Getting Ready . . .

I've spent much of the evening getting ready to go on our mini vacation, doing laundry and such. Someone I know once said they felt like a ferret on speed--yep, that's exactly how I've been feeling the last several days. It seems like I've barely had a chance to catch my breath since sometime last week. I'm sadly behind in my blog reading for one thing. Hopefully once we come home on Saturday night, I'll have a couple days to relax and get caught up on life at home.

Sharon over at Red Geranium Cottage got back from her own mini vacation and wrote me to ask whether I'd gotten the packet of patterns I won from her. Yes, indeed I did get the package, but that's all I knew at the time. Why? Because all of my mail for the last several days has piled up with no time to sort or open any of it. Finally, FINALLY tonight I did just that. Look at the great patterns Sharon sent me!

Well, look if you can--I'm really and truly a poor photographer, without a doubt. But if you can't quite make out what a nice haul I received, take my word for it! One of the patterns is actually a punch needle kit. Have you tried that yet? I haven't but I keep eyeing the patterns because they're so darn cute! Now I have a really good reason to try it. I need to get one of the needles, but maybe I can pick one up on my travels.

You may wonder what I've been busy doing that has kept me so insanely occupied. Actually, so do I! Here it is, Wednesday night, and I can't even really remember what I've been doing since sometime before last weekend. Okay, yes, I do remember going to Apple Hill. And in case I forget, I blogged about it, so I can always refresh my memory. And, of course, we made applesauce as you know--blogged about that too. The rest of last weekend is a bit of a blur although I know I worked hard because my back's still hurting along with several other joints and muscles I didn't even know I had, and for a few days, I was walking around like a 85-year-old crippled woman.

I know I spent time finishing the leaf quilt. Here it is in all its glory:

And I spent time decorating the house--I think that's what really killed my back, muscles, and joints. In fact, now that I think about it, I made a stop at Michael's on the way home from work last Friday night, and then I decorated Friday night and Sunday night, I think. While I was in Michael's, I saw an arrangement I really liked, so I bought what I needed to come close to their version. Here's mine:

Before I go, I'll leave you with a bunch of photos of the fruits of my decorating endeavors--and it appears those fruits are mostly pumpkins. Oh, yeah, and first of all, let me show you the HUGE pumpkin my husband picked out when we were up at Apple Hill. I was watching the scale when they weighed it and I know it was over 23 pounds--because I saw "23" and thought for a minute it was $23. No, I have no idea how much it actually cost because the receipt had all sorts of amounts identified as "produce," so I don't know which was the monster pumpkin. My husband loves to carve pumpkins for Halloween--when he does this one, I'll make sure to share the "after" photo.

Behave yourselves while I'm gone! I'll try to catch up with everyone on Sunday.

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!