Numbers 10 and 11 finished

Although these still need labels and hanging sleeves, two more of the Modern Patchwork minis are bound and finished! I stitched the binding down in front of a friend's fireplace on a chilly New England evening...a wonderful, hygge-filled evening if ever there was one.

"Looptastic" miniature

"Happy Hour" miniature

I just finished (!) the quilting on the last one; I'll make some binding later this afternoon and finish it (and maybe some sleeves) during today's football games.

And now my attention turns to some hush-hush secret projects that I can't yet blog about...but I can't wait to!

Basting session

Basting Day:

This is my autumn version of Rapid City. Not sure yet how I'm going to quilt it, but I have the perfect shade of Blendables ready to go!

Quick turnaround

As I mentioned in my last post, I downloaded the International Quilt Festival annual issues. Once I got the templates ready, this only took two evenings -- and that counts the hand appliqued circles (yes, I did something by hand!). Very quick and very lovely project:

"Marbles" table runner. Design by Brigitte Heitland, in  International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene, Winter 2011/12

I think I may begin following this designer's work more closely; I find her new Zen Chic line very appealing, and I love all the subtle curves she incorporates. Watch this space...

I have the binding on two more of the Modern Patchwork minis, with only one more to finish quilting. My next task is to put together a sampler quilt that uses each of the mini patterns in the same fabrics. I'm going to give the assembly directions to anyone who signs up for all twelve sessions of the class that I'm teaching (starting in only seven weeks!?!). I'll get started on that soon. Tomorrow I need to finish the quilting on the twelfth of the minis and baste another full size one, probably the autumn Rapid City that I love so much. I think I have enough pins to baste the Tracking Sandy top too. Also, I'm hoping to get started on Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street mystery quilt. I think I'm going to use an entirely different set of colors than the ones she recommends, but I haven't started cutting yet so I might just go with the lime-turquoise-purple palette that she chose.

Since it's only November 23, there is still plenty of time for me to over-commit myself to making holiday gifts...and I just saw that Urban Threads is having a big site-wide sale. Let the season begin!

Happy Hour mini

Here it is..."Happy Hour," the twelfth and final miniature from Elizabeth Hartman's book:

And that's the LAST ONE! I made EVERY SINGLE THING in that book!

This is only partially quilted right now; I did some nice feathers in the rounded parts, but I can't decide what to do in the background sections. I think a meander would be lost in the busy fabric and would compete with the feathers. I might just pop the walking foot on and do some shape echoing. This picture doesn't really do the piece justice - it's very dark and the fabrics all have different very small-scale optical illusion prints.

Believe it or not, I am not tired of these patterns. I could just keep making them over and over. I have several plans for making larger versions of some of them, and I'm sure they will remain favorite "go-tos" for a long time.

So, what's next...? Maybe this; I think I'm going to buy the three-year International Quilt Festival download (which, incidentally, also has a pattern by Elizabeth Hartman that I've had my eye on):

Marbles Table Runner, pattern by Brigitte Heitland. 

Final Craftsy blocks

A little paper-piecing and POW! I have finished all twenty Tangerine Tango blocks from the Craftsy block-of-the-month class! Here are the last two:

19. Scraps from the owl quilt that I finished earlier this year made a nice circle of flying geese. (How is it that I never posted photos of that one?!? I will have to correct that.)

20. At the eleventh hour I realized that I didn't have a lot of red or pink, and I like how those colors look with this vivid Tangerine Tango.

And here they all are, in all their Tangerine Tango glory! These will sit and brew for a while, as I ponder settings and possibly making a few other blocks. I am considering making a whole side border that says "Pantone 17-1463"...subtle, huh?

This has been a great class, thanks to Amy Gibson and the Craftsy crew. I really like their model for online learning, and I hope they host another block-of-the-month program next year.

Odds 'n' ends

In case you're looking for something to read besides political coverage, here are a few things I have been working on over the last few busy weeks. (We're coming up on the holiday season, of course, so I won't be posting about some of my projects until the new year.) I finished another of the Modern Patchwork miniatures, this time the Owl Eyes:

"Owl Eyes" pattern from Modern Patchwork (Elizabeth Hartman)

I am really happy with how the quilting on the Owl Eyes came out. I was trying the Paisley motif from Leah Day's excellent website (if you need ideas for free-motion quilting, it's THE site to visit) using Sulky Blendables (30 wt), which has become my go-to quilting thread. If you want to try it, make sure you use a needle with a really big eye -- I use a 100/16 topstitch needle. I do a lot of pencil-and-paper practice before I try a new motif on the machine. I find that when my hand can draw the design while relaxed, instead of holding onto the pencil for dear life, it's time to give it a try with thread.

I have two more tops from the same book hanging on my design wall, shivering in the chilly air while waiting  for some quilting of their own:

"Looptastic" miniature in autumn scraps

"Escape Artist" miniature in citrusy brights

That makes eleven minis from this book; there's only one more pattern left! Seven of these little minis are hanging at Lisa's Clover Hill Quilts, where I'll be teaching one pattern a month all next year. Last Friday night, I finally got a chance to go there for some sewing, and it was so exciting to see them all together...a feast for my eyes! The semester is wrapping up quickly for CCSU, so I am anticipating lots of nice wintery stitching time in my very near future. I'll get to the Happy Hour (love the name!) in the next few weeks, along with some more UFO quilting, lots of holiday gifts, and who knows what other new projects that may present themselves to me. Hmm, I did pick up a new Rita Hutchens pattern at the Newington Schoolhouse Quilters meeting last night...

November color challenge

Love the photo for the new color palette challenge:

Can't wait to dive into this one. It's pretty close to May's palette (which I also loved):