Wall Hanging is FINISHED!! And more to share too!

Happy Middle of the Month Y’all!  Fall may finally make it to central Florida’s east coast where I am by next week I hear!  Morning temps in the 60’s are predicted!!!  Yahoo 💖

And I have such a fun finish to share with you all!!

This is probably the most fun I have had making a wall hanging for my foyer yet!!

It all started September 23…

Bonnie Hunter… a scrappy quilter I follow… had been showing some string piecing… and how she turned those paper pieced strips into fun little pumpkins… I wanted to try it!!!  I had never done any improv piecing really….

 Well I loved how my 15 little pieces of phone book finished up and de – papered so nicely so I made a pattern…

 And I bought some border fabric but when it arrived it was short by JUST THIS MUCH!!!

 Well the seller made good but I had to change my mitered border idea to something a bit different I realized…  So I went to my computer and decided to do a search for acorns… they are fallish too!! lol

This is what I came up with…

 And here is the flimsy I soon had… with none of that darling border fabric to spare!!!

 Soon I had it layered up and pin basted it in my kitchen on our rolling island cart… amazing the things that become quilting necessities throughout the house ! lol

Remember my frame is taken up with the quilt for my son and sweet dil… and my hoop has a project in it too…

 Above you can see how I was quilting… but I had areas that needed more quilting in the center too… in the end the only place I used a stencil to aid my hand quilting of this wall hanging fun was on the outer border waves.

Daisy, our doxie, was my constant companion as a wagged this project around too!!!

And soon I had a quilt ready for the wash…

In case you were curious… this Fall Wall Hanging…

Is hand quilted and lovely but isn’t funky and eclectic as our theme… so it is up for sale on eBay! lol

Along with these cute drink coasters I made with leftovers from this fall quilt…

And now my foyer looks like this!

 And here are a couple close ups….

I think this project turned out just right… can you see the whimsical stitching in light green thread I did on the turquoise blue center background… I did heart shaped leaves and swirls to fill in the spaces that had too much openness left for the cotton and wool batting I used.  The package said quilt at least 4″ or less apart… so I had to be creative.. & I enjoyed it!!!

Kudos to my bestie for helping me stay creative through this 3 week process of making and quilting this!!!  I couldn’t have done it so fun without her long distance encouragement and ideas exchange 😀

Linking this hand quilted finish to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching  HERE!!!  Go see what other slow stitchers are working on this weekend!

Once that quilt was in the washer I was at loose ends.. and finally settled back in on the quilt on my frame for my son and DIL… soon I was ready to share this pic..

That is row 6 of 15 rows y’all!!! So still a ways to go on this… hopefully by Christmas it will be off the frame and ready to gift though 😀  They are anxious to have it and it is needed in their home they say so that is exciting and keeps me working on it!!

Now I will work on piecing a few projects I have percolating in my brain along with the Kaleidoscope quilt I have cut out… as well as working on a table topper I have had almost a year now and still haven’t done! lol  While I continue to make slow and sure progress on this quilt for them.

I did get a new tattoo of sorts for our vehicle…

I ordered the medium size… but it shows up across the parking lot so it will soon be replaced with a size smaller one! lol  But I do LOVE it!!!  I found it on eBay searching “needle heart decal”.

In the news… which I try not to focus on so much!  There is so much craziness in our country and in the world… so I want to leave you with this thought V V V

Have a blessed rest of your weekend is my wish for each of you… And make time to…

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Slow Stitching … So Much to Share!!!

I have had such a good & busy week y’all!!

A week ago I shared a rocking chair we got on Craigslist… it is oak and we only paid the man $25 for it!!!  It is in excellent condition and sits on my honey’s side of our bedroom (my side has a table with our computer on it)… Well I finished a seat cushion and lumbar pillow for this rocking chair you can see in this montage of pics…

And you can read about it RIGHT HERE!  I even hand tied this cushion for extra stability when it needs a wash.. and I think it holds it all together well too 😀

Then I took all those glue basted letters for the “Happy Fall Y’all” wall hanging…

Got them stitched down…
 
 and then added borders and called it a flimsy
 in THIS POST!  I love the design CHANGE of adding the acorn cornerstones too!!!

