Autumn Abundance Blog Hop

Several months ago, Bernie at Needle and Foot contacted me about participating in a blog hop she was organizing with Paint Brush Studio to celebrate one of my favorite times of year, Autumn.  Paint Brush Studio had recently released several new lines of fall fabrics and offered to sponsor us in creating projects to show case their beautiful fabrics.  Without hesitation, I said sign me up!  Which brings us to my stop today on the Autumn Abundance Blog Hop and a small give away.

After drooling over all of the fabric lines, I decided to pick all of my fabrics from their Windfall collection.

This is just a small sampling of the prints in the Windfall line.  In total it contains 20 different vibrant prints, incredibly rich in color.  Until you've held them in your hands and viewed them with your own eyes, you just can't imagine the richness and depth in these tone on tone prints.  My vision was to use them to transform my Watermelon Taffy Block I designed for the Fabri-Quilt 2015 New Block Blog Hop (Paint Brush Studio is a part of Fabri-Quilt) into what I am calling Autumn Blooms.  I decided to edit the block somewhat in color placement and double the block size, but construction wise it follows the same format.

So with my modifications sketched out, cutting began. 

Blocks started to take shape.

And in no time, I found myself with a Caroline Kitty Cat approved quilt top measuring 48" square.

The next phase would be to formulate a quilting plan and audition motifs using my Plexiglas.

Since I had just invested in several quilting rulers, I knew I wanted to take this opportunity to play with them by adding lots of curves and lines to the mix.  Ultimately, this first sketch was just a rough draft and as the quilting began, the quilt revealed different ideas to me.

With a plan somewhat in place, it was time to start thinking thread.  I wanted my thread to melt into the quilt top, complementing the fabrics but not competing with them.  Sometimes in life it's important to surround yourself with a great support system and that is what I like to think of my Aurifil Thread collection as, my quilting support system.  From a distance, all the bright colors of the fabrics absolutely shine, but when you are standing close to the quilt, you notice those brilliant fibers adding a wonderful texture across the quilt.   

So for this quilt I chose Aurifil #2130 Medium Butter, #4026 Forrest Green, #2780 Dark Delft Blue, #2610 Light Blue Grey, #1240 Very Dark Eggplant and #2235 Orange.

Obviously, we all know how much I love my big sheet of Plexiglas, but let's face it, it's huge.  So before I started this project I purchased a smaller piece (8"x10") that fits on a shelf right under my long arm with my rulers.  Best idea ever!

It was small enough I could easily place it on top of the quilt and figure out quickly which rulers would give me the desired look I was going for.  Or if I had a section I was still not quite sure how to fill, I could audition different designs on the fly.

As you can see the design on the far right won.

When all of the quilting was finished, the only thing left to do was add binding.  This one just screamed for a flanged binding (but I tend to think most quilts do).  I went back and forth between green with an orange flange and blue with and orange flange, but in the end, blue was the big winner.

After several sew and rips trying to line my binding tails up, I think I've figured out a better way to check alignment before sewing (but we will save that post for another day). 

When the last stitch of the binding was sewed into place, my friend, Jackie, and I headed to the local walking trail and a small park in our town, to enjoy the rest of  a beautiful fall day and grab some pictures of Autumn Blooms.

Even the squirrels had to stop for a second look.

A small peak at the back of the quilt.

I couldn't resist capturing one picture of my quilt in a tree just for Sandra at mmmquilts.

I hope that you can take some time to visit all the other hop participants and that you find inspiration in all of our creations.  I have been so honored to work with this talented group of quilters.  Rumor has it that they also have give aways going on as well, but you'll just have to visit to find out.

Monday, October 24th--Bernie at Needle and Foot

Tuesday, October 25th--Janine at Quilts From the Little House

Wednesday, October 26th--Mari at Academic Quilter

Thursday, October 27th--Tish at Tish's Adventures in Wonderland...hey, that's me!

