspired and engaged in whatever gives you enjoyment and contentment!

Happy to link with Kathy's Quilts, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, Pictorial Tuesday, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, My Corner of the World and Traffic Jam Weekend.