Hello, Autumn, Darling Quilt

Hello, Friends!

Are you enjoying autumn as much as I am?

It makes me want to curl up with a new quilt,

for keeping cozy on these cool evenings.

I was stricken with All-Hallows-Eve fever

from the moment I discovered this beautiful fabric

from Fig Tree Quilts.

I first saw it used with the "Merry Christmas, Darling" quilt pattern

from Cotton Way, and it shot to the top of my must-make list.

I found this pattern to be extremely enjoyable to sew.

At first, I planned to stick with the color arrangement

shown on the pattern cover.

Pretty soon, though...a random design took over,

since I had orange, gray and black blocks

instead of the two-color palette.

I found it to be just as appealing, if not more so.

I think I love the all-black star best.

{It reminds me of a Halloween kitten.}

Before quilting, I pinned the quilt sandwich together with pins.

This part is not my favorite step in the process.

{Does anyone out there like making a quilt sandwich???}

The machine quilting process was much more fun!

I used a set of long wavy lines,

in the style of my sister of Susie's Sunroom.

The backing is a charming pumpkin colored floral print. 

For the binding, I selected the orange peel print.

It complements both sides. 

I don't ever mind stitching on the binding by hand,

because the big finish is worth it!

It's just scrumptious, when it's all rolled up, don't you agree?

If you enjoy sewing, I have a great resource for you to explore.

The website is called "Do You Sew?" and is fun for

anyone who sews, no matter your experience level.

Sign up here to receive their newsletter!

Now I'm all set for the month of October.

How about you?

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Cherry Christmas in March

So far, so good...

I'm making at least one Christmas-y project

per month in 2013,

and here's my finish for March.

I've been dying to try out this pattern from Cotton Way,

called Cotton Way Candy.

{I purchased the PDF version, and I can follow it on my tablet as I sew...

no more wondering where I might have stuck that paper pattern!}

Pattern for Cotton Way Candy - from Cotton Way website

I had so much fun placing the folded squares from my

Cherry Christmas charm pack!

{I used dozens of pins, to hold the folded triangles in place for stitching.}

When they were all stitched into a checkerboard pattern,

I added only one narrow border.

It's for my kitchen table, and I didn't want it to be too large.

Can I let you in on a secret tip?
I used a 100% cotton batting, 

and once I smoothed down my quilt sandwich,

the fabrics gripped the batting so well

that I didn't even use one single pin to hold it

while I stitched some stabilizing lines

along the border and basted the edge!

{Gasp!  I'll wait while somebody gets you some smelling salts.}

If you are a "Pinner", I have a nice resource for you to find dozens of pins!

The next step was to do some quilting...

nothing too fancy, just diagonal lines across the white squares.

Whenever I want to keep my lines super-straight,

I use masking tape as a guide.

That way I don't have to worry about marking lines

that refuse to come out later!

I turned the quilt and stitched more lines

in the opposite direction, to make x's.

Here's where I made a slight departure from the pattern!

The blocks looked too large to me

for folding over the edges a la Cathedral Windows.
I didn't want those windows to be opened very far.

I decided it would be perfect, 

if I stitched another set of diagonal lines

across the folds,

in effect reducing the size of the "windows" by half.

Then I went ahead and created the Cathedral Windows,

folding and stitching each of them by machine.

{It was so easy...I didn't even use any pins...again!}

I love the back, too...nothin' but fresh clean white.

{It's just for show...clearly I must explain that to my family...clearly!}

I can always remember that I made this
Cathedral Windows project

while Pope Francis was being elected!

There was even some snow available for my little photo shoot!

Come along with the Crafty Quilter and me...

and we'll make Christmas happen every month!

Stop in again soon...I've still got lots of Cherry Christmas fabric left!

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