Friday, October 28th--Sandra at mmmquilts

Now for my give away.  I will be giving away two prizes.  The first will be 36 5" charms of the left over fabric from constructing this quilt.  The only color not included was orange, because, well, it took all of it to piece and bind the quilt.  

The second drawing will be for these six lovely fall inspired fat quarters I pulled from my fabric stash.  

To enter the give away just leave a comment below.  Maybe tell me your favorite thing about Autumn.  For a second chance, followers of Wonderland leave a second separate comment telling me how you like to follow me.  The drawing will stay open till Midnight, Monday October 31st EST.  I will use a random number generator to pick two winners on Tuesday, November 1st.  If you are a no reply blogger, remember to leave me your email address so I can contact you.

A HUGE thank you to Bernie for organizing this hop for us and allowing me to participate. Also to Paint Brush Studios for allowing us the chance to work with these beautiful fabrics.  If you have never played with Paint Brush Studio fabrics, you are missing out.

PS. This is also the first thing I can mark off of my 4th Quarter Goals.  Woot!

Come join the party!  It's always more fun with friends.  Today I'm linking up with Main Crush Monday, Finished or Not Friday,  Finish It Up Friday,  Can I Get a Whoop! Whoop,  Let's Bee Social and Midweek Makers.

WIP Check In

Last week, I posted my tentative goals for the last three months of the year and thought, maybe it would be a good idea to post (maybe not every week) about how the list and I are getting along.  So, one week after making the list I'm still feeling pretty good about my tasks.  

I purchased a backing fabric at a LQS for the snowman quilt, to move it closer to a finished state.

I'm just loving all these top hatted snowmen.  It actually kind of makes me think of wrapping paper.  As of now it sits folded neatly on my sewing table all basted up and waiting for its turn on the Sweet Sixteen.  I had hoped to have it quilted last weekend, but needed to work on a deadline project instead.

  
The MOD Bear Paw QAL quilt actually received more attention than I intended to give to it.  I'm going to use it as a leader/ender project through out the next 3 months (aiming for a finish), but late Sunday night I was in the mood to sew HST's together, so I devoted a bit more time to it.

On Thursday of last week, these showed up...

a set of 6 curved quilting rulers from The Quilted Pinapple (not an affiliate link)...or as my friend, Helen at Midget Gem Quilts, calls them, my quilty boomerangs.  I decided to invest in these babies to help increase the amount of ruler work I can do, and they have been well worth the investment.

 
This is the back of a quilt I am working on for the Autumn Abundance Blog Hop hosted by Bernie at Needle and Foot next week.

The hop is being sponsored by Paint Brush Studios and they graciously donated fabrics to each participant from their new fall lines for our projects.  Make sure you check in with Bernie for a complete list of our schedule.  I believe I will be revealing my project on Thursday, October 27th.

And with that I will leave you with, when good quilting goes bad...

I'm still new to ruler work, but man, someone strayed way off their ruler on this one.  It has since been ripped out (and I'm not usually a ripper) and has been corrected.

So nothing crossed off my list yet, but I'm so close to two finishes, I can almost feel them.  Back to work!

Today I'm linking up with Let's Bee Social.

Vacation Stash

On Friday, I shared the tale that was the Quilt Bloggers International Retreat.   Today, I thought I would share a little bit about the purchases from said retreat.

Let's start with the first stop, Somewhere Sewing.  There were so many things I was tempted to purchase, but with it being the first store, I didn't want to blow my budget right out of the gate.  Boy, I'm glad Beth at Cooking Up Quilts was by my side.  I had been crushing on her purchase of Essentials Cookie Dough ever since she posted about it in August.  This was where she had picked it up at.  Along with Cookie Dough, I picked up another Essentials cream print, but I forgot to get the name off the bolt.

Cookie Dough on the left

I also grabbed a layer cake of Bonnie and Camille's Vintage Picnic.  

