Fall Cross Stitch and Other News

It's been a couple of weeks since I have blogged.  There has been a lot going on and this will become apparent as you read today's post.  First, I have made a bit of progress on my fall cross stitch project.  The cardinal is done and more leaves and branches have been added. I love the colours in this picture although I am not sure a tree exists that has such a variety of leaves on one branch! 

I finished off one of the donation quilt tops I was working on.  I need to buy a backing fabric as I have nothing in my stash that is suitable.  I went to my local (small) quilt store yesterday only to find out they have moved  and do not reopen until later this coming week so this project is on hold.  I don't have enough of the dark blue background fabric to add borders so this is the size it will be. 

I made more blocks for the second donation quilt and have about 40 more blocks to make.  I have already filled in some of the holes in this picture. I will likely need to buy a backing for this one too. 

We spent several days over the last couple of weeks helping our daughter move to a bigger apartment.  Finn has been quite confused by all the packing and unpacking but he will settle in nicely once everything is unpacked and put away.  I brought home my daughter's quilts for some repairs so she has a quilt on her bed that I made for her a long time ago with leftover fabric from flannel pyjamas that I made for her when she was younger.  It is not quite big enough for her bed but will do until I get the other ones repaired.  Finn always approves of any blanket or quilt.  

While out on my morning walk, I met a new friend. 

Every year since my Dad died, my husband and I go to the local ice cream place and get some black cherry ice cream on my Dad's birthday.  It's a fun way to remember him. 

This past week, my 96 year old mother in law passed away peacefully.  As you can see, she also loved ice cream and our excursions with her always included a stop at an ice cream shop.    I made her many quilted gifts over the years and she always had my wall hangings, table runners and quilts out on display in her home and in her room at the nursing home.  I loved her dearly and will miss her every day.  I was blessed with a wonderful mother in law.

I will link up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers as well as Frederique. 

Pineapple Log Cabin Done, Two Donation Quilts Started.

Some projects are quick to make and others aren't.  I made these blocks in 2023 as one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects.  The quilt top was completed in January 2024.  Then it sat in the to be quilted pile as I pondered how to quilt it.  It kept telling me it wanted to be hand quilted so I finally relented, and started hand quilting it last fall.  I took a break from it for a while and then finished it in the Spring/Early Summer of this year.  I searched high and low through my stash for an appropriate fabric for the binding and had nothing.  I really wanted to use the grey background fabric as the binding so searched on the Internet to see if I could find some in a Canadian Store.  I found it and finally picked it up this past week.  It was a priority this week to get the binding made and sewn down.  Now, this quilt is ready to be displayed on the wall!  

I also added more stitches to my fall cross stitch, finishing off a leaf I started last week and making good progress on the bird. There is one more leaf to add below the branch in this section before moving along to the left. 

Christine and I attend a couple of the Crafter's Retreats at Camp Kintail each year.  The camp is run by the Presbyterian Church  and has a fundraising auction each fall.  I usually donate and item for the auction and, this year, decided to donate a lap quilt.  Today was Jelly Roll Day at the Oxford Guild so I got busy sewing.  I had all of the cutting done for these blocks earlier in the week.  I made 20 blocks and will add navy blue sashing before quilting it with my walking foot.  I need to have this done very soon so it will likely be my focus for the next little while.  The colourful fabrics are grunge and the navy was in my stash....I think it was leftover from a quilt back. 

I am also making a donation quilt for a fundraising raffle at the nursing home where my MIL lives.  I've got a good start on this one and hope to have it done by the end of October.  The fabrics all came from my batik bin.  I have been trying to use up my batiks for a while and was happy to find enough co-ordinating fabrics in the bin to make this quilt.  Both of these donation quilts will end up being lap sized. 

The Oxford Guild makes Quilts of Valour and handed out strips of fabric at our September meeting to make 16 patches.  They supplied with teal fabric and I added the other two fabrics to make four 16 patch blocks.  

The butterfly weed in my front garden is creating lots of fluffy seeds to spread around the neighbourhood. 

The sedum is in bloom now that gardening season is winding down. 

Finn and my daughter got a new mattress this week.  It is Finn approved. 

I will link up with Kathy, Angela and Frederique.