Now it is time to H A N D   Q U I L T this quilt top… which can also be called a flimsy at this stage.

 Now this is being done hoopless and frameless… it measures about 35″ x 45″ APPROX only…

After taking these photos I have also used some variegated thread in fall colors in the black inner border toward the center…  Looks nice too!

If you look at the last pic above you can see some templates… I have to come back to the turquoise blue background and add some stabilization stitching to it… but I can’t decide on the thread color… so I am holding it off for last! lol

The center of this wall hanging to be… was featured on Bonnie Hunter’s blog on 10/5/2017 am …

I was beyond excited for sure to have her vote of confidence 😀  This has been a really fun project to break away from all the other stuff I have been doing.

I do want to wish all my Canadian friends a Happy Thanksgiving… I wish Florida had trees that changed colors… esp this early in the fall season.. so enjoy it up there you all!!!

And a little something fallish for the rest of you all…

I sure do love the sunshine too!!!

And for now the quilt is calling me back to take a few more stitches… I will be selling the previous fall wall hanging… if you are interested just send me a message here before it goes on a more public platform … it is all hand quilted too 🙂

It comes with a hanging sleeve on it that lays flat if not in use.. if you choose to use it as a lap quilt for someone special 🙂

Here is a shot of it before I started preparing it for sale hanging in the foyer…

Thanks for visiting me… and thanks for all of you that went back to check out my links to all I posted this week… it was mostly all done by hand and all done with LOVE! 

Linking all this hand stitched love to Kathy HERE for Slow Stitching Sunday on her blog… which is how I spent my Sunday 🙂  go see what everyone else linked up and are thankful for as Kathy is in Canada 😀

So until my next posting…

What is your favorite season?

Mine is Fall… Tennessee Fall to be exact…

Didn’t this turn out just LOVELY!!!

I will do a formal post on this very soon.. but I am just giddy to share this shot… and the journey that led to this finish deserves a post all it’s own…

So yes, Fall is my favorite season.. What is yours???

Since I finished this quilt with fun hand quilting … then washed, dried, and hung this beauty… I am linking to Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday post… HERE!

Now I have switched gears and started marking my daughters’ graduation quilt!!!  In 1 year and a few month she will be graduating from high school!!!

So she got this flimsy for Christmas…

she picked it out online as just a flimsy so that I could hand quilt it done for her 🙂

So after some fits and starts and erasures… I have a pattern going and I currently have 2 of the 9 carpenters wheel stars marked…

but check out how the white background is getting stitched…

I do hope you can see the meandering star and moon pattern I am marking on the white background…

On this quilt I am marking with graphite, white chalk & white ceramic lead size 0.09 mm… this will all wash out when I am done but is safe for the quilt as it shall take me several months to stitch all this… I am choosing to mark the quilt before layering because the designs are so involved and I need the straight lines drawn neatly for me when I quilt… will go MUCH faster for me 🙂

Her idea is… I stitch all the black/grey areas in white thread (YLI) and all the white background meanderings in black thread (YLI)… then we will add some dark red (Valdani Perle 8 cotton) big stitching to the stars to make them pop a bit… very exciting and different from anything I have ever done and VERY QUilTy when finished! lol

In the meanwhile, my friend Wendy is getting a Double Wedding Ring Template Set!  I am very excited about this as I have always wanted to do this pattern… so I bought the template set as well!  It is by Marti Michell and will be a project in the future for me..

I am in a fb group for DWR designs and see lovely eye candy there…  so many ideas!!!

Once I finish the 3rd carpenters wheel and star I will be making Kaydence some bibs with both Zena and Gloria!  Here are some of the fabrics I have pulled along with the perfect thread I found in my stash… and a cool pattern I found online…

 Here is the cute recipient of these bibs to be…

I am blessed to call her my granddaughter for sure!

