Wake up and stitch the roses!

I have retired the snowman cross stitch for a bit-- I only have two more to do, and I think I will enjoy finishing it up in January when there might even be the possibility of going outside to make a real one!

Last year at this time, I was working on my "Forever Project"-- the applique quilt I started in 1998 which I didn't really ever expect to finish. It is call "Baltimore Out of the Box" and was sold by Keepsake Quilting as a Block of the Month so many years ago... do you remember it?  It was designed by Dinah Jefferies for her company Garden City Gateworks and came before the age of the internet, so if you Google it, I think my blog is one of the only things that comes up.

Well, it actually looks like I might finish it in a couple of years! I am on the borders-- I finished one last year, and over Halloween I prepped and glued the next one... that's about 60" of border. I really look forward to getting up in the morning and stitching on a leaf or two with my tea-- sometimes that's the only thing that gets me up!

The flowers and buds are all 3D-ish. I use Appliquik materials and prep the whole thing before I sit down to stitch. And a little teeny, tiny needle-- it took me a long time to figure out that's what you need for teeny, tiny stitches-- not that long needle they tell you will swoop the seam allowance under!

So after about 3 weeks, I have one side of the border all stitched down and I'm starting on the middle burst of flowers. I've gotten quicker at it--(not necessarily better, lol) and I may even get the third border done over the winter.

On the piecing side of things, the bats are still baffling me!

I think I may be retire this for awhile.

With all the new project starts this fall, it's been a bit like Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory. I've been trying to keep things positive, though-- I have made tremendous progress on finishing this year.

If you follow me on Facebook and Instagram, you see that we only have ONE cottage of the month left to go-- and the finishing kit is designed, with instructions coming along.

This is a photoshopped image of what the final piece will look like.

So you see we need quite a few sashing pieces--thirty one!

I wanted to give you a variety-- so while I want them to be subtle and not distract from the blocks, we can get some movement through the quilt. This is what I have for you:

Maple Leaves

Oak Leaves

Vertical Birds

and Horizontal birds.

All of them come with right and left facing versions, so you can mix and match whatever speaks to your heart, and we'll also be explaining how to customize to your own colors-- your quilts should always be about YOU!

Here's a first sample block with setting---

But Lucy and Ethel have to put that down for a bit-- 

it's going to be Thanksgiving!

I've been warming up my oven for it--

Also, in a moment of optimism, I bought a HUGE new formal tablecloth for my dining room. My table is the kind that you can add leaves to, according to the number of seats, and extend it out to about 120" long. So yes, we will be limiting gatherings this year, but our friends and family will hopefully be as large as ever in 2021.

I am really living for that.

xox

Carol