White Christmas in Alabama!

Of course, it is north Alabama! This was taken from my front porch about 10 AM! But it looks now, at 10:40, like it's turning to rain, so it won't last long.

This one is from the back door about 8 AM. Those are not paint splotches on the fence and house, but snow coming down!

Fall Quilting for the Home

On Oct. 30, I dropped by my local quilt shop to see what was going on at the all-day sew-in. One of the shop owners had made up this runner from her stash using a free pattern from Hoffman Fabrics, "Oh Pumpkin, My Pumpkin." Several of the participants wanted to make this, as did I, so we picked out fabrics, and I helped the shop owner cut the fabric for several kits. Click on this picture for a sharper image.

I made the first block, then decided I didn't like how the placement of the oranges would work out in the runner, so I turned that block into a combination wall hanging/pillow sham. Right now it's hanging on the back of my front door, but I may move it to the sofa. Because I'd decided to bind this pillow sham, it occured to me later to just add a hanging sleeve so it could be used either way.

Birthday Presents for Chelsey

My granddaughter picked out the animal prints for this quilt, but let me pick the additional fabrics, for a total of 20. The pattern is Birthday Presents from "Take Two and Add a Few" by Atkinson Designs. Each fabric is used twice in the quilt top, once as the corners of each block, and again as the squares. The binding is a different fabric, and the backing is yet another.

I decided the Thousand Pyramids puzzle ball would be a perfect companion project because it takes 20 triangles. That pattern is from Patchwork Puzzle Balls by Jinny Beyer. Chelsey will be 16 on Friday, and has seen the fabrics, but not the finished products.

Teaspoon as Quilting Tool

If you pin-baste your small quilt projects using the bent safety pins, here's an easy way to latch those pins without disturbing your quilt sandwich or killing your fingers. If you hold the spoon as shown, it's easy to push down on the pin to get it latched. This is one of 14 wall hangings I'm making for Christmas presents. 7 are finished, 7 need to be quilted and bound. Another is all cut out, but it's for me, so it can wait awhile.

China Blue Patchwork Puzzle Balls

I've been having fun making these patchwork puzzle balls. I've made several, but these are just the ones I made with fat quarters of one china blue fabric and one more solid fabric. I've got 2 more of these fat quarters and lots of other blue fabrics, so I'm going to make a few more to put in this bowl on my dining room table. But I'm so tickled with these three, that I just had to share right now! I collect blue and white china, on display in my china cabinet, and the runner at the top of my blog is usually on that table, though I think I'll make a hexagon mat to put under this bowl and put the runner on the sideboard.

Bluebird Pool Party

I took this little movie about a month ago. I believe the younger of these birds were raised in our houses by the older birds. The group is very possessive of our backyard and will chase off the mockingbirds and the doves, though they tolerate somewhat the house finches and chipping sparrows. There are actually a few more, but it's been hard to count them. There were at least 2 broods, one of which fledged while we were gone this summer. The older fledglings help their parents feed the next brood when they hatch, and they seem to stay together through the winter, splitting up and finding their own mates and homes in the spring. Some days, we'll see as many as 7 or 8 different species of bird coming to the bird bath for a drink and a bath.

Mute the sound. DH was watching Glen Beck, and I hadn't figured out how to keep it from recording.

Meeting Two of my Internet MT Friends

This is for all our MT friends at Restuvus, who demand pictures when any of us get together during our travels. MTinMT and Montyna live in Montana, and my DH and I came to Montana to visit Glacier National Park and pick cherries in a few more days. I met up with MTinMT and Montyna at a restaurant in their small two, and we had a wonderful and fun visit. If I can get them posted, here be pictures of us. Left to right, it's MTinMT, me, and Montyna. Obviously, I'm holding hands with DH. We call the motorhome "The Old Gray Mare" because she's 23 years old and isn't looking her best, but she does get the job done.