Here is my inspiration to encourage my design…

I found this one for sale on Etsy 🙂

So I best get back to marking… this sweetie needs some handmade bibs !!! lol

Whooping up all this accomplishments and plans with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict HERE

Have a blessed weekend and always remember…

Sharing a Little LOVE!

So now that Valentine’s and the long weekend are over it is time to show you a bit of what I have been up to!

For Valentine’s my honey finds a card and a certain kind of boxed chocolate for me 🙂  I get giddy every year for this tradition!!!

And I got him a card…

and made him some oven mitts for our kitchen 🙂  He loved them both!!

Wendy, sent me this photo and I put it in a frame until I can shop for the “perfect” frame…

 Wendy lives just outside Melbourne, Australia…

Yep, almost 10,000 miles away as the crow flies!  Wowee… we have been good friends for a couple years now and I love this latest photo she sent me.. don’t you??

In my next post I will give you a full reveal of my just finished wall quilt.. “Tennessee Fall” I have named it!

So until my next post remember…

Feeling LOVEly Here!!!

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day around the world… I am sorry I didn’t have more time to be able to chat with you all… but you are important to me ❤

If you are friends with me on Facebook you saw this Valentine Sentiment I shared with my followers…

But here I like to share the WHOLE story and not just snippets…

It has been over a week since I have chatted with you all here… let me catch you up!

I have been doing some slow stitching 

this week as I worked on the binding of the Tennessee Fall wall hanging…

I have been calling this my Fall Wall Hanging… but when it was time to make the label I thought this quilt would surely deserve something a bit more sentimental to me… I am in love with this wall hanging!!!

Below is a shot I took that doesn’t show my quilting really… as it hasn’t been washed yet.. but is just after I sewed down the binding to the front… then I slow stitch it to the back of the quilt… as I am doing above 🙂

And here is my “practice label” I wrote out on a sheet of paper to decide how big my triangle needed to be to include all the info I wanted /needed to put on it to properly label this beauty….

I bought the pinwheels and the embroidered pumpkin in 1 lot off someone on Facebook.. so I wanted her to have credit on the label.. thus the Pinwheels by info above 🙂

Now I have that label blind stitched into place along that loose diagonal edge… the idea for this style label can be found on Bonnie Hunter’s Quiltville blog site btw..

I am finally to the hanging sleeve …

I am following Bonnie Browning’s AQS video on Youtube for my hanging sleeve instructions… makes a perfect sleeve quick and easy… now to get it slow stitched down! That is my goal for today…

Once I get this hanging sleeve stitched into place I will wash and dry it so it crinkles ever so wonderfully and hang it for pictures and enjoyment for a couple days!!!!  Yipee for that!!!

I can then store it away rolled up for fall! 🙂  Now I am excited for Fall to come to Florida… even if not in cool weather with leaves turning all fun colors… I can enjoy this wall hanging in our foyer all season long!  And still go for long walks on the beach too!  Best of both worlds for sure!!!!

Linking this slow stitching progress to Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday post HERE!

I have also been doing some fast stitching…

I made my honey a very cool Valentine’s gift on Zena … my Singer 401a 🙂

I bought a yard of this cool fabric and first cut out the mitts per her instructions on Youtube…

I used 1 layer of Insulbrite and 1 layer of cotton batting per the Insulbrite directions… 

They are fit perfect… but we took a poll of our home and decided a bigger pair was in order… so I will make a second pair and gift these to my daughter for her future home… is this gonna be the beginning of a hope chest kind of thing?? lol!   I don’t know!  She is planning to move back to Tennessee when she graduates high school… she is on the downhill slide of her junior year currently.

Either way.. this pair will NOT go to waste! lol  We will use them until I buy more insulbrite 😀

My Review…

I really love her pattern… and Vanessa’s instructions on Youtube are wonderful as she walks you through the tricky spots… I contacted her via email when I read that my Insulbrite said to you in conjuction with a layer of cotton batting to be best… she said then use that in her reply … BUT this change put more bulk in that outer layer … so the fit is a bit more snug than it should be… but I do LOVE how well they work!!!  Thanks Vanessa the Crafty Gemini for a fun and easy project!!!!