Last week our guild was invited to join a near by guild's monthly meeting and shop at the store where it is held, the Elkins Sewing Center.  I took this layer cake with me, and decided I will pair it with this Timeless Treasures gray print.  Eventually it will become Material Girl Quilt's Layer Cake Sampler.  I've been dying to make this ever since I pinned it on Pinterest.

At Zink's Fabric Outlet, the before lunch trip, I picked up several 1/2 yard cuts that I hope to eventually turn into a quilt to commemorate our trip.  I'm thinking Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl's Bundle Buster pattern.

When we went back after lunch I somehow managed to pick up a few more things.

I've decided I cannot own too many white on white prints.  I fell in love with these floral paisleys and that I could pick up like 3 yards for like $12...yes please.  Just for fun I grabbed these two little fat quarters...I mean...why not?

I also grabbed these large spools of polyester thread.  At $0.97 a cone, even if my long arm machine hates them, I'm not really out much.  If it loves them, I just the mother load jackpot.

Next up, was Miller's Dry Goods.  Can we say, "Tish, has a pre cut addiction?"

How could I leave behind this yummy little Jelly Roll of Sundrops?  I couldn't.  Never mind the fact that I have a Jolly Bar of it at home.

I also snatched up the last layer cake of Moda's Elementary.  I had never seen these prints before.  I envision them becoming a quilt for my husband's uncle who was a chemistry teacher at our local high school.

The last little item, was not my purchase, but a gift.  When we first got to the store, I headed to the basement with Sandra at mmmquilts to check out all of the bolts down there.  As we petted all the pretties, I mentioned I really like this print.  I ended up going back upstairs without grabbing any.  While I was drooling over the pre-cuts, bless her heart, if she didn't have a yard of it cut for me.  After we were all done and back at the car loading up our goodies, she got a big grin on her face and told me she bought me something...SURPRISE!!!!  

Have I mentioned how much I love her before?

Another gifty item from our trip, was a goody bag, that all of us helped contribute to.

A big shout out to Beth (Cooking Up Quilts) and Julie (Pink Doxies).  Beth constructed all the bags and Julie made little pin cushions for everyone!  I love all the little treasures we each brought to fill the bags up.

I have one more purchase from the trip, vintage fabrics, but I think they deserve their own post at a later time.  So I'll close with another purchase from the guild meeting at Elkins Sewing Center.  Again, pre-cut junkie...

They had one layer cake of Downton Abbey fabrics left.  I started watching the show on Amazon Prime right before the last season aired and fell in love with all the characters.  So since I was late to the Downton Train, it seems only fitting that I would pick up the fabric when the line is probably nearing the end of its production.  That's okay, better late to the party than to not show up at all.

So before I'm extremely late for the party, I'm hoping over visit the fabulous Molli Sparkles and link up to the Sunday Stash.  I just realized, Molli would be proud of me.  I got my sparkle on with some of those prints from Zinks ;)

  

My Dream Vacation--Meeting Friends

As I start writing this post, I find myself so overwhelmed with emotions that I'm not sure where to start.  My time off from work is very few and far between as far as vacation goes.  I work for a very small family owned building supply store and because our staff is so limited, it takes all of our cogs to make the clock run smooth, if you will.  I was able to work with my boss to arrange for me to take two days off (I think it has been a few years since I've taken two days in a row off during a work week) so that David and I could travel to Ohio to meet up with a few fellow quilt bloggers.  This, for me, was a dream come true.  So I will warn you ahead of time, this post will probably be a long one.

For a few weeks now, Julie at Pink Doxies with the help of Beth from Cooking Up Quilts have been working together to organize a Quilt Bloggers International Retreat.  International because our very own Canadian friend, Sandra at mmmquilts, was able to make the journey down.  So on Thursday of last week, Dave The Quilting Engineer and I started packing our car for our journey north and let's just say the quilting gear bags we packed, out numbered the one suitcase we packed.  Two of everything!

