October Monthly Mini

 

Aptly named, “Pumpkin Patch”, this month’s mini was a joy to make. I added a bit of extra batting to the pumpkins and hand stitched the curves to simulate the real thing.

I used this whimsical Halloween print on the back. 

Who doesn’t love pumpkins? They are cute, colorful and they taste delicious. 

Cruise through my fellow mini maker’s pumpkin patches to see what they have created this month.

 

Quilting Babcia (Amity Quilter)

Randy (Barrister’s Block)

Cathy (Big Lake Quilter)

Barb (Fun with Barb)

Shasta (High Road Quilter)

Julie (Julie K Quilts)

Kathy (Kathy’s Quilts)

Katy (Katy Quilts)

Sandy (My Material Creations)

Barbara (Quilts, Gravestones and Elusive Ancestors)

Janet (Rogue Quilts)

Kyle (Timeless Reflections)

Cynthia (Wabi-Sabi Quilts)

 Happy Halloween!

Sew-along updates: Cassandra's Circle and Fig Leaf and Flower

 

I am very thankful for the sew-a-longs I have been involved with this year. They have (for the most part) truly saved me from overthinking (I’ve actually done very little thinking at all in 2020) my quilting endeavors.

 I finished our 3-way (Barrister’s Block, Fun With Barb and me) medallion challenge fairly quickly because we kept it simple. We were all experiencing Covid brain! Now I just need to quilt it.

 Barbara Brackman’s (Civil WarQuilts) Cassandra’s Circle has kept me entertained with the wonderful stories that go along with each block. Here is my most recent block, Molly’s Cotton Boll. 

 My Sew-a-long with Dawn (Collector with a Needle) this year is with her new pattern, “Fig Leaf and Flower”. Dawn and her daughter create wonderful patterns of antique quilts in Dawn’s collection.

 One of the first things Dawn states is to “read the instructions thoroughly before cutting”. Makes perfect sense to me. Of course, if I had done that, I would not be in the predicament I am now. I backbasted and appliqued the stems, leaves, flowers and 183 of the 213 petals before I discovered that I had oriented my swirly vine in the wrong direction!  

I borrowed Dawn's image so I could show you what I mean. The pattern is supposed to orient like this on the center square: 

Funny, normally I would have wadded it up and put it in a drawer until my tears dried. But in all that has happened lately, this seemed so petty. I literally laughed out loud. It felt good to laugh, in fact I couldn’t stop! 

 So… I have to “start thinking” and come up with a clever way to salvage this center. At this point I think I will make this into a smaller quilt and go shopping for background fabric for round #2! See, there is a silver lining after all.

 Stay tuned for the next episode of “sewing in the fog”!

Winner - Lucky #7

I laughed when I pulled the lucky number “7” out the mask and was delighted to find out that the commenter was Janet (RogueQuilts). Janet has made nearly 500 masks!! She is a super participant in our monthly mini’s. I’m sure she will make something fantastic with these little charm squares.

 

And after all the mask making, I hope she takes a few moments to enjoy the latest issues of “Primitive Quilts and Projects” and Quiltmania’s “Simply Vintage”.

 I would like to say that each and every commenter is a winner. You have all done your part in helping others survive the struggles we are facing right now. Kudos to all of you! Quilters are the best!

Mask Production 101 with a little giveaway

 

After the 50^th mask came off my machine, I thought – “enough”! But the requests kept coming and so another 50 marched through and then out the door. I ran out of elastic weeks ago and resorted to cutting up old t-shirts. They are actually more comfortable than the elastic! I’m sure we are all sick of making masks and gowns and caps, but as quilters we cannot say no to those in need and so… here is 101!

 

My mind has turned to mush during these crazy times and I feel like my quilting has suffered. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject. If you have been in production, what was “your” breaking point?

 Simply leave me a comment on or before October 10 for a chance to win a little surprise package. This includes my overseas friends as well, just realize that if you win, it may take a bit longer to reach you.

 I will number each response and choose a winner by drawing a number out of a mask!