Next up is….

A lot of quilt marking on this beautiful flimsy that has been PATIENTLY waiting it’s turn …

This is a partial sketch of my idea… I did this by importing a picture I took of just the center star and drew on it in PAINT… the more I use this method to decide quilting designs.. the more I like it and am getting used to what different functions do… how do you decide your quilt design???

You can see I have been pondering this project a while… This is over 10 days ago that I worked on this drawing… and I still haven’t sketched it ON the quilt itself yet!  Just haven’t had any time though it seems….

Ebay has been stellar… we have nothing that didn’t sell that we want to list again… so we are done with that for the moment and we have the $$$ to pay the house tax that is due… in Florida if you don’t pay your property tax on time… they will auction your house off!!!  It is crazy the hoops you have to jump through here when owning a home.. much different living in a high tourism state versus Tennessee where it isn’t that way… for instance here you have to show up in the tax office when you buy a home to prove you live here year round via evidence they ask for… mail etc… then they give you a homestead exemption on your tax amount owed.. .basically a discount because it is your primary residence.  It is also expensive to tag a car from another state in Florida… we paid a very high tax the year we moved here to get a Florida license plate and stay compliant to the laws.  

That said though..

 I would do it all again to live in my Shangri-La!!!!

Well… Off to slow stitch that hanging sleeve… but oh so happy I got to catch up with you!  Have a great week my bloggy friends!!!!

February is coming in BUSY here :)

I can’t believe it is already February!!!

But on Monday morning I dutifully turned my calendar and look…

 I love the theme in my calendar for this month… Dare to be Wacky! Live a life worth LOVING!!!

And look what I have coming up on my oldest son’s Birthday!!!

February 24 >>> AQS (American Quilter’s Society) is hosting a 4 day quilt show in nearby Daytona Beach!  Me and my honey will be going the first day (to avoid crowds … I don’t like very crowded areas much!)
AND >>> I am taking a needleturn applique class with Mary Sorensen the second day of it!

I am MEGA EXCITED ABOUT THIS Y’ALL!!!  Can ya tell! lol

I have never been to a proper quilt show before.. how can I be my age and never have done this??? lol!  Well time to change that this month!!!  I have also never been able to do a good job with needleturn applique… see this was a perfect circle that turned into an wonky oval on my attempt at needleturning a quilt label??!!!

So hopefully this teacher can adjust my habits to good ones that can show off my skill with needle, thread and fabric 🙂

So let me recap my busy week for you …

eBay… then eBay … and more eBay selling… we are raising money to pay our home taxes for the year and it looks like that goal will be met later this month!!!  I am very happy for this 🙂

In between eBaying everything we don’t really use or collect anymore I have been quilting on my Fall Wall hanging…

And as the photo says… this marks 2/3 done on my quilting of this outer border!!!

I am hoping by Monday to be binding, labeling and adding a hanging sleeve to this awesome wall hanging and taking a few photos before putting it away until August or so… I can’t wait to have it up for many Autumns to come though!!!  It is a fun piece of art that I am creating here… for sure! 🙂

Linking this Slow Stitching progress to Kathy’s Quilts ~ Slow Stitching Sunday HERE!

Also this week I received a package from my bestie Connie!

She sent me this cool lightweight jacket to wear in the chilly mornings here… Florida is a place in the winter you must layer up and down throughout the days of winter… lol!

But what I really love about the jacket is the sleeves… there is a thumbhole in each sleeve end…

 This feature is perfect for quilting away early in the mornings (I am up by 3 am most days)… I am enjoying it this morning too!

She also sent a little something for CJ and Rick to play with during CJ’s next visit…

 This cute wooden block train will be a blast for Rick and CJ to enjoy together… well I may even get in on the action too! lol

Finally she included this picture frame … my honey encouraged me to find a picture that would look good in it and I found this shot to add to it…

 And here it is ensconced already in our decor!  You can see Connie, then me, then our friend Debbie in this shot… GREAT MEMORIES I get to now enjoy every time I walk past this area… about 30 times a day! lol

I hope you are finding things in your life to celebrate as well!