Photo courtesy of mmmquilts

Several hours later, we found ourselves pulling into the drive of Julie's home and my heart BURST with joy when I saw, in person for the first time, Julie running towards me to meet in a big ol' hug!

**I'll confess right now, I didn't take as many pictures as what you would think a quilt blogger would.  I was so wrapped up in meeting everyone and spending time with them, I just forgot to take pictures.**

After saying "hello" to Beth (Cooking Up Quilts), Jennifer (The Inquiring Quilter), and Terry (Terry Ann Hartzell-Insights), we settled in to unpacking.  They even saved a table for Sandra and I to share.  For some reason they seemed to think we would be attached at the hip :)  Dave was on his own.

Setting up my sewing space, waiting for my partner in crime to arrive.  Photo courtesy of Cooking Up Quilts 

Within probably a half hour of being there, David migrated down stairs with Julie and Terry to give fabric painting a go, while I stayed upstairs with Beth and Jennifer to chat and piece on our projects.

Photo courtesy of mmmquilts.  Okay this was after Sandra arrived, but still what the scene looked like.

The second I saw the last SUV pull in, this barley 5" tall, chubby, gal was running to meet Sandra.  Out of shape and breath (meaning me) we were finally able to hug for the first time.  I even kamikaze hugged MacGyver.  The rest of day one was filled with lots of laughs and ended with dinner at a local Mexican restaurant not to far from where all of us were staying.

Day two would bring much fabric viewing!  For transportation reasons, we split into two groups of four.  Car one held Julie, Beth, Jennifer and Terry and car two consisted of myself, David, Sandra and our wonderful chauffeur, MacGyver, himself.  Our first stop would be Somewhere Sewing in Millersburg, OH.

Upon opening the door we were greeted with rows and rows of fabric, it was a bit overwhelming.  David was a man with a plan and set off in search of fabrics to use in his Looking Glass 2.0 quilt and I wandered around aimlessly lost among all the pretties.  

David waited patiently to get his fabrics cut, while behind him, a circus of quilting mayhem ensued.

Photo courtesy of Cooking Up Quilts.  

I think someone had just cracked a joke, as I took a picture of Beth, taking a picture of everyone else.

I thought I was being quite slick about it, but Beth caught me, which made everyone laugh even harder.  Poor Sandra and David can't take us anywhere.

David, Me, Sandra, Terry, Beth, Jennifer and Julie.  Photo courtesy of mmmquilts

After a quick group picture with our loot, we were on our way to our next destination Zink's Fabric Outlet in Berlin.  If I thought I was overwhelmed by the first store, I had no idea what I was in for at the second!  It was HUGE.

Photo courtesy of mmmquilts

I'm so glad Sandra snapped this picture.  This is only one corner of the store (one corner!).  Somehow I started collecting bolts of fabric and decided to make a quilt to remember the trip.  Beth and David were helping to pick things out.  THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN!  I was running around like a small child, jumping for joy when I found something I liked.  I never made it out of this section to see the rest of the store.  So, I was super glad when everyone decided to come back after our super yummy lunch at Boyd and Wurthmann.

Our next destination would be Charm, OH to visit Miller Dry Goods.  This store is actually made up of two buildings side by side.  I fell in love with the friendly atmosphere and all the new fabric lines they carried.  I spent some more time helping David to pick out fabrics for Looking Glass (don't worry I bought stuff too).  

This picture is followed by this one, where he is saying "really, you just took a picture of me again?  I'm trying to work here."

And he was quite proud of himself when he spotted the one and only Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs out in the wild.

And how about a few more shots at the store just for fun.

Sandra and I, finally together

Julie captured this picture of Beth and I.  I love this picture.

