It's official = fall is here.

Our weather is expected to be very cool this weekend. I don't think it will be at the freezing point but it is going to be quite a jolt to our systems. A dear friend came to visit today and helped me to get out my fall/Halloween decorations. My house and I are so much happier now. She brought in all the tubs of decorations and we got started. And as often happens when someone helps, I even managed to purge a few things that I no longer need.

Thought I would share a few of the things we found today. It sure puts me in the mood for cooler days, cozy sweaters and candy corn!

A few things on the bookcase. I have to use every surface.

I love putting little things on the window ledges. 

These pumpkins replaced the pastel candle holders. 

Don't they just make you smile?

Even Molly got in on the decorating. 

Pumpkins on the hearth. 

Adding a little fall to the flower window. 

A gathering of fall. 

And the tree is ready for the holiday.
(My boombox is still sitting there from our hurricane preparation.
 Can I put it away now?)

And a quiet bit on this mantel. 

Today was just another example of how my friends have all been so helpful as I recover from my shoulder surgery. I'm hoping that I will soon be able to go without the sling and do more for myself. But I certainly won't forget all the help I have been given. Friends and family are simply the best. 

Aren't these fun?

I have been trying to refrain from trolling the internet fabric sites and buying fabric while I'm here at home and have some time on my hands. However, when I saw a special coupon for  Fabric Fascination on Etsy I couldn't resist. This lovely package came in the mail the other day.

So fun to open this up and see the lively fabric in the box. This is Folk Life by Anthology fabrics. It is not my usual choices but I have been looking at this set for a few weeks. And then I saw a special offer on Selvage Blog and I just couldn't pass it up. If you haven't yet discovered Karen Griska's Selvage Blog, be sure to go and check it out. She shows some of the most amazing quilts from all over.

Just can't wait to get started. I have seen many quilts online that have white backgrounds and I'm thinking that might spotlight these fabrics. Or would black be better? Any ideas?

Keeping a record

While I'm still working on organizing my pattern stash, I thought I would share one ongoing project that I am keeping up with. The picture below shows this great album that I found on sale. That is a Denyse Schmidt quilt on the cover.  When I bought it, I wasn't sure what I would do with it. It was a real aha moment when I decided it would be perfect to keep a scrapbook of all the quilts I have made. I don't have them in my house since I have given all of them away. I know they all went to good homes but it is nice to have a picture of each one.

The first page in the book is my first quilt. The one that started it all. I told the story of my quilt class and even have a picture of the quilters who quilted it for me.

This shot is just another one of the pages in the book. I try to give a background of each quilt, who it was for and any other important details. I am happy that I started this right away and have been able to keep it current.

Now if only the rest of my house was that organized. Sigh...

My comfy chair

This chair has always been my favorite piece of furniture in the house. I read, watch TV, visit with friends and yes, take power naps there. As you can see, it has also become my place to recover from this shoulder surgery. The pillows offer support for my arm and thanks to my wonderful neighbor, the table on the right holds everything I need while sitting there. My books, phone, remote control and occasionally a glass of iced tea. Leslie loaned me the table while I was recuperating and she may never get it back!

Recovery is going well but I still can't sleep in my bed so the chair has also served well for sleeping at night. Again, the pillows offer just the right support for my arm. Not sure when I'll get back to sleeping normally but in the meantime, there is my chair.

Since the milk bottle carrier was empty in my picture the other day, I thought I would show it with the bottles in it. The bottle on the right is the one from the dairy where my dad worked. It was a very lucky find for me.

Now, I'm back to my pattern organizing project. I can't sew them right now but all these patterns are giving me lots of ideas for future projects.

Hope you all have a lovely day!

The things you find...

While I have been home and not able to sew, I have started the process of purging stuff. It started in the kitchen while my friends were here to help me. My countertop was cleaned off and re-arranged and really looks great.

This corner was really crowded. The basket now holds mixes and some tea. Finally the teapots have their rightful place.
Now, the corner used to house a huge collection of recipes that I had saved. It made my niece nervous to see the loose papers so close to the stove. Funny thing is, I don't cook that much so no problem.

Now, while I was purging the recipes I couldn't believe the things I was finding. So many recipes I had saved but now realize that I would never make them anyway. But.. I did find some family treasures and recipes that my mother and grandmother had written down. Even if I will never make them, they are definitely keepers. There was one other surprise in the mix. Check out these coupons! When was the last time you saw a coupon for 5-10 cents? What a hoot. I was even thinking of trying to use them but realized, no bar code. A true walk down memory lane. 

And yes, the recipes still look good. 

I wanted to share one more corner of the counter with you. I have a milk bottle carrier that has been hidden away and now finally has a display spot. One of the bottles that will go in is from Greenwood Dairies where my father worked as a milkman for many years. (They were in the dishwasher when I took this picture.) We always had these bottles on our back porch but I had to find this and one for my sister at auctions. So glad I did.

Now I'm off to do a little more purging. I must say, it does feel good. 

I have to share a finish

I just wanted to take a minute to share this finish with you. I did share the top with you before but this was the wedding quilt that I finished right before my surgery. And I did, right under the wire. I'm not sure if the couple got it yet since I sent it home with the groom's mom. Guaranteed delivery! 

I pieced together different fabric for the backing. I'm so glad we've been freed to do that. 

I used a Susan Branch label. I really love her designs but have to find another way to write on the label. 

My straight line quilting too. And we don't have to follow the rules any more!

It makes me feel good to share this since there won't be any finishes for a while. My shoulder is doing better every day. Still hold out hope for sewing sooner rather than later! We'll see...

Hope everyone has a great week.

Good Enough Quilters

It is the day after my birthday and I am happy to say that I am still celebrating. I am one who believes that birthdays should last a month and I'm very lucky because my friends indulge me in that. Last night I went out to dinner and as we were sitting in the restaurant we saw this rainbow out the window. How lucky was I to have a rainbow on my birthday! I do want to thank all of you who sent such nice birthday greetings too. So much fun.

I am finally able to share the pictures from our Good Enough Quilters meeting. The meeting was held four days after my surgery and I wasn't able to go but Fran very helpfully took the pictures for me.

This is the quilt that Cindy made for her son and daughter-in-law.  Aren't the colors great!

Closeup of the quilting. She had it done by one of our favorite longarm quilters. 

This is Debbie's quilt from our block patterns. I think she may have been the first to finish. Makes me feel a little pressure... It does look great. 

Love the colors of Fran's floral quilt. 

Laura's BOM's from Pennington. The block on the right was my reason to start this process. So funky. 

Laura's great-grandmother's sewing chest. We had one like it in our house too. Love them!

Fran's postage stamp quilt. All those tiny little squares...

I'm looking forward to our next meeting. It sounds like there are so many ideas out there for what we will do next! 

Never too old to be young!

Today is my birthday! And I know I would love to do a giveaway to celebrate but since I'm challenged at the moment, I will have to postpone until a little later. I can't really search my stash or closet to find something good. Maybe I will just wait and celebrate my first Social Security check. Yes, I'm that old and have absolutely no complaints about aging.

I wanted to share a gift I got in the mail yesterday.

A few months ago, my sister gave me the American Girl doll, Molly. I had told her that was one I liked. Well, yesterday, she sent me the desk. Now this desk really belongs to another doll but I said that it would fit Molly too. We used to have a rolltop desk when we were growing up and boy, do I wish I had that now. Instead I can enjoy looking at Molly's. Notice the school bag she has over her shoulder. I think some of the items in the bag will fit in her desk. 

Yes, it is true, we are never too old to be young!

Day by day and a big thanks!

It feels so good to finally be able to type with two hands. My rotator cuff surgery was on September 2nd and as I am improving each day, I am feeling a little more normal. Surgery went well and I have to extend a huge thanks to the friends who came and stayed with me, providing moral support and everything else I needed. And also thanks to everyone else for their cards and phone calls and caring. I am a very lucky person to have such wonderful family and friends.

Not sure if I shared this but these were a few supplies I bought before surgery. Carbohydrates are medicinal, aren't they? 

I still won't be able to do any sewing but plan to look through patterns I've collected to see what I will do first after the sling comes off, PT has time to work and I'm ready to go.

I do have one other thanks for this post. When I got home from surgery I got an email that I had won this lovely, soft fabric. How is that for a pick-me-up right after having an operation! I won this fat quarter stack from Julie at Adventures of a Cross Stitch Drama Queen . It is a Riley Blake design called Promenade. I just love the soft, old-fashioned look of it.

I'll be back tomorrow with more, including the pictures from our quilt group. I couldn't be there but thanks to Fran, I have some wonderful quilts to share with all of you. 

Please vote!

Just wanted to do a quick post to ask for your vote. I entered this quilt in the quilting gallery's weekly theme contest. It is for jelly rolls quilts and this was certainly one of those. And, if you remember, started after I cut the strips the wrong lengths and had to go back and punt.

I only have the link to the website so if you go there, you will have to click on Weekly Theme contests to see the choices. I don't even know if there is a prize but I would love to win!

http://quiltinggallery.com/

This will take you to their site and then you can click on weekly theme contest on the right.

Thanks so much for your help!