Almost Fall!

Am I boring you with all this Autumn/Fall stuff? I hope not, because there's more! And tomorrow's the first day of Autumn, I think! As expected, it sprinkled off and on today, so besides quilting, I lit a couple cinnamon apple candles and dug out some of my fall "stuff." (I'll confess that I also stopped at Michael's on the way home from work last night so I could add to my fall "stuff"--including one of those cinnamon apple candles that are now scenting the air.)

I haven't gotten very far on the decorating and I'll probably take it a little bit at a time, but I thought I'd share bits and pieces with you along the way.

Here's my fall bedding. I made this quilt several years ago from Kansas Troubles fabric. I actually started out with a Kansas Troubles pattern and a monthly class, but I thought the applique was awfully simplistic so I made a few changes as I went. It's mostly machine quilted, but I did hand quilt some of the applique pieces with perle cotton. I finally finished the quilt three or four years ago and entered it in my guild's quilt show. Although the judges didn't award me any ribbons (and right they were, too, because there are some technical defects!), I did win Members' Choice and Viewers' Choice. I love this quilt and I look forward every year to bringing it out and putting it on the bed. Here are a couple close ups:

Morning glories twining around a stalk of corn.

Pumpkin--there are three across the bottom along with two mice and a black cat--this photo just shows one with a mouse and cat.

Purple coneflowers and sunflowers--a branch full of apples on top; on the opposite side, there's a branch of pears. I didn't take close ups, but across the top of the quilt are branches with oak leaves, a black crow (hidden under the pillows), and a moon on one corner and a sun on the other.

It took a couple years, but eventually I made matching panel covers for the wall above the bed, and a valance to go above the sheer curtains in the room. (I couldn't get a decent photo of the valance with the sun coming in, so you'll just have to take my word for it!)

Here's another quilt I wanted to show you:

One year, my online group had a Halloween block challenge. Each of us who wanted to participate made and sent in a block. The blocks were voted on anonymously and the winner got all the blocks. The winner was Eileen, who made the barn block near the center of the quilt. (The block I made is just to the right of it with the flying bat.) I loved these blocks to start with and then when Eileen set them into a quilt and hand quilted it, I thought she did a marvelous job! A year or so later, Eileen gifted me with the quilt as a Christmas present--I was totally amazed! It's one of my favorite quilts! Last year, I was able to display it in the living room, but I have one of my mom's paintings hanging in the only space it fit. So this year, it's on the wall in my bedroom, above my bookshelf, where I can enjoy it when I go to sleep at night and when I wake up in the morning. Aren't I lucky to have a friend like Eileen? Truly, I'm lucky to have all of you quilting friends!