Before I close this post… 

I would like to share a facebook funny…

Yep, I am wanted with a pretty big reward for my capture… since I colour outside the lines! lol

I do totally own up to this crime though!  In life and in reality I lived inside the lines of expectations others had of me… only in my older years am I colouring outside the lines and I LOVE IT!!!!  How about you ??  Are you guilty of getting outside the lines of societal expectations in your neck of the woods… or do you stay strictly inside the lines of life expectations of yourself??!!

Finally, I would like to leave you with a verse I am pondering today…

I find walking in the Light of the Lord Jesus is much preferred to the darkness that abounds us daily..

Until my next post I do hope your February is off to a LOVE-ly start & don’t forget…

Sew Fun Weekend :)

Welcome ya’ll!

I am having a very groovy weekend with lots of SLOW STITCHING! 🙂

I have been productive this week around the house and listing some things on eBay with my honey so now I am making some time for my favorite things… quilting and blogging to you my friends 🙂

First up is the Pet Cushion I created on both my Singer 401a (Zena) and 301a (Gloria) …

I shared this close up of a cornerstone in my last post..

Well that was a close up of this part..

 Then I auditioned this fabric and decided I had enough and it coordinates well.. the color of the center panel does not photo well though.. it matches some of the hues in this batik fabric though 🙂

And once washes it was immediately enjoyed…

 So much so that Daisy decided a nap was also in order!!! LOL

We have put this next to the back door that is the busy in and out part of our home… she can keep an eye on us and rest in luxury too! lol

I stuffed this one same as the other… with some fiberfill.. then cotton batting shredded up with an old rotary.. the center part has the remaining foam from her original pillow then shredded cotton batting and more fiberfill.. close the opening and wash as needed 🙂  Tadah!!!!

Next I thought I would try a coaster. but it didn’t turn out as well as my boxed corners on the cushions did!
Back to the drawing board on this one.. and figure out why it is sooo wavy!

All the while I have been working in my down time on the FALL WALL HANGING!!!

I finished the inner border this week and started on the outer border!!!!

 I am marking this border with my Pounce Pad in WHITE… they have pink and blue also 🙂

 If you notice … it is very clear to see the markings when you mark it.. then they disappear and become muddled as you quilt each area… the trick is not to touch the powder much as you quilt!!

Here is the end of the bottom border getting done .. this will have me 1/4 done with the outer border too!!! Yippee 🙂

Linking this awesome progress to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching.. HERE 🙂

Soon I will start piecing my Journey of a Quilter..

it is set up as a BOM.. and I am likely to do it that way as I have sooo much happening! lol  I am doing this quilt with my friend Kathy… we are calling it “Friendship Journey” 🙂  The picture shows all you are to do in the first block only!!!  There are 9 blocks like this!!  Won’t this be fun though.. embroidery… piecing… creating… then quilting and enjoying!!!

I have found so much solace this week in a simple verse of the Bible… John 10:9… if you have this book in your home.. check out this chapter .. it is very interesting for sure!

I just love finding pasture in my life too … hand quilting certainly helps that!

Until my next post.. please remember…

Fall Wall Hanging ~ Progress :)

My Fall Wall hanging has gone from a flimsy….

To the last of the center getting completed on this 45″ x 60″ wall hanging..

Above is that last block and the stencil I plan on using in the border.. I had another pulled. but after watching a video on Craftsy … I changed my mind! lol

Here is the latest video class I purchased and it is perfect for a newbie to an old pro.. something for anyone!!!

In the first lesson Jessica introduced several stitches including these…

I went with the Whip Stitch…

And two colors and weights of perle cotton by Valdani as my choices 🙂

Here is a better close up of it…

Both theads are variegated and I love the results… let me show you how easy this is now…

Step 1 is simply using a big stitch running stitch…

 then in step 2 you wrap the thicker thread around your running stitch..

 Leaving these lovely results!…

Here is a better view of what I am doing and what I have done…

I am using a chalk pencil to mark my stencil… then erasing it by spritzing with water afterward.. it dries quickly once you soak up the excess spritzed water too! 🙂

Linking this post to Kelly at NTT (Needle and Thread Thursday) HERE 🙂

I have also been doing some sewing in my sewing room… on another cushion for Daisy… here is a cornerstone… just to share the cute fabric I added to this project.. she loves the other cushion I made her so this one will be a good bit larger..

More on this cushion in my next post as it is still in the dryer! lol

Hope you have a wonderful week and work on each project you hope to finish by the end of the month! 🙂

Remember…

Mug Rugs from Orphan Blocks.. a Fun January Finish !!

Recently I have been straightening and cleaning my sewing room from sooo many projects I have been up to the last SIX MONTHS or so! lol  Anyway, I have been sorting and gathering orphaned blocks left over from quilts I made that never got used… my goal is to give these blocks to a friend for repurposing or to use them… well 2 of them got lucky and are now IN USE!!!

Aren’t these fun Star Mug Rugs!!!!

I hand pieced the blocks (8 1/2″) with a goal of making several to put together for a table topper… well I never did that and sent off the other cut and prepared pieces to a fb friend for her to finish one day… hand piecing is not something my arthritic hands can do much of I realized!

Today I would like to show your up close how I made them.. by showing you a close up of the one on the right getting done…

First of all pick out your orphaned block of any type you want to quilt into something fun…
Sorry I can’t find a photo of my block unquilted.

Then choose backing that is slightly larger all around than your block … if you have it press both from the back with Best Press… It helps the block to stay nice and crisp!

Finally pick a batting piece… I used a scrap piece of 100% cotton fabric but you may want something that is more heat resistant if yours will be used as a hot pad or pot holder!

In this shot you see how I layered the 3 pieces… my batting layer, then backing layer FACE UP and block FACE DOWN…

Pin these 3 layers together and sew around the edges leaving a opening on a straight side for turning.

Once you have your 3 layers sewn turn the piece over and trim your batting FIRST… as close as possible to the sewn line…

THEN trim the block leaving your 1/4 inch seam EXCEPT for those outer corner… trim them off like I did in this shot…

The ** denotes all the corners I trimmed off 🙂

Now you are ready to turn it right side out through the opening you left.. My opening was about 3″ long and I backstitched when starting and stopping stitching to make them more durable for turning.
Once turned you can now take something with a sharp point like an orange stick or a small pair of scissors or a pen… and push out the very corners so they have sharp points (this is why you trimmed all those points off on the inside! …

Once you have done this to all the corners and side seams and it lays nice and flat…

IRON your piece and press the edges that you left for the opening under so you can hand stitch this opening closed….

Here is my opening whip stitched closed…

Then quilt it up by hand or machine to have a cool Mug Rug!!!!

Here is a close up of the first one I finished… I used a 12 wt Aurifil in Raisin color for all the quilting here…

 What is cool about this Mug Rug is my daughter (17 years old) took her FIRST hand quilting stitches on this piece…

She said it was a bit boring to her! lol  Well taking 5 or 6 big stitches in a poking kind of stabbing stitch would be boring to me as well I think… So on my next project I plan to let her quilt properly … I will give her something more challenging to quilt in a regular stitch with regular cotton quilting thread instead of big stitch thread! lol  That should teach me!!!!

The second one I wanted to be differently quilted… so my friend Wendy sent me this photo among others .. and I was inspired!

the picture is not that great but my mathematical and design mind went wild with the possibilites… so first I stitched in the ditch in YLI black thread…

Then I made the secondary pattern in Valdani Perle 8 cotton thread!!!!  That was tough to tug through batik fabric but I think the outcome speaks for itself!!!

So what do you think… got some orphaned blocks that need rehoming??  Or do you have blocks with possibilities of quick other projects to make for yourself or for gifts for others??

And after washing and drying them .. sooo yummy looking don’t ya think??!!!!

I have 2 other blocks I have pulled and am thinking of baby bibs now! lol  Oh my!  The may become a habit to collect a couple blocks from each quilt I make … or maybe not if I can help it! ha 😀

I am linking this January UFO completion to Julie HERE!  Come see what everyone else is finishing in the UFO realm 🙂

Meanwhile I am down to the last FOUR blocks of the center of the Fall Wall Hanging…

More on this project when I start the inner border… but you don’t want to miss the cool way I am planning to quilt it.. so follow along now!

So that is what I have been up to the last couple days… how about you??  Any quilty progress??

I am linking with Kelly’s NTT (Needle and Thread Thursday) post HERE!  come see what Kelly and others are sharing today 🙂

My daughter also has been having some back issues and is currently on medication and under doctor’s care… please keep her in your prayers!

Until my next post remember…

Getting over a hand quilting hump :)

Welcome Ya’ll!  It is RAINING here on Florida’s east coast as I write this post… we don’t typically get much rain in the winter… so it is sooo soothing and refreshing to have a nice rain!!!

I know many who read this may be dealing with bone chilling cold… or if you are below the equator… summertime heat waves and fires… I pray for each of you and hope you will return that favor by leaving a comment today and praying for me as well!

When I shared with you on Wednesday I had just hit the halfway point in my Fall Wall Hanging… but it was slow moving because this block was coming up…

I am linking this post to Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday linky HERE…. hope you will come see what everyone is stitching today 🙂

So when I got to this block … I still had no firm plan for the center… behind that cool embroidery is thick stabilizer that I couldn’t remove as the stitching is so busy… I trimmed what I could before adding it to the quilt 😉  But I wondered how it would stitch up!

Well I worked through the smaller blocks until I reached this bigger block and took a deep breath and thought about it….

AFTER stitching around the pumpkin itself and the entire embroidery design it became clear I needed a good solid base for this floating pumpkin to hold it down…  Crosshatching worked perfectly!!!

To mark this block I used this pencil by CLOVER…

It says it is water soluble… but i had never used it to make sure.. I tested a small area before marking my whole block and it did wipe off quite easily once wet… so away I went!

Before I knew it the pumpkin block was all finished and it was time to decide on the color of the leaf border I had already decided on for the grey border on 2 sides of this block…

With the help of friends.. and real life experience… I decided on the black variegated to grey Valdani 12 wt thread…

I stopped for a pic at the halfway point to make sure it would show up properly when photoed… I LOVE this thread!

 And here is the block I completed yesterday 🙂

I got so excited I started working feverishly on the blocks surrounding this one but really wanted to view this block without the remaining white marks… so I thought I would show you HOW I DO IT!

First get a spray bottle you can fill with water.. plain tap water works fine.. and spritz your entire block while it is laying flat to absorb that water into the batting a bit..

I let this sit about 5 minutes or so then got a nubby rag and started wiping the marks away….

Once it dried… even though when wet I could see them … the marks were all gone… I expect when I wash it with soap and water in the washer when finished all residual remains of this pencil I am using will be gone 🙂  Yipeee!!!!

Also this week I have participated in a BOM.. it is properly called #WDBOM2016!  You can find details on Wendy’s blog HERE… Wehago Designs Block of the Month 2016 is what the hashtag is short for though 🙂

I sooo enjoyed making this BOM .. it was fun walking down memory lane from the quilts I have made to choose these fabrics…. these fabrics were leftovers from Kimber’s Memory Quilt… the bright fun blue is vintage fabric and didn’t make her quilt… but I had pulled and had hoped to use it there so I used it here instead 🙂  Yay!

I also found out there was a need for 12″ finished 9 patch blocks for fire victims from brush fires in Australia… one lady name Shari is collecting these blocks and will make quilts from them … I sent these 4…

I didn’t crop this shot because I wanted to show off a bit of the vintage bunting Wendy made me and now hangs over my design wall… and you can see a fun disappearing 4 patch block I made up too!  (Next to my 9 patch in the bottom half of the pic!)

Well .. I want to make good slow stitching progress today… only 9 little blocks to stitch before the center is complete on this wall hanging!!!  Yay 🙂  Join us over at Kathy’s.. follow the link above ! 🙂

Until my next post please remember to handle your life with care as…