Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart

 

 

 

It is time to stop and Give Thanks.

 

 

I'm pondering this past year, that has flown by so quickly, and I am reminded how blessed I am.  
All-in-all, it has been a good year. I'm healthy and I have all I need for life and happiness.  

 

 

Considering I didn't sew even ONE stitch on either of last month's projects....I'm not even kidding.... I seriously considered just giving up on the UFO lists for this year and regroup in 2026.   But, I decided to plug on ahead.  I still have two months and now that the weather is turning cold, thus staying indoors more, I think I can make some progress.

The APQ  UFO Number is 3  and the
River's Edge UFO Letter is "J" 

APQ's:  November's number is 3.  Stirling's Applique Car quilt, Road Trip.  This was originally on the list for April...
click HERE.   I had to go back and see why it didn't get finished then...oh, that's right...a Tornado and a case of hives....that'll put a crimp in anyone's plans.

 It actually looks like fun and I like applique.  Imagine Sterling's face when he sees it!

 

 

 

I'm going to get all the fabric together TODAY! 
Picking fabric is the hardest part for me. 

 

River's Edge:  November's Letter is "J" .  Summer Soiree, a Quilt-Along by Pat Sloan.  As UFOs go, this one is not too old...started in 2021. (It has come up on a UFO list only 4 times....hardly even worth calling a UFO.)

This could be an easy finish...I just need two blocks, then assemble.  AND, it would be a good project to try QAYG*.   Remember Pauline Rogers from Australia?  Remember I paid good money to buy her whole QAYG kit?  

NOW is the time and THIS is the project!! 

  

 

 

All my fabrics are ready to go.  There are four projects on this table....Let's dive in!!!

 

 

*QAYG = Quilt As You Go 

Quilt Show Take-Aways

Vendor Hall
It really did look like this.

I went to the show knowing I'd find gobbs and gobbs of fun, wonderful quilt stuff.  And, I was not disappointed.  But, I also had a budget (my money tree has not started producing yet.)  My strategy was to visit the booths, and yes we do look in every one...mostly, and mark down on the map what I liked and the booth number where it was found.  It actually worked pretty well.





I only came away with two things. But, I still managed to go over my budget. (sad face goes here)

The Oregon wall hanging pattern speaks for itself.  As I am a Portland girl, I just could not pass it up.

Before I talk about my other purchase, 

I need to give you a bit of background.

The first two quilts I ever made were QAYG **.  One, a simple 4-patch and the other  a BOM* from Cool Cottons in Portland, Oregon.  Back then I knew so little about quilting that when the group was talking about sashing I thought they were saying slashing!   I thought that was a bit strange, but oh well ...  the group did eventually correct me. Imagine my embarrassment.

I  did not like the finished result of QAYG at all. They looked sloppy and wonky.  I've never done one since.  But, I did not think I would EVER pay to have someone else quilt them, either...too expensive.  That, of course, changed because if you don't QAYG and you don't send them out the only thing left is to tie them.  I have tied a few....functional but not as pretty as quilting. (You could quilt them yourself on your domestic machine...I learned a whole new vocabulary quilting them myself.)

Simple 4 patch for my son.
QAYG

BOM that I gave to my friend, Peggy.
QAYG

Enter Mr. Flynn.  At another quilt show (I think it was Paducah)
 I met Mr Flynn and purchased the Flynn Method for free motion quilting.

Think of it as the poor-woman's answer to a sit-down quilter, like the Tin Lizzie or the Handi Quilter Sweet 16.

It looked so easy!  I was so motivated!  It is still in the box 10 years later!!!

Every show I attend I stop and talk to Mr. Flynn, as I did this year.  I promised him THIS year, I would take it out of the box.  And I will keep my promise.

Now, back to the present time:  as we were perusing the vendor booths (I'd only purchased one item so far and feeling pretty proud of myself)  I happened on a booth with a sign "THIS METHOD FOR QAYG WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE."   Being the smart-aleck that I am, I scoffed.  But, I gave her a few minutes of my time.

IT DID CHANGE MY LIFE....AND TOOK ME OVER MY BUDGET! I bought her kit.

All the Instructions

All The Tools

I could not possibly describe how this works, so here is a link to the website with videos on how this works.
Here is a link to a very short  demo video.

The process in a nut shell.
The last circle is the finished sashing.

The result is very attractive, looks really easy and I  think I'm going to liked it very much.

One more post tomorrow to talk about some Honorable Mentions.
Things I would have purchased if I hadn't already run out of money.

Ciao.




*BOM = Block of the Month
**QAYG = Quilt as You Go