Our last shopping destination was a very unique little antique store called Fence Row Antiques in New Bedford, OH.  When I tell you this place is off the beaten trail, believe me, I know off the beaten trail.  It contained a little bit of everything.  For me, it was like stepping back onto my grandparents farm; coal buckets, cast iron skillets, antique quilts, knick knacks and ornaments.  There were so many things too look at.  The owner was one of the sweetest people I have ever met.  She had a lovely tea set up just for us (best peanut butter cookies EVER).  One thing I noticed was, when we were checking out, she had a story or memory for every item, it just warmed my heart.

Photo courtesy of Pink Doxies

Our evening officially ended with a wonderful dinner at Raven's Glenn Winery.

MacGyver just loves that sombrero 

David accidently scored wine glasses for all of us.  When the waitress brought the bills he asked if there was anyway that we could purchase a (one, singular) wine glass to commemorate our trip.  She perked up and said that for $5 we could taste nine wines and get a glass.  He explained we didn't really want to do a tasting (it was almost 9 and we both had drank wine with our meals) could we please just purchase a glass to honor this special occasion.  She said she would see what she could do.  Five minutes later she returned with wine glasses for everyone!  A huge thank you to Raven's Glenn Winery! And David, of course.

That brings us to the bitter sweet third day, which would end with all of us going our separate ways.  After packing things up at the hotel and checking out, we all headed back to Julie's for a little bit of mid-morning sewing and shenanigans.

Photo courtesy of Pink Doxies

All of us immediately got busy with the projects we were working on.  

One of which included a group project consisting of two blocks made by each person.

Jennifer had a chance to check out Julie's zipper collection.  There is a back story here, but some of what happens at Julie's stays at Julie's.

Along with more laughs, we managed to sneak in a few animated quilting and non quilting stories.  In this picture David is clearly having a good time with what ever the subject was.

As noon started creeping up on us, we all gathered below for a wonderful lunch prepared by Julie and participated in a open floor discussion about blogging.  Our sewing stuff headed back to our car and the dreaded goodbye-for-now's had to be said.

MacGyver took one last picture before we left.  I tell you, it's amazing what that man can do with a coffee can, a little paint, paper, cardboard and duct tape, all from the trunk of his car!  Just kidding he used an iPhone, but he's still pretty dog gone handy, sombrero and all.  (He doesn't really wear a sombrero, I'm just trying to add to the mystery and myth of the man we call MacGyver)

So maybe a few thoughts or things I learned before I close (I know, I've gotten out of control here);

I think the group was horrified to find out I only change my needles when I break one.  This little confession came about, after David innocently asked, "how often should one change a sewing machine needle?"  Bad, Tish!  Bad!

Llamas rock.  Llama stories, rock even more and they do not spit.

Julie is an amazing hostess.  You cannot possibly leave her with out feeling recharged and excited.  Julie, I still have a little bit of your Julie sparkles in my fake mason jar and intend to open that jar and let just a little bit out every time I'm feeling down or lonely.

And maybe a question you might be asking...was it odd for you or anyone else to have your husband as part of the actual group?

No, not at all, at least for me (I can't speak for the group).  I love that he was able to have fun, be creative and hang out with this amazing group of artists.  Because that is what we are, a united group of artists sharing a love and passion for all things fabric and quilting related (not a group of women and a guy).  This felt like a small family.  I love that he was able to learn about fabric printing with Julie and laugh and joke and that I didn't need to be included (I was doing my own thing and having a blast).  While I was checking out the rest of Zinks with Sandra, he was able to help Beth pick out fabrics.  And for him it was an opportunity to learn from a group of some of the best quilters out there, who apparently change there machine needles more often than I do :)

So I think I will stop here.  It has taken me almost a week to write this post.  I'm not an overly emotional person, but every time I set down to write, I found myself over come with joy because the pictures remind me of all the fun (there just isn't enough words to describe it) and a bit of sadness because I miss my friends.  Thankfully, they are only a point and click away.

Today I'm linking up to Let's Bee Social and Can I Get a Whoop! Whoop!