PUMPKIN SPICE

I love fall - the brilliant leaf colors, the blue sky, the farmers working in the fields harvesting crops, the lower temps that I find much more comfortable, putting the garden to bed for the year, cozy wood fires in the cool evenings, kicking through the dry fallen leaves........

Source:   https://www.pexels.com

Fall/Autumn is really the season I decorate for.  I put out fall themed quilts, pumpkins, corn stalks, artificial leaves and ceramic small pumpkins, candles in crocks, and photos of barns in the fall.  What can I say except that fall is my favorite season.

I saw this pattern in the magazine Primitive Quilts and Projects - Fall 2013 and just had to make it.

Primitive Quilts & Projects Magazine - Fall 2013 - Page 52-55

However, I tend to start with a pattern and then go off in my own direction based on what materials I have, my mood at the time, and what I want to do with the finished project.

In this case, I wanted something longer and a few inches wider to fill a particular quilt hanger in my dining room. These are the sizes I cut:

• 3" squares for the nine patch blocks
• 7.5" alternate blocks
• 6" border
• Purchased .5" green bias tape (I machine sewed mine down - I'm in a hurry to get hand appliqueing the pumpkins) 

Please remember that I use my sewing machine foot as my sewing line guide and it is just a bit bigger than a quarter inch, so I would encourage you to make a nine patch block and measure it before you cut out the size I did for alternate blocks.

My top went together quick and I am now ready to do the hand applique of the pumpkins.  I will probably add an outside border but at this point I don't know what fabric or size.

Before the border

After the adding the border - 32" x 46"

JUST DO IT (or encouragement to quilt)

The saying "Just do it" sounds so simple but there are days that it is not.  Our lives are busy and full, and sometimes quilting falls by the wayside for a bit.  That is ok !

I am passionate about quilting and it is important to me, but I learned many years ago that I am not Super Woman and some days there just are not enough hours or enough energy to do what I want.

If you are reading this blog, then you are interested in quilting. But being interested and actually doing an activity are not the same.  I am interested in instrumental music and I listen to a lot of it, but I don't play an instrument and have no intention of learning how to play an one. Quilting is not a spectator activity - it is an activity that requires a person to be involved and doing if the quilts you want to make are going to get made. Each quilt a person makes teaches something that can be used somehow in another quilt.

I have many great quilting books and magazines and I get all kinds of ideas, encouragement, and inspiration from them. When I first started quilting, I would look at a quilt or a photo of a quilt, shake my head sadly and think that there was no way I could do whatever the pattern was. However, as I got braver and realized that if I messed up a quilt the world would not end over it, and no one would die - it freed me to try those different patterns.

Successfully completing each step of the quilt process gives confidence to go to the next step. Before you know it, the top is complete and then when it is tied, or quilted it is so exciting that getting the binding on and a tag made is just ...... well, exciting.

Woo hoo..........I made a quilt !!!!

Even now, after so many quilts, I still get excited to complete a quilt - and I don't care what size it is.

Don't be discouraged because the quilt is not large, or some expert pattern.  Every completed quilt represents hours of your precious time, probably some money, definitely some frustration, something new learned and an object you should be proud to have done. With each completed quilt, you will become more confident in your quilt making skills.

People ask me how I have time to quilt.  I don't have time - I make time for quilting because of willful choices I make each day:

•  I set my timer and cram in 10 or 15 minutes most mornings before I head to work, which starts out my day with a good attitude because I feel like I accomplished something already. Yes, that means I get up a few minutes earlier but those few minutes of some quilt related activity also is a reward for laying out my clothing the night before, packing my lunch and having it ready in the fridge, and having all the personal stuff I need for the day all together and ready to leave as soon as the timer goes off.
• Being healthy and active helps the body, which also helps quilting activities.  I try to walk at least a mile every day - even if I have to do in a mall or hotel hallways.  I don't snack, drink coffee, or eat if I am not hungry.  I do drink a lot of water every day, take my vitamins,  eat what I like but with smaller servings, and reward myself with one soda a day (I love cherry coke). 
• Get enough good sleep and rest.
• I am basically a home body and when I am done with work for the day, I am happy to return home to "my castle" for the quiet and peace it brings to my stressed and tired body and mind. Even a hotel room can be relaxing if I have a project to work on each evening. 
•  I do not live on the computer.  Please understand that I work on the computer all day long - and yes, this blog is done on the computer.  However, I choose not to waste time on social media (it is a spectator sport), computer games, or just "surfing" the web.  I want to actually be doing something and have something to show for my time. 
• I also don't live on my phone. I choose to not make or receive calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. My phone spends a lot of time face down and on "Do not disturb" mode. I am picky about who I spend time on the phone with.  Think of time as money - there is only so much available and needs to be used wisely.

My day is winding down and I will soon be headed to bed. but let me just encourage you again to fit some quilting activity into your busy day each and every day.  There is just a good feeling to see the progress you make each day on something you really want to have. Quilting is good for the mind and soul.

                                                    Happy Quilting to one and all

SMILES FOR TODAY

For the quilters out there who just need a smile today:

Source: all found on Pintrest today

HOW DID I START QUILTING?? IT'S BEEN A JOURNEY.

So the question comes up frequently when I am talking quilting with someone else - "how did you start quilting ?" Sometimes I think other people assume I was born knowing how to quilt.  Let me tell you - that is a big NO.  Learning how to quilt has been fun and I sure am glad I decided to learn. 

Please let me encourage those of you who are reading this post and thinking that there is no way "I can learn this" and please believe me when I say that you can.  My advice is simply to determine that you will make a quilt, and believe in yourself - you can make a quilt from start to finish and have something wonderful to show for all those hours.

So you are a beginner??  Don't get discouraged by all those gorgeous quilts you see at quilt shows or the local quilt guild. Every one of those quilters has a first (or more) quilt that they are hiding away somewhere because it is not "perfect". The only way you will get started on the journey to doing quilting is to start.

I personally would start with something small or at least simple because the process and finishing it will encourage you on to the next project. See if another quilter has scraps you can have for a first project, or if your budget will do it - buy a few quarter yard pieced of good quality cotton.  Borrow books from the library or buy a quilting magazine that has a simple pattern you can do.

Please understand that I grew up around quilts that were made by other family members, but my mom did not sew - period - for any reason.  During my childhood, she owned two different sewing machines and used neither.  She viewed sewing as something people did who were too poor to buy needed clothes or do repairs on said clothes.  My grandma sewed constantly (which explains why the sewing machine was in a corner of the kitchen always ready to use). Grandma taught me to sew on buttons, mend socks, and do basic hemming.

I basically taught myself how to piece a quilt top from watching my grandma sew.  I learned how to hand quilt from going to quilting bees and watching and practicing.  The nice thing about sloppy stitches in hand quilting is that they are easy to take out and fix or try again.

My first quilt was 4" squares and most of the fabric was aprons or shirts I bought at yard sales.  Rotary cutters where not around yet, so I cut 4" cardboard squares from cereal boxes to use for my pattern and cut every single one of them with scissors one by one.  I discovered that the cardboard pattern wore out quick and for accuracy I had to use a new pattern after just a few squares. I arranged the scraps with some solid blue and solid red so that it formed "stripes". I used mom's old Singer to sew the blocks together and my seams were certainly not exact quarter inch.

First quilt on bed

The "batting" was an old blanket, and grandma gave me a big piece of pink printed flannel for the backing.  Once the top was done, I tied the quilt sandwich together with white yarn.  Um.....now how to complete the edge?? I did not want my grandma to do the binding, but I really did not understand her directions for doing it.  So, I lied to her, told her it was complete and used it for many years unbound and the edge ragged(https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2011/08/one-patch.html ) ......... Let's face it - 15 year olds are not the smartest of creatures on the earth.

But the huge thing for a very shy country girl who was an outcast at school because of my "smart" grades was that I figured out how to do this and it was on my bed and being used!! I determined to make another and better one. So the journey began.....

So you are a beginner, the only way to get started is to take the first steps in quilting.  Unless you are willing to buy all the quilts in your home, you are going to have to decide to learn the quilt making process.  You have got this - set a daily goal (decide on a pattern, get fabric, cut fabric, iron, etc) and go for it.  Will you make mistakes - yes and yes......Learn from them and move on.  This is fabric, not brain surgery - no one is going to die if something isn't done just right.




Suggestion: Use good quality supplies.  You will be much happier and satisfied with the process and end result if your supplies and tools are good quality.