Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

The gremlins have gotten into my home computer...hope the resident computer guru can chase away the culprits! I'm posting from the local library...so if you don't hear from me in awhile...it means the gremlins have overtaken the home computer :(

I'll be back when I can and hopefully, will have tons to share!

The Next Step...

Would you do this?













or this?!

Believe it or not, neither the skirt or apron got dirty! only wet in the rain! I must have some really clean tires....lol.

We'll be looking for a dirt road after DD gets home from school! DH suggested rubbing shoe polish onto the skirt and apron as a last resort...



Since I had about an hour on Saturday and didn't feel like *doing what I should be doing*, I made a *Day of the Dead* purse to carry until Halloween with the leftovers from my Halloween quilt backing.

It is a little smaller than my other placemat purse but this is about all the Day of the Dead fabric~only small scraps are left. DD asked if I could make one exactly like it for her to use as a Trick-or-Treat bag but make it bigger, change the placemat color and ric rac...you know the drill. My answer was, "er, no sweetie~I'm out of this fabric" Let's see if she takes over this one! :)

Design Wall Monday

Two *dirty maid* skirts...would you *let* the girls purposely *dirty* your muslin?! Better the muslin the the Moda t-o-t they were reaching for! :)

When it starts to rain again, we will show the next step in the *dirty-ing* process...

Beginning Card Making

Simple but effective!

Many thanks to Pam, Linda, Amy and Maureen for sharing of their stamps, inks and ideas!

Looks like now I need to figure out how to photograph cards...teehee...

Stash Report Week #43

Seems like a few bloggers also did some buying this week. Perhaps we are getting ready to hibernate in our sewing rooms for winter?!

My report:

Fabric added this week: 8 yards
Fabric added this year: 224.5 yards

Fabric used this week: -5 yards
Fabric used this year: -274 yards

Net fabric for the year: -49.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• quilted a guild QOV
• made 2 Four Corners Aprons

Goals for next week:

• finish the *dirty skirts* for the Halloween costumes
• start on another project

Win! Fall Fabric!

Your chance to win some wonderful Fall Fabric!



The more people who enter then the more prizes to win!

Check out Pumkin Patch Primitives Quilt Shop Giveaway!

:)

Guild Quilt of Valor

I finished quilting one of the Oconomowoc Quilt Guild Quilts of Valor. My contact person is Jean but I am not sure if Jean was the sole piecer or if it was a group effort.

In any event, look at the interesting back. At the Oconomowoc Arts Festival in August, members of the community signed squares and this is a clever way to include them.

This one Signature Squares sums *it all up* quite nicely, I thought.

I took Mary's advice and used the Ebb and Flow pattern from Willow Leaf Studio as I was unsure which pantograph to use.

Aprons for *Maids*

The two Four Corners Aprons.

The girls had gone through the scraps of black and white to pick out fabric for their aprons. I made M-A-M type blocks and then sewed them to get a size that I thought would work for the girls. Yesterday at DD's basketball game, I made the yo-yo's and sewed them onto the top flap.

Not a whole lot of quilt-y happening here. So not very much to share. :(

Stash Report Week #42

I added some fabric but also had a finish, a slight change in the numbers.

Fabric added this week: 4.5 yards
Fabric added this year: 216.5 yards

Fabric used this week: 6 yards
Fabric used this year: 269 yards

Net fabric for the year: -52.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• pieced, quilted and bound Christmas Tree Skirt

Goals for next week:

• work on DD and BF's Halloween costumes
• quilt a QOV

Halloween is nearing so I need to concentrate on DD's costume. Oh, and she volunteered me to make a matching one for her BF that she will be Trick-or-Treating with! :) I am to make black aprons and they *stole* some muslin yardage from the closet. They are currently trying their hardest to make the muslin *dirty* so they can be....are you ready?!....*dirty maids*! as in muddy, dusty, etc, etc, etc....DH suggested that he drive over the fabric to *help with* the dirty-ing process....

A Finish

The finished Quilted Christmas Tree Skirt.

Designed by Jacquie. Tutorial here.

Quilted with Snazzy Snowflakes from Willow Leaf Studios.

Thanks Jacquie for a wonderfully fun pattern!



The pieced back. I miscalculated on where to start the quilting, so the borders all ended up being a different size. Just adds to the wonky-ness of the Christmas Tree Skirt.

We are travelling to Michigan for the Friday night reception. See you Monday morning with the stash report!

The Wedding Gift

My nephew was married last month and this weekend is the family reception. When asked if the newlyweds tastes were more traditional or contemporary, the answer was contemporary. Last summer while visiting Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio, she had a tutorial published on Sew Mama Sew's blog for a Contemporary Quilted Tree Skirt.

This week I have been working on piecing it. A fun departure from my *normal* sewing stuff, eh? The *traditionalist* in me insisted that I piece the mod trees in green and not red...so the tree skirt has a *green* feel to it. I plan to quilt it with snowflakes.

Stash Report Week #41

Nothing added this week and a few finishes! I'm heading back into the negative territory where I want to be at year's end...woohoo!

My Report:

Fabric added this week: 0 yards
Fabric added this year: 212 yards

Fabric used this week: -30.5 yards
Fabric used this year: -263 yards

Net fabric for the year: -51 yards (used!)

What I accomplished this week:

• quilt and bound Snail's Trail
• quilt and bound Halloween
• made 6 totes bags for cancer patients

Goals for next week:

• make Wedding reception gift

The Wedding reception is on Friday in Michigan...ummm...better get busy! :)

My Mom thinks I won't get the gift made...cash always works as a back-up gift, right?!

Four More Totes

Since I wanted to wash the fabric for my next project and the rye beige thread was in Baby, I decided to make a few more donation totes. I have used up all the home dec fabric I had and only scraps remain of the white/pink polka dot. I even had to use some of the lining fabric for a set of handles!

Finished Snail's Trails

Here is the finished Snail's Trail. Definitely a *swirly* pattern, a little long but there will be ample room to fold the pillows under the quilt when needed.




We found this Corvette Stingray fabric online last year.









The Corvette looks just like the one in the garage except:

On the fabric: black In the garage: white

On the fabric: 1980 In the garage: 1979

The only similarity that I can *see* is that they both are Corvette Stingrays...lol

I quilted it with the Contempo panto from Willow Leaf Studio. Straight lines, boxes and rectangles. I didn't think I would like this panto, but I do! A little Frank Lloyd Wright, perhaps?!

Thursday's Happenings

Last month at Day Guild, the gals voted to supply the patients at another Cancer Treatment Center with the tote bags and arm comfort pillow. This translates to every member made a commitment to make and donate two bags.

Here are my bags...one for each Cancer Treatment Center. I will probably make more as I have more of this Home Dec fabric for two more totes. I also have rather stiff black with white dots that would work for the totes lining...now to find a suitable fabric for the outer portion of the bags. :)

WIP Wendesday

I finished my Halloween quilt last night.

My pattern is based on Bonnie Hunter's I SPY A FOUR PATCH . These quilts make up really fast and are a fun way to use novelties. Usually I donate this pattern but this one is for me! Although, I have enough Halloween novelties to make another yet smaller quilt~Do you think a child would like a Halloween quilt at Christmas?!

I quilted it with Inkblot, which reminded me of ghosts!









I used this Alexander Henry 'Day of the Dead' as my backing. Just reported in on Sunday and out of the stash, with just leftovers!

And Now For The Pictures...

A few blogger friends asked to see pictures of the stash enhancement that occurred this past week and here I thought that I could casually mention the stash enhancement and just *gloss it over*. Not a chance!

Here you go guys, in no particular order:

On the left: backing for my Halloween quilt.

On the right: DD asked for a tote for her basketball gear...made out of basketball fabric, of course.


On the left: backing and maybe pillowcases for two nephews Christmas gifts. shhhh....it's a secret and yes, both boys did actually request quilts. One is 14 and the other is 8.

On the right: backing and maybe pillowcases for the Christmas commission quilts. Same family, the son likes basketball and the daughter likes soccer.

Top: DS said he would like more Classic Corvette pillowcases. Since this fabric matches the other quilt and pillowcases, I decided to order more.

On the left: Border for DS's Michigan State T-shirt quilt.

On the right: My SIL really likes roosters and chickens~thinking some sort of Christmas gift here. Maybe an apron or placemats or hotpads or...open to ideas!


Top: A couple yards each of the stars for borders and bindings on QOV's.

Below: A few more fq's to add to the QOV r/w/b stash.

Top: backing for the Wedding gift~it will be a Christmas theme and some 1/4 yard cuts as go-with's.

Stash Report Week #40

No finishes this week and a lot of buying. a.lot. too.much.

The damage report:

Fabric added this week: +43 yards
Fabric added this year: +212 yards

Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used this year: -232.5 yards

Net fabric for the year: -20.5 yards

What I accomplished this week:

• finished piecing Snail's Trails to a flimsy
• finished piecing Halloween to a flimsy

Goals for this week:

• quilt and bind Snail's Trails
• quilt and bind Halloween
• start piecing Wedding gift

The Start of Something New...

...a Halloween quilt.

EDIT to Credit: This pattern is based on Bonnie Hunter's I SPY A FOUR PATCH!

October 1, 2009

This is my October view yesterday morning. The leaves on the trees are starting to color and there is a coolness to the air. Autumn has arrived at Bell Creek Quilts! We've had a few cool starts and the warm weather flowers are looking sad. :(

Perhaps the master gardener will be here this weekend to spruce up the yard for winter, if the rain stays away! :)

Are you tired of looking out the kitchen slider door? Our property actually ends at the bird house and the series of ponds are the subdivision green space complete with paths. DD and her BBF were enthralled when the front pond dried up after 22 days without rain~wish I had taken a picture of the girls *walking on the pond* :)