Pumpkins

A year ago I bought this kit to make a pumpkin magnet. It was a quick project so I should not have put it off for so long.



The squares were ironed on to a grid printed on something similar to interfacing. Then the rows and columns were sewn. I did make a mistake on the leaves on top, if I make another pumpkin I'd leave them off completely.



After our club's Invitational I was thinking of what would make a nice table favor for next year...maybe a pumpkin pincushion? I tried a couple of different patterns I found online free to see how hard the project would be. Some took a little time but the pumpkin with the stick stem was a less than 30 minute project.

Art in Flushing

Two of my cousins have art shows in Flushing. Tom is showing his photography at Rye's Bakery. We were impressed not only with the photos but the charm of the old time bakery-coffee house.




My picture doesn't do justice to the size of these LOW FAT muffins. The bake goods we purchased were wonderful but I don't think they could be considered diet food.

Here are some of Tom's photos.

A few more below.

After visiting the bakery, we went to Fandangles Restaurant for a delicious lunch. My cousin Donna is one of the two artists showcases at Fandangles. Her work covers two walls of the restaurant.

I only took a photo of one of the walls...by the time I decide to take more pictures there were other customers sitting in front of the other wall.

This painting is the Clock Tower in Venice, Italy. Many of Donna's watercolors were scenes from the Middle East or Europe. I know she took a cruise there last fall so I'm sure her paintings are based on photos she took.

The painting below was Folk Dancers from Dubrounik, Croatia. I had to take a closeup of this painting so I could show it to my daughter,Angela, who vacationed in Croatia this summer.

My husband and I enjoyed our visit to Flushing, hoping Donna and Tom have more shows in the future.

Friends, Food and Quilts

Yesterday my friends celebrated my birthday a few weeks early. We had lunch at the Italia Gardens in Davison. After a tasty lunch and lively conversation, we went to the Flint Institute of Arts for an Amish Quilt show. The quilts were impressive; the tiny hand quilting was really a work of art. Many of us are new to quilting, so we were relieved to see that corners and points don't always meet perfectly to have the finished quilt be beautiful.

My friend know me well and it's reflected in my birthday presents. The picture below show just some of the neat gifts they gave me.



I am lucky to have a thoughtful group of friends.

Millington Quilt Club October Meeting

Last week at our Quilt Club meeting, we had a small turnout and an even smaller show and tell.

Some of the members have been working on blocks with old time ladies. This is Darlene with with her block.



Here Carolyn is showing the group her lady.



Carole used to sew wedding dresses so her lady is going to a wedding.



Julie shared a jacket she had completed.



Carolyn made a variety of blocks which had folded sections.

Quilt for Patrick and Amber

I just finished a quilt for my nephew and his new bride. They were married in August but I didn't get the quilt to the quilter until after I came back from the wedding.

The quilt is a large throw. You can tell the size from the photo...Tom was holding it so I take the picture.

The leaves in some blocks are pieced.

In other blocks. the background is pieced.

My friend, Julie, did a beautiful job with the quilting. She outlined the leaves and stippled the blocks. Julie used a small leaf pattern in the brown border and a larger leaf and acorn pattern in the main border.

Edyta Sitar Speaks at Millington Quilt Club Invitational

The Millington Quilt Club was fortunate to have Edyta Sitar as our speaker at our Invitational. (I've been told by long time members that the title came about when different local quilt groups invited each other to get together and share ideas and lunch...in the years I've been a member the Invitational has been a luncheon with a name speaker, some prizes and a display of members quilts)

The following photos are of some the quilts our club members had on display at the Invitational.

Edyta was kind enough to pose for this photo since the pictures I took during her talk didn't turn out well.



In this photo, you can see the stacks of quilts Edyta shared with us. That is Edyta's husband, Micheal helping club members display the quilts.

Besides the full size quilts, Edyta had some beautiful wall hangings.

The quilts below are the same pattern only one is a baby quilt.

The following two photos are closer views of the quilts.

Edyta uses both batiks and prints in her quilts. She suggested using large, medium and small prints along with dots and stripes in a quilt to give it punch. (She has her own line of fabrics.)

After Edyta's highly entertaining presentation and lunch, Edyta and two local quilt shops sold a variety of books, fabric and supplies. This is a photo of Edyta signing her book for a club member.

My photos don't do Edyta's work justice, for better photos and information about Edyta Sitar check out her website, Laundry Basket Quilts. http://www.laundrybasketquilts.com/

Personalized Ribbon and More

I personalized some grosgrain ribbon to decorate Dena's birthday present.

I used June Tailor Print 'n Press to transfer a design onto the ribbon. The same process was used to make the label for the inside of the tote bag.

My sister-in-law, Pam gave me an early birthday present while she was visiting from North Carolina. It's a beautiful handmade Christmas ornament. Pam chose an ornament with one of my favorite colors...purple. I couldn't help but look on Google to see how the ornament was made...overlapping prairie points. Maybe a future project????

Now that the weather is cooler, the begonias are thriving.

They are just beautiful.