Finishes and progress made

 Not sure how it got to be Friday already because I didn't get as much done as hoped. But that might be because I kinda took Monday and Tuesday off. Well not completely because I put the finishing touches on two cross stitch projects. 

This first one has been stitched for quite some time. I am glad I waited as I am in love with how I finished. The black background is a black framed canvass from The Dollar Tree, which I just found on Monday when I just happened to stop into the local store. For the cross stitch I sewed the black striped fabric to it and then layered two pieces of batting over a stiff cardboard and wrapped the cross stitch around it. The orange fabric is also wrapped around a piece of cardboard. The glue gun comes in handy to glue all the layers together. A little wired burlap bow finished it off. The pattern was a freebie at one time from Primrose Cottage Designs. 

Another freebie was this pumpkin/crow in a jar from Melisa. She has a whole series of items in jars. A fun and quick stitch that has also been waiting to be finished for a year I think. I used an easel from the Dollar Tree and painted it black before adding the cross stitch which I also wrapped around batting and cardboard. Notice the four acorns I glued onto the bottom, they were from our many oak trees. I am looking forward to decorating with my fall decorations soon.

Wednesday I got back into quilting mode and quilted one of the recent panel wall hangings I was working on Sunday. 

The gray orange triangles on top and bottom of the panel are the result of a Villa Rosa Design little card. I did resize it. October Sky is the name of the pattern. 

Next up was finishing up a sunflower table runner that was in progress for a couple weeks at least.

I need another Cinderella wall hanging to put in the shop. It's quilted but needs binding, I'll do that Friday. 

Linking with Finished or Not, TGIFF, Off the Wall, I quilted this, and Beauties pageant.

Sitting watching TV and here comes a buck looking for a drink from the pond in the backyard just a few feet from the house. And then comes buck #2 a little smaller and buck #3 smaller yet!  We love our wildlife for sure.

Cinderella plus...

 I love the results of the Cinderella pumpkin wall hanging from Laugh yourself into stitches. I just don't care to make the small little brown HST's. But they aren't so bad now that I use the a die to cut larger and trim down. Two of these were pieced over the winter, this is the first to get quilted. I'll soon be doing #2 as this one is already spoken for. People are getting in the mood for fall!

And the backing, I am liking the triangle hanging tabs, so much faster than sleeves.

I enjoy making this scrappy fall table runner. They are strips actually cut from yardage but lots of different ones to look scrappy. The black is the only one that stays the same throughout. This pattern is called Cornerstones by Calico Printworks.

They are longer than the width of fabric so I piece a coordinating strip in the middle. I'll be soon doing another of this. Things are picking up in the shop and I am very happy about that!

                                      

Have you ever seen a striped zucchini? The seeds were all in the same packet, the other three plants are normal looking zucchini, but this plant has the striped ones. We have never experienced that.

I'll be taking the day off from sewing tomorrow as it's our 43rd Anniversary! So I better get cranking out some product today;) Hope to see ya on Friday.

The linky parties you will see me at are Wednesday Wait Loss, and Put Your Foot Down. 

Cinderella Pumpkins

I absolutely love how this turns out each time I have made one. The pumpkins get a bit putsy with the tops of them so I don't make them very often. Each time I do I think I should make one for myself. Nope still don't have one. This one went in my shop last week and it's now on the way to the new owner. 

The pattern is from Laugh Yourself into Stitches. I make mine into wall hangings. Aren't those pumpkins just so sweet.

Making the curved lines in the pumpkins seems to bring them to life. 

I have taken a couple days off from sewing/quilting to get some other stuff done. A break every now and then is good too!  I have been making greeting cards to send to Carole at From My Carolina home blog, she puts them into the goody bags for the Safelight project. After reading her blog a few weeks ago about someone donating a few cards I thought I should do that. I certainly have tons of paper from when I made my own. It's really enjoyable to make them but with the rise in postage I just don't send cards anymore. So it's been a fun few weeks making them here and there. Here is a sample of some I made.

Linking with Sew and Tell Monday, Design Wall Monday and Monday Musings.

Second Q3 FAL finish

When I know deadlines are looming I can really kick into high gear.  I know I have a month before the Q3 link up for FAL, but I also wanted to have one listed in my Etsy shop now.  People have been purchasing fall and winter items for 2 months already. So I try to get things listed one season ahead of time(most of the time) so they can receive them and be all ready for their decorating. So I had two deadlines for these.  Ok I only entered one of them into the FAL but I had two pieced and might as well get them both finished while I am at it right?

A few closeups 

The pumpkin wall hanging/runner pattern is available from Laugh Yourself into Stitches

And my staged photo for Etsy.

Linking up with Sarah the end of the quarter.

Today's link up is at Design Wall Monday

Cinderella...

Cinderella pumpkins that is!  This wall hanging is made from a pattern by Karen Walker of Laugh Yourself into Stitches.  She was a guest speaker at our guild this past winter.  There was a  big snowstorm brewing out west so she came a day early to avoid having to cancel.  And then the storm hit here so she had to stay a day longer.  Thank you, Karen, we appreciated your coming!  And she had some lovelies to show us and patterns to sell, so I picked up this one.

I did change up the borders a bit from the pattern.  I had enough of the tiny half square triangles by then and I just wanted to get it done.   Would I do this pattern again-oh yes indeed as I love the outcome!!

 Now I draw your attention to the brown jagged top of the pumpkin-YIKES those are little 1" half square units(unfinished)!!  Talk about tiny-just hold your mouth right while sewing them little buggers!!!  But those little buggers lined up perfectly in almost every pumpkin.  I guess the stars were aligned just right that day, LOL

I had loads of fun quilting the pumpkins and their leaves complete with curly cues.  I used a Glide thread called Cleopatra for them.  The rest of the quilting I used Glide warm grey, it sets off the quilting nicely on the black fabric.   I did use a ruler for all of the straight line quilting and Quilters Rule nested ovals for the pumpkin.

A top view of my Hydrangea tree.  I love that it blooms white and then turns to a pretty dusky pink.

For your viewing pleasure.  So many people loved seeing my owl pictures in my Sunday Mini Vacation post, that I thought I would share this morning's pictures.  My DH was sitting down to breakfast at 6:30 AM today and what should he see but one of the owls again.  Sitting on the rock wall of our waterfall at the pond just a few feet from the house!  He wanted the frog in the pond.

 

And then he perched on top of the bird feeder again.  Monday night, just as it was getting dark, one perched on this same pole and in came another to sit right beside him.  So rare that we get to see them, it's just precious.   Once again at 8:30 AM today him was sitting on the rocks in front of the pond just for my viewing since I had missed the 6:30 showing.  Again he was wanting that frog-no luck, he soon flew off.

 I'll be linking up with some of the inspirational linky parties!  You can find them on my left side bar.