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It’s a raw, rainy Monday here– I love it! And best of all, that means I get the day off from doing outside projects! The cabin staining is almost done anyway and it is just the perfect Lincoln Logs look I had hoped for.

In between manual labor, I have made a little sewing progress plus started a new thing! I’m still buying stuff as well because after a day on the ladder, “I deserve it.” So there will always be some quilt-y thing to gab on about.

The “Moonbeams” cross stitch is almost a finish. This thing spend about 3-4 weeks down the back of my couch. When some deep cleaning brought it back to light, I had to iron it to flatten it out. I used spray starch. So don’t use spray starch, or for that matter, any liquid on cross stitch. I think the Aida holes closed up it a bit and since then, it has been complete misery to stitch on the dark fabric. In spite of this, if I keep up my blistering pace of five or six stitches a day, I’ll still be done by the end of the week. It’s inspiring me to get back to the quilt– I think I had about six blocks done.

I did buy the cute board from Fat Quarter Shop to finish it– but I’m loving the way my Apple Farm design came out and it also fits the board exactly. What to do, what to do– I know, buy another board!

Since I’m now in the market for a new cross stitch piece, I pulled a Christmas one out! Is this not darling?

I bought this a couple of years ago on the Herschnerr’s website– turns out it was designed by Barbara Ana, who never got credit, but I do love her work. It was kitted up with white Aida and Craftways thread.

These threads don’t look too vibrant to me and I’m a bit skeptical about the colorfastness. So I went in to Fat Quarter Shop’s website and treated myself to Classic Colorworks floss and a beige Aida. If you are going to spend the time on these things, people, you should use good materials. So that is on the way and I’m looking forward to a long winter’s stitch on it.

You can only get that kit on eBay now and I was too cheap to buy this sister set which I also love. I’ve been checking eBay for it now as well. Folksy and so cute!

Then, I started a new quilt project, too…

I feel very guilty about it with all my unfinished stuff bulging out of the closets, but it hasn’t stopped me. I really want to work on Halloween right now, so I bought the Spooky Box from Fat Quarter Shop and it did not disappoint!

It was HEAVY– so these are the contents. Orange rick rack, a leather holder for a rotary cutter, and template for triangles in a square, a cute tin, and a candle which is not pictured because I already am using it to make my house smell nice!

The pattern did not grab me, but the fabric included is irresistible– the box included all nine fat quarters of Kimberbell’s “Pumpkins and Potions” collection.

I’m never at a loss to find a new project, and I went to my new Halloween Memories book for inspiration– I love this diamond quilt.

I’m not sure how far my fat quarters will go, but I’m just going to make orange and white checkerboards, and then use the black fabrics for the larger diamonds and see how far it gets me. I have 32 of these units made in just a couple of hours.

Another reason to love these subscription boxes– you have a great place to keep all of your patches!

I’ll keep sewing until I run out of fabric. If I do end up loving it, it’s inevitable that the project grows and I buy more! Now that I’m organized, I shouldn’t overlook my stash, though.

And… to assuage any guilt I feel about yet another start, I am a binding away from a star studded finish! This wedding gift was the large size of the Moda Love quilt, using a layer cake.

I even freehand quilted it on my longarm with Pin Oak leaves and flowers.

And, it still looks like a bit of a mess, but the embroidery is done– once I bind, I’m throwing it in the washer to get rid of the blue marker and picking out that basting line around the embroidery. I’m pretty pleased with the way it came out– especially that it CAME OUT at all– I finished something!

So that is where things stand in Sugar Meadow today. I’m really looking forward to my rainy day– an entire day in the studio!

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